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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: New lands within the Arctic circle - Narrative of the discoveries of the Austrian ship - "Tegetthoff" in the years 1872-1874 - -Author: Julius Payer - -Release Date: September 7, 2019 [EBook #60258] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW LANDS WITHIN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE *** - - - - -Produced by Albert László, Greg Bergquist and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: TWILIGHT AT MIDDAY, FEBRUARY 1874.] - - - - - NEW LANDS - WITHIN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. - - _NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERIES - OF THE AUSTRIAN SHIP “TEGETTHOFF” - IN THE YEARS 1872-1874._ - - BY - JULIUS PAYER, - ONE OF THE COMMANDERS OF THE EXPEDITION. - - WITH MAPS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS - BY THE AUTHOR. - - Translated from the German, with the Author’s Approbation. - - NEW YORK: - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, - 549 AND 551 BROADWAY. - 1877. - - - - -AUTHOR’S PREFACE. - - -In laying this book before the Public I desire, in the first instance, -to acknowledge without reserve my sense of the great merits of my -colleague, Lieutenant Weyprecht. The reader of the following pages will -learn with what unwearied, though fruitless, energy he struggled to free -the _Tegetthoff_ from her icy prison, and what dauntless courage and -unfailing command of resources he displayed in our hazardous retreat -from the abandoned ship, till the moment of our happy rescue. The order -and discipline maintained on board ship, and in the terrible march over -the Frozen Ocean, as well as in the perilous boat voyage after leaving -the ice-barrier, were mainly due to his distinguished abilities. He had -supreme command of the expedition, as long as its duties were strictly -nautical; when the operations of sledging and surveying began, I had the -responsibility of a separate and independent command. - -Nor ought I to be slow to pay my tribute of respect to the perseverance -and constant self-denial of Lieutenant Brosch and Midshipman Orel. It -would be difficult to determine, whether they shone more as officers of -the ship, or as observers of scientific phenomena. The highly important -duty of managing the stores and provisions was discharged also by -Lieutenant Brosch with a conscientiousness that secured the confidence of -all. - -To the watchful skill of Dr. Kepes we owed it, that the health and -constitution of the members of the expedition suffered so little from all -their hardships and privations. - -The conduct of the crew was on the whole praiseworthy. Their obedience to -command, their perseverance and resolution shown on every occasion, will -be cited as an example of what these virtues and qualities can achieve -amid the most appalling dangers and trials. - -With regard to my narrative, I make no claim for it founded on its -literary excellence; rather I sue for indulgence to its manifold -shortcomings. I have not written for the man of science, though I have -not shunned a few scientific details. Nor have I aimed at presenting a -record, which might be profitable to those who shall follow us in the -same career of discovery, though some hints will be found in my pages -which will not be without their use to those who may consult them for -information and guidance. Rather I have endeavoured to narrate our -sufferings, adventures, and discoveries in a manner which shall be -interesting to the general reader who reads to amuse himself. - -The magnetical and meteorological observations, so carefully taken and -tabulated by Weyprecht, Brosch, and Orel, together with the sketches of -the Fauna of the Frozen Ocean, drawn by myself from the collection of Dr. -Kepes, were presented to the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, and -will in due time be published under the auspices of that august body. - - - - -PRELIMINARY NOTICE BY THE TRANSLATOR. - - -It will be interesting to English readers to learn a few particulars -concerning the two leaders of the Austrian North Polar Expeditions. Carl -Weyprecht was born in Hesse-Darmstadt in 1838, and in his eighteenth -year entered the Austrian navy. Ten years afterwards he was present -at the action between the Austrian and Italian fleets at Lissa—July -20, 1866; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant of the second class, -and _decorated_ with the order of the Iron Cross in recognition of his -services in that battle. It was shortly after this, that Weyprecht -volunteered to take the command of a small vessel, manned by only -four seamen, which was to sail from Hammerfest to explore the Arctic -Ocean. This dauntless offer was the basis of the first German North -Polar expedition. When, however, permission to act in this capacity -was obtained, Lieutenant Weyprecht was serving on board the Austrian -frigate _Elizabeth_, which formed one of the squadron sent by the -Austrian Government to bring home the body of the ill-fated Maximilian. -Immediately on his return to Europe he repaired to Gotha, eager to place -his services at the command of the expedition which had meantime been -planned by Petermann and a committee of patrons of Arctic exploration. -But unhappily, just at this moment his health, which had suffered from -fever caught at New Orleans, failed, and the command of the expedition, -known as the first German North Polar Expedition (May 24-October 10, -1868), was undertaken by Captain Koldewey. It was only in 1871 that -he recovered his health, and in the June of that year began, in the -_Isbjörn_, his life of Arctic experience and discovery. In the following -year, 1872, he was appointed to the naval command of the expedition -which sailed in the _Tegetthoff_, whose strange and eventful history is -recorded in the following pages. - -His companion and colleague, Julius Payer, was born at Schönau in -Teplitz, Bohemia, in 1841, and received his education as a soldier at -the Wiener-Neustadt Military Academy, 1856-59, where General Sonnklar -was his teacher in geographical science, and early imbued his mind -with a love for the grandeurs of the glacier world. With the rank of -“Ober-Lieutenant” he served in the campaign of 1866 in Italy, and was -_decorated_ for his distinguished services at the battle of Custozza. -Afterwards, while serving with his regiment in Tyrol, he gained great -celebrity as one of the most successful Alpine climbers, and turned his -experience as a mountaineer to profit in his surveys of the Orteler -Alps and glaciers. Payer gained his first experience as an Arctic -discoverer in the second German North Polar Expedition, under Koldewey -and Hegemann—June 15, 1869-Sept. 11, 1870. His services during that -expedition were of a most distinguished character. He shared in the -most important discoveries which were then made, specially those of -König Wilhelm’s Land, and of the noble Franz-Josef Fjord. He acquired -in East Greenland the experience of sledging, which was of such eminent -use in his explorations of the great discovery of the _Tegetthoff_ -Expedition—Kaiser Franz-Joseph Land. He shines too as an author in his -descriptions of Greenland scenes, in the _Second German North Polar -Voyage_, published in 1874 by Brockhaus of Leipzig, and partially -reproduced in an English translation by the Rev. L. Mercier and Mr. H. W. -Bates. For these services, on the return of the expedition, he was again -_decorated_, receiving the order of the Iron Crown. - -In the voyage of the _Isbjörn_, June 21-Oct. 4, 1871, we find him -associated with Weyprecht in the pioneering voyage described in the -earlier part of this work, and lastly as joint commander of the renowned -_Tegetthoff_ expedition, June, 1872-September, 1874. - -The Gold Medals entrusted to the Royal Geographical Society were awarded -in 1875: the Founder’s Medal to Lieutenant Weyprecht, and the Patron’s -Medal to Lieutenant Julius Payer. - - * * * * * - -As these pages are passing through the Press, the country has been -deeply moved by the unexpected intelligence of the return of the -Arctic Expedition. Gratulations on its safe and happy return have been -unanimously and eagerly expressed by all the organs of public opinion. -Disappointment, however, has, we fear, fallen on many minds as, after -the first feelings of joy at the safe arrival of the officers and crews -of the _Alert_ and _Discovery_, they read the brief telegraphic summary -sent by Captain Nares: “Pole impracticable,”—“No land to northward.” -Popular enthusiasm looked rather for the conquest of the Pole; expected, -perhaps, to read, one day, that the Union Jack had been hoisted there, -to commemorate the triumph of England’s perseverance at last rewarded. -Few, we apprehend, would pass through the chill of these two clauses of -the message to mark the hope contained in the third—“voyage otherwise -successful.” In what special respects the success proclaimed was -achieved, we must patiently wait for a future record to reveal; but -while awaiting the history which no doubt will be written to justify and -prove this announcement, let us exercise our loyal belief in the skill -and courage of our countrymen, and feel persuaded that what men could do -under their circumstances no doubt was done by them. - -The interest which will be excited afresh in Arctic discovery and -adventure, will doubtless sharpen the interest in the volumes which -record the fortunes of the Austrian expedition; and we venture to -affirm—without undue partiality—that, though the history of Arctic -exploration and discovery abounds in records of lofty resolution and -patient endurance of almost incredible hardships, the narrative of the -voyage of the _Tegetthoff_ will be found to fall below none in these -high qualities. The mere destiny of the vessel itself equals, if it does -not exceed, in the element of the marvellous, anything which has before -been recorded. Surely this is borne out when we think, that on August 20, -1872, the _Tegetthoff_ was beset off the coast of Novaya Zemlya; remained -a fast prisoner in the ice, spite of all the efforts made by her officers -and crew to release her; drifted during the autumn and the terrible -winter of 1872—amid profound darkness—whither they knew not; drifted to -the 30th of August in the following year (1873), till, as if by magic, -the mists lifted, and lo! a high, bold, rocky coast—lat. 79° 43′ E., -long. 59° 33′—loomed out of the fog straight ahead of them. Close to this -land—which could be visited with safety only twice, on the 1st and 3rd -of November of that year—the ship remained still fast bound in the ice. -Not till the winter of 1873 had passed, and the sun had again returned, -was it possible to explore the land, which had been so marvellously -discovered. On the 10th of March, 1874, the sledge journeys commenced, -and terminated May 3rd, after 450 miles had been passed over, and the -surveys and explorations completed, which enabled Payer to write the -description of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land (pp. 258-270), which shows that -other still undefined lands, with an archipelago of islands, have been -added to the geography of the earth. - -But the perils of the expedition did not end here. On the 20th of August, -1874, it was resolved to abandon the _Tegetthoff_ in the ice, and to -return in sledges and boats to Europe. Captain Nares tells us, in his -telegraphic despatch, that the sledging parties of the _Alert_ and -_Discovery_ compassed on an average one-and-a-quarter mile per day on -the terrible “Sea of Ancient Ice,” and discovered, after the experience -gained in seventy miles passed under these conditions, that the “Pole -was impracticable.” If our readers wish to have a conception of the -toils and perils of the Austrian sledge parties on their return from the -_Tegetthoff_ let them mark the single image presented to the mind by -the statement (p. 364):—“After the lapse of two months of indescribable -efforts, the distance between us and the ship was not more than nine -English miles.” Had the ice on the Novaya Zemlya seas remained as -obstinate as it seems to have done in the new desolation, the “Sea of -Ancient Ice,” escape would have been as impossible to the _Tegetthoff’s_ -crew, as advance towards the Pole was to the sledge parties of our last -Arctic expedition. But fortunately, soon after, “leads” opened out in the -ice; the boats were launched, and after about another month of alternate -rowing and sledging, the ice barrier was happily reached in the unusually -high latitude 77° 40′; and the brave men who three months before had left -the _Tegetthoff_ were saved. - -This is perhaps the most marked analogy between the perils of the two -expeditions; so far as those of our own are yet known. But the scientific -conclusions of Lieutenant Payer, as set forth in the general Introduction -to his narrative, strikingly harmonize with the actual discoveries of the -_Alert_ and _Discovery_. Already it is authoritatively announced, that -there is no open Polar Sea; that this hypothesis is as baseless as the -existence of President’s Land. In the fourth chapter of that Introduction -(pp. 25-31), our author has analysed with great sagacity the various -theories on which that hypothesis was made to rest, working up to the -conclusion, that no such sea exists. The demonstration of experience now -takes the place of enlightened argument and opinion; fact and theory are -here at one. - -Nor can we forbear to direct attention to another statement in the same -chapter. Let our readers mark the prophetic spirit of the following -passage: “All the changes and phenomena of this mighty network lead us to -infer the existence of frozen seas up to the Pole itself; and according -to my own experience, gained in three expeditions, I consider that the -states of the ice between 82° and 90° N. L. will not essentially differ -from those which have been observed south of latitude 82°; I incline -rather to the belief that they will be found worse instead of better” (p. -30). And “worse instead of better” they have been found, as we cannot -doubt, when we weigh the ominous significance of the designation the “Sea -of Ancient Ice.” - -History may or may not verify the position which the telegram so briefly -resumes—“The Pole impracticable.” Impracticable no doubt it was, if the -condition of the ice seen by our expedition in that awful sea be its -normal condition. All that it was possible for men to dare and achieve, -England will feel that her officers and sailors dared and achieved under -the circumstances they encountered. It may be, that later experience will -show, that even that Sea may present to future explorers an aspect less -tremendous; yea, that in some seasons, which science may yet predict, -when her theories of the sun-spots are matured and formulated, open water -will be found, as perhaps it was found in the year of the expedition of -the _Polaris_, where the heroic sledging parties from the _Alert_ and -_Discovery_ saw nothing and found nothing, but piled-up barriers of ice -rising to the height of 150 feet. - -It would be idle to predict, in the face of these results, that the Pole -shall yet be reached. Any confident prediction in this spirit would, at -the present moment, be singularly inopportune, as well as unwise. But -despair would be equally unjustifiable, while its influence would be -most hurtful and depressing, especially if Arctic exploration and the -attainment of the Pole were supposed to be identical propositions. There -are two things: reaching the North Pole, and the exploration of the -Polar region. If the former appeals more to the imagination, and readily -calls forth the emotions which are fed by the love of the marvellous, -the latter enlists the sympathies of those who take a broader view of -the necessities of Arctic exploration. These have found a powerful -representative in one whose services entitle him to speak with authority, -in the naval chief of the _Tegetthoff_ expedition. At a meeting of the -German Scientific and Medical Association held at Gratz in September of -1875, Weyprecht read a paper on the principles of Arctic exploration, -in which, according to the summary of its contents, which appeared -in _Nature_, October 11, 1875, he maintains, that the Polar regions -offer, in certain important respects, greater advantages than any other -part of the globe for the observation of natural phenomena—Magnetism, -the Aurora, Meteorology, Geology, Zoölogy, and Botany. He deplores, -that while large sums have been spent and much hardship endured for -geographical knowledge, strictly scientific observations have been -regarded as holding a secondary place. Though not denying the importance -of geographical discovery, he maintains, that the main purpose of -future Arctic expeditions should be the extension of our knowledge -of the various natural phenomena which may be studied with so great -advantage in those regions. He insists in that paper on the following -propositions:—“1. Arctic exploration is of the highest importance to -a knowledge of the laws of nature. 2. Geographical discovery in those -regions is of superior importance only in so far as it extends the -field of scientific investigation in its strict sense. 3. Minute Arctic -topography is of secondary importance. 4. The geographical Pole has for -science no greater significance than any other point in high latitude. -5. Observation stations should be selected without reference to the -latitude, but for the advantages they offer for the investigation of the -phenomena to be studied. 6. Interrupted series of observations have only -a relative value.” The suggestions thrown out by Lieutenant Weyprecht -have been taken up by one whose mind seems to rise instinctively to all -high aims and objects. Prince Bismarck forthwith appointed a German -Commission of Arctic Exploration, consisting of some of the most eminent -men of science of whom Germany can boast, who reported to the Bundesrath -in a memoir, the recommendations of which were unanimously adopted. From -_Nature_, November 11, 1875, which we have already quoted, we borrow the -following _résumé_ of that report:— - - “1. The exploration of the Arctic regions is of great - importance for all branches of science. The Commission - recommends for such exploration the establishment of fixed - observing stations. From the principal station, and supported - by it, exploring expeditions are to be made by sea and by land. - - “The Commission is of opinion that the region to be explored - by organised German Arctic explorers is the great inlet to the - higher Arctic regions situated between the eastern shore of - Greenland and the western shore of Spitzbergen.... - - “3. It appears desirable, and, so far as scientific - preparations are concerned, possible, to commence these Arctic - expeditions in 1877.” - - “4. The Commission is convinced that an exploration of the - Arctic regions, based on such principles, will furnish valuable - results, even if limited to the region between Greenland and - Spitzbergen; but it is also of opinion, that an exhaustive - solution of the problems to be solved can only be expected when - exploration is extended over the whole Arctic zone, and when - other countries take their share in the undertaking. - - “The Commission recommends, therefore, that the principles - adopted for the German undertaking be commended to the - governments of the states which take interest in Arctic - inquiry, in order to establish, if possible, a complete circle - of observing stations in the Arctic zones.” - -Thus we are brought face to face with two different purposes, which -may be termed, respectively, the romantic and the scientific purposes -of Arctic discovery. To the former the attainment of the Pole has -hitherto been the all in all of a geographical discovery. “The Pole -impracticable,” telegraphed by Captain Nares, as the result of the -expedition which has returned baffled to our shores, is a stern reproof -to all who would still advocate a dash at the Pole as the worthiest -purpose of Arctic discovery. Aims and endeavours not so glaring, nor -appealing in the same degree to the love of the marvellous, are suggested -in the sagacious proposals of Lieutenant Weyprecht, to whom science will -not refuse her calmer and more measured respect, and in whom, as Captain -of the _Tegetthoff_, all who love deeds of daring and energy will find a -congenial spirit. - -To Lieutenant Payer has fallen the distinguished honour of being not only -the colleague in command and friend of Weyprecht, but the historian of -their common sufferings and common glory in an enterprise, the fame of -which the world, we believe, will not willingly let die. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - _INTRODUCTION._ - - CHAPTER I. - - THE FROZEN OCEAN _page_ 1-10 - - 1. The ice-sheet of the Arctic region.—2. “Leads” and “ice-holes” - defined.—3. Pack-ice and drift-ice.—4, 5, 6. Various designations - of ice-forms.—7. Estimate of the thickness of ice.—8. Rate of - its formation.—9. Old ice.—10, 11. Characteristics of young - ice.—12. Results of the unrest in Arctic seas.—13. The snow-sheet - described.—14. Colour of field-ice.—15. Characteristics of - sea-ice.—16. Specific gravity of ice.—17. Irregularity of the - forms of ice.—18. Temperature of the Arctic Sea.—19. Noise - caused by disruption.—20. The ice-blink.—21. The water-sky.—22. - Evaporation.—23. Calmness of the sea beneath the ice.—24. - Overturning of icebergs.—25. Change of the sea’s colour near - ice.—26. Icebergs described.—27. Noise caused by the overturning - of icebergs. - - CHAPTER II. - - NAVIGATION IN THE FROZEN OCEAN _page_ 11-19 - - 1. Preparatory study necessary for Polar navigators.—2. - Choice of a favourable year necessary.—3. Navigation in - coast-water recommended.—4. Failure often caused by leaving the - coast-water.—5. Distance possible to accomplish in one summer.—6. - The best time of year.—7. Steam-power recommended.—8. The rate - of speed.—9. The build of Arctic ships.—10. Tactics of a ship - in the ice.—11. Small vessels preferred.—12. Iron ships not - suitable.—13. Two vessels to be employed.—14. “Besetment” and - how to avoid it.—15. The use of a balloon recommended.—16. The - “crow’s-nest.”—17. Winds and calms.—18. A winter harbour or - “dock.” - - CHAPTER III. - - THE PENETRATION OF THE REGIONS WITHIN THE POLAR CIRCLE; THE - PERIOD OF THE NORTH-WEST AND NORTH-EAST PASSAGES _page_ 20-24 - - 1. The Pole.—2. Old fancy of reaching India through the - ice.—3, 4, 5. The first Polar navigators.—6-10. The North-West - and North-East Passages.—11. Strange tales of the old - discoverers.—12. The Polar world becomes the object of scientific - investigation.—13. M’Clintock perfects the art of sledging. - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE INNER POLAR SEA _page_ 25-31 - - 1. The Arctic Sea compared to the glaciers of the Alps.—2, 3. - Old fancies respecting an Inner Polar Sea.—4. Improbability of - such a sea existing.—5. Influence of the Gulf Stream.—6. The - Polynjii seen by Wrangel.—7. State of the ice in different years - as found by various expeditions.—8. Probability that the most - northerly regions do not differ from those already discovered.—9. - Improbability that the Pole can be reached by a ship.—10. The - English expedition to penetrate Smith’s Sound. - - CHAPTER V. - - THE FUTURE OF THE POLAR QUESTION _page_ 32-36 - - 1. Material advantage from Arctic voyages.—2. The commercial - value of the North-West and North-East Passages no longer thought - of.—3. The Polar question a problem of science.—4. The increase - of the safety and convenience with which the ice-navigation is - now performed.—5. The means of conducting Polar expeditions - perfected.—6. Sledge expeditions afford the chief hope of - success.—7. Not much more to be expected from ships.—8. The route - by Smith’s Sound recommended.—9. The English expedition.—10. - Lieutenant Weyprecht’s plan for united scientific investigation. - - CHAPTER VI. - - POLAR EQUIPMENTS _page_ 37-46 - - 1. Past experience to be consulted.—2. The commander.—3. - Selection of the crew.—4. Discipline and pay.—5. The best men to - be obtained.—6. Special qualifications.—7. The medical man.—8. An - artist or photographer desirable.—9. Old ideas of equipment.—10. - The greatest possible comfort necessary.—11. A table of the - sizes of the vessels in various expeditions.—12. The best kind - of ships.—13. The allowance of food.—14. Spirituous liquors.—15. - The ship becomes a house in the winter.—16. The quarters of - the men.—17. Lamps and candles.—18. Clothing of the crew.—19. - Instruments and ammunition.—20. The cost of different expeditions. - - _THE PIONEER VOYAGE OF THE ISBJÖRN_ _page_ 49-69 - - 1. A pioneer expedition resolved on.—2, 3. Route to the east - of Spitzbergen.—4. The _Isbjörn_ chartered for the service.—5. - Attempts to gain information on the probable state of the ice.—6. - An unfavourable ice-year predicted.—7. The expedition leaves - Tromsoe.—8. The coast of Norway described.—9. The _Isbjörn_ in - the ice.—10. Seeking a harbour.—11. Cape Look-out.—12. Two ships - met with.—13. In the ice.—14. The return to the ice-barrier.—15. - The geological formation of the western coast.—16. Arrive at Hope - Island.—17. Ice disappeared.—18. Whales abound.—19. Splendid - effects of colour.—20. In a sea.—21. A run along the west coast - of Novaya Zemlya.—22. Storms compel us to keep to sea.—23. Object - of the voyage.—24. The Austro-Hungarian Expedition of 1872.-25. - The plan of the Austro-Hungarian Expedition. - - _VOYAGE OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.”_ - - CHAPTER I. - - FROM BREMERHAVEN TO TROMSOE _page_ 73-77 - - 1. The qualities requisite for a Polar navigator.—2. The crew of - the _Tegetthoff_—3. The _Tegetthoff_ lifts her anchor.—4. The - vessel.—5. Crossing the sea.—6. The languages spoken on board the - _Tegetthoff_.—7. The officers and crew of the _Tegetthoff_.—8. - Arrive at Tromsoe.—9. The first and last voyage of the - _Tegetthoff_ begins. - - CHAPTER II. - - ON THE FROZEN OCEAN _page_ 78-92 - - 1. Within the frozen ocean.—2. The sea of Novaya Zemlya.—3. We - continue our course by steam.—4. The decay of ice.—5. Effects - of light.—6. We meet the _Isbjörn_.—8-10. The Barentz Islands - described by Professor Höfer.—11. Preparations for future - contests with the ice.—12. Inclosed in the land-ice.—13. We - celebrate the birthday of Francis Joseph I.—14. Our prospects do - not improve.—15. The _Tegetthoff_ finally beset. - - CHAPTER III. - - DRIFTING IN THE NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEAS _page_ 93-100 - - 1. Winter begins.—2. The impossibility of reaching the coast of - Siberia.—3. Unsuccessful efforts to get free.—4. The name-day of - the Emperor Francis Joseph I.—5. Encounters with polar bears.—6. - A “snow-finch” visits the ship.—7. Novaya Zemlya recedes - gradually from our gaze. - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” FAST BESET IN THE ICE _page_ 101-113 - - 1. Signs indicate the insecurity of our position.—2. A dreadful - Sunday.—3. We make ready to abandon the ship.—4. The dogs.—5. - We return to the ship.—6. We drift in the Frozen Sea.—7. Our - alarms.—8. Our constant state of readiness to meet destruction. - - CHAPTER V. - - OUR FIRST WINTER (1872) IN THE ICE _page_ 114-125 - - 1. Surrounded by deep twilight.—2. Our preparations for - winter.—3. The difficulty of sledge-travelling.—4. Sumbu mistaken - for a fox—5. The rending of the ice.—6. Our short expeditions.—7. - The continual threatening of the ice.—8. A bear shot.—9. The - effect of the long Polar night.—10. The middle of the long - night.—11. Christmas feasts.—12. The first hour of the new - year.—13. The dogs allowed in the cabin.—14. Carlsen writes in - the log-book. - - CHAPTER VI. - - LIFE ON BOARD THE “TEGETTHOFF” _page_ 126-138 - - 1. The _Tegetthoff_ covered with snow.—2. The excessive - condensation of moisture.—3. The destruction of the snow wall.—4. - The removal of the tent roof.—5. The stove of Meidingen of - Carlsruhe.—6. The arrangements of the officers’ mess-room.—7. - Those who occupied the mess-room.—8. Our meals.—9. Divine service - on deck.—10. After dinner.—11. The monotony of our life.—12. - After supper.—13. Middendorf contrasting the influence of climate - on men.—14. Our sanitary condition.—15. Baths.—16. Passages from - my journal.—17. A school instituted. - - CHAPTER VII. - - ICE-PRESSURES _page_ 139-142 - - 1. Preparations for leaving the ship.—2. Extracts from journal. - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE WANE OF THE LONG POLAR NIGHT _page_ 143-148 - - 1. The light increases.—2. A bear hunt.—3. Table of the course of - the _Tegetthoff_.—4. Throw out bottles inclosing an account of - the events of the expedition. - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE RETURN OF LIGHT.—THE SPRING OF 1873 _page_ 149-161 - - 1. The sunrise.—2. Our first look at each other.—3. Visits - from bears.—4. The carnival.—5. Continual fall of snow.—6. - Return of birds.—7. Ill health of Dr. Kepes.—8. Bear shot.—9. - A road constructed.—10. Reading without artificial light.—11. - Accumulation of rubbish round the ship.—12. Begin to dig out the - ship.—13. Surprised by bears.—14. Our hopes to reach Siberia.—15. - Snow continues to fall.—16. Visited by birds.—17. The steam - machinery put in working order.—18. A partial eclipse of the - sun.—19. Birth of four Newfoundland puppies. - - CHAPTER X. - - THE SUMMER OF 1873 _page_ 162-172 - - 1. Decay of the walls of the ice.—2. The blaze of light on clear - days.—3. Our constant digging.—4. Continual sinking of the - ship.—5. Nothing but ice.—6. Short expeditions.—7. Feast on the - birthday of the Emperor.—8. Table showing our change of place.—9. - Some paragraphs from the Admiral’s report of the _Tegetthoff_—10. - Sounding the depth of the sea. - - CHAPTER XI. - - NEW LANDS _page_ 173-177 - - 1. Seal-hunting.—2. Sunset at midnight.—3. The second summer - gone.—4. Land at last.—5. Kaiser Franz-Josef’s Land.—6. - Hochstetter Island. - - CHAPTER XII. - - THE AUTUMN OF 1873.—THE STRANGE LAND VISITED _page_ 178-184 - - 1. Autumn of 1873.—2. Resolve to abandon the vessel.—3. Daylight - begins to fail.—4. Everything in readiness to leave the ship.—5. - Wilczek Island.—6. Our joy at reaching land.—7. Exploring the - island.—8. An expedition.—9. The silence of Arctic Regions.—10. - The island continues a mystery. - - CHAPTER XIII. - - OUR SECOND WINTER IN THE ICE _page_ 185-198 - - 1. Night begins to reign.—2. Leisure for study.—3. Complete - darkness.—4. Continual fall of snow.—5. The middle of the second - Polar night.—6. Ill temper of the dogs.—7. The dogs.—8. Pekel, - Sumbu, and Jubinal.—9. Christmas time.—10. Our life in the - ship.—11. Improvement in health.—12. Scurvy. - - CHAPTER XIV. - - SUNRISE OF 1874 _page_ 199-201 - - 1. Return of the moon.—2. Sun appears above the horizon.—3. - Lieutenant Weyprecht and I resolve to abandon the ship after the - sledge journeys. - - CHAPTER XV. - - THE AURORA _page_ 202-210 - - 1. The northern lights.—2-4. The appearance of the aurora.—5. The - influence on the magnetic needle.—6. Description of the aurora by - Lieutenant Weyprecht. - - _THE SLEDGE JOURNEYS._ - - CHAPTER I. - - THE EXPLORATION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND RESOLVED ON _page_ 213-215 - - 1. Necessity of exploration.—2. Plan of the sledge journeys.—3. - Eagerness to begin.—4. Illness of Krisch. - - CHAPTER II. - - OF SLEDGE TRAVELLING IN GENERAL _page_ 216-221 - - 1. The sledge the best means of exploration.—2. The coast line - to be followed.—3. Best season for sledging.—4. State of the - snow-road.—5. The formation of depôts.—6. Sledges dragged by men - and dogs—7. Sledging best performed by dogs.—8. The instruments - required on a sledge journey. - - CHAPTER III. - - THE EQUIPMENT OF A SLEDGE EXPEDITION _page_ 222-234 - - 1. The equipment of a sledge.—2. Construction of our sledges.—3. - The cooking apparatus.—4. Fuel.—5. Tents used at night.—6. - The sleeping bag.—7. Arms and ammunition.—8. Chest for - instruments, &c.—9, 10, 11. The provisions.—12. Boats in sledge - expeditions.—13. Articles of clothing.—14. Furs.—15. Covering for - the feet.—16. Drawing the sledge. - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY _page_ 235-245 - - 1. Qualities of a leader.—2. Object of our first expedition.—3. - My party.—4. We begin our journey.—5. Violent motion of the - ice.—6. Conduct of the dogs.—7. Death of the bear.—8. The driving - snow.—9. Reach the plateau of Cape Tegetthoff.—10. Ascending - the plateau.—11. Night in the sleeping bag.—12. Difficulty of - dragging the sledge.—13. Ascend a mountain, Cape Littrow. - - CHAPTER V. - - THE COLD _page_ 246-257 - - 1. The Sonklar glacier.—2. Effect of cold.—3. The frightful - cold of North America.—4. Effect of low temperature on the - human frame.—5. The voice in cold weather.—6. Hardness of - everything.—7. Effect of cold on the senses.—8. Protection - against cold.—9. Danger of frost-bite.—10. Thirst.—11. A block of - snow.—12. Return to the ship.—13. Death of Krisch. - - CHAPTER VI. - - A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND _page_ 258-270 - - 1. Size of the country.—2. Surface of ice.—3. Map of the - country.—4. Naming of discoveries.—5. Comparison of Arctic - lands.—6. The existence of volcanic formations.—7, 8. Geology - of Franz-Josef Land.—9. Glaciers of Spitzbergen.—10. Ice of - Franz-Josef Land.—11. Temperature of the air.—12. The plasticity - of the glaciers.—13. North-east of Greenland and Siberia.—14. - The vegetation.—15. Finding drift-wood.—16. Impossibility of - inhabiting Franz-Josef Land.—17. The absence of animal life.—18. - Seals abound.—19. Species of fish seen.—20. Birds.—21. The - collection of Dr. Kepes. - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE SECOND SLEDGE EXPEDITION.—AUSTRIA SOUND _page_ 271-294 - - 1. Plan of second expedition.—2. Danger of leaving the ship.—3. - Visited by bears.—4. Our preparations finished.—5. The sledge - party.—6. Our march.—7. Torossy wounded by a bear.—8. Danger of - frost-bite.—9. Arrive at Cape Frankfurt.—10. The configuration - of the country.—11. We penetrate to Cape Hansa.—12. A bear - killed.—13. I examine the beach.—14. Loss of the dog Sumbu.—15. - Easter Sunday.—16. Approach of a bear.—17. Our canvas boots worn - out.—18. We reach Becker Island.—19. We lose a bear.—20. Direct - our course towards Cape Rath.—21. A bear shot.—22. Difficulty of - advancing.—23. We arrive at Cape Schrötter. - - CHAPTER VIII. - - IN THE EXTREME NORTH _page_ 295-313 - - 1. We ascend the summit of the Dolerite Rock.—2. Our expedition - to the extreme north.—3. We divide the provisions.—4. The merits - of our dogs.—5. Klotz has to return.—6. Zaninovich and the - sledge fall into a crevasse.—7. Reach Cape Habermann.—8. Cape - Brorock.—9. The enormous flocks of birds.—10. Difficulty of - travelling.—11. Cape Säulen.—12. Reach Cape Germania.—13. Cape - Fligely.—14. We plant the Austro-Hungarian flag.—15. Document - inclosed in a bottle. - - CHAPTER IX. - - THE RETURN TO THE SHIP _page_ 314-335 - - 1. Our return journey.—2. Observations of temperature.—3. - Snow-blindness.—4. A bear shot.—5. Reach Cape Hellwald.—6. - Orel continues to march southwards.—7. Reach Cape Tyrol.—8. - Grandeur of the scenery.—9. Find our companions.—10. We sink - in the snow.—11. Arrive at open sea.—12. Over the glaciers of - Wilczek Land.—13. Enveloped in whirling snow.—14. Digging out - our depôt.—15. The difficulty of advancing.—16. Reach Schönau - Island.—17. I find the ship.—18. The ship in our absence. - - CHAPTER X. - - THE THIRD SLEDGE JOURNEY _page_ 336-340 - - 1. Our wish to explore Franz-Josef Land.—2. We leave the - ship.—3. The dogs and the bears.—4. A bear killed.—5. Ascent of - the pyramid-like Cape Brünn.—6. The extreme difficulty of the - ascent.—7. Return to the ship. - - _THE “TEGETTHOFF” ABANDONED.—RETURN TO EUROPE._ - - CHAPTER I. - - LAST DAYS ON THE “TEGETTHOFF” _page_ 343-347 - - 1. “Plundering the ship.”—2. Appearance of the ship.—3. Short - expeditions.—4. Rapid decrease of the cold.—5. The boats and - their contents.—6. The dogs, Gillis and Semlja, shot.—7. Our - stock of clothes.—8. Our plan of escape. - - CHAPTER II. - - ON THE FROZEN SEA _page_ 348-376 - - 1. The day for abandoning the ship comes.—2. We start.—3. The - dogs.—4. We return to the ship to replenish the stores.—5. - Shooting bears.—6. Reach Lamont Island.—7. Return to the ship - for the jolly boat.—8. Impatience to launch our boats.—9. Launch - at last.—10. Shoot a seal.—11. Quotations from the journal.—12. - Crossing fissures.—13. Disheartening efforts.—14. From one floe - to another.—15. Carlsen.—16. Life in the boats.—17. Our dreadful - situation.—18. Our rations diminished.—19. Forcing our way.—20. - Pushing floes asunder.—21. No advance, but great efforts.—22. - Delight caused by an advance of four miles a day.—23. Secure - a bear.—24. Our progress greatly increases.—25. Ice-hummocks - everywhere.—26. Alternate launching and drawing up the boats.—27. - Increased progress.—28. The swell of the ocean.—29. Shut in once - more.—30. Contrivances to pass away the time.—31. Calking the - boats.—32. We reach the open sea.—33. Farewell to the Frozen - Ocean. - - CHAPTER III. - - ON THE OPEN SEA _page_ 377-389 - - 1. Sight of the open sea.—2. Compelled to kill the dogs.—3. We - take a last look at the ice.—4. Fifty miles from land.—5. We - sight Novaya Zemlya.—6. We hold on our course.—7. Vain attempt to - land on Novaya Zemlya.—8. Difference in the climate in various - years.—9. Land in Gwosdarew Bay.—10. Step on land once more.—11. - Coast of Novaya Zemlya.—12. Look in vain for a sail.—13. Our - provisions nearly exhausted.—14. We divide the remnant of - food.—15. Deliverance at last.—16. The schooner _Nikolai_.—17. - Our reception on board.—18. We hear the news from Europe.—19. - Captain Voronin agrees to take us to Norway.—20. The crew of the - _Nikolai_.—21. We run along the coast of Lapland.—22. Landing at - Vardö.—23. Reception. - - APPENDIX. - - I. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS _page_ 391-393 - - II. DIRECTION AND FORCE OF THE WIND _page_ 394 - - INDEX _page_ 395 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - TWILIGHT AT MIDDAY—FEBRUARY, 1874 _Frontispiece_ - - THE FIRST ICE 53 - - STILL LIFE IN THE FROZEN OCEAN 79 - - GWOSDAREW INLET 84 - - FORMATION OF THE DEPÔT AT “THE THREE COFFINS” 89 - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” AND “ISBJÖRN” SEPARATE 90 - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” FINALLY BESET 91 - - ATTEMPTS TO GET FREE IN SEPTEMBER 94 - - SEAL-HUNTING—SEPTEMBER 1872 96 - - SHOOTING AT A TARGET, OCTOBER 1872 97 - - PARHELIA ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA 99 - - AN OCTOBER NIGHT IN THE ICE 105 - - THE MOON WITH ITS HALO 109 - - OUR COAL-HOUSE ON THE FLOE 111 - - THE TWILIGHT IN NOVEMBER 1872 115 - - SUMBU CHASED FOR A FOX 116 - - WANDERINGS ON THE ICE IN OUR FIRST WINTER 117 - - ENCOUNTER WITH A POLAR BEAR 120 - - ICE-HOLE COVERED WITH YOUNG ICE 121 - - CARLSEN MAKES THE ENTRY IN THE LOG 124 - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” IN THE FULL MOON 127 - - DIVINE SERVICE ON DECK 131 - - ICE-PRESSURE IN THE POLAR NIGHT 140 - - FRUITLESS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE MATOSCHKIN 145 - - SUNRISE (1873) 150 - - THE CARNIVAL ON THE ICE 152 - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” DRIFTING IN PACK-ICE—MARCH 1873 155 - - SOUNDING IN THE FROZEN OCEAN 171 - - APPROACHING THE LAND BY MOONLIGHT 183 - - DEPARTURE OF THE SUN IN THE SECOND WINTER 187 - - NOON ON DECEMBER 21, 1873 189 - - PEKEL, SUMBU, AND JUBINAL 193 - - IN THE MESS-ROOM 196 - - THE AURORA DURING THE ICE-PRESSURE 204 - - KRISCH, THE ENGINEER 215 - - TEAM OF SEVEN MEN AND THREE DOGS 224 - - THE COOKING APPARATUS 224 - - THE SLEDGE WITH ITS LOAD 229 - - THE DRESS OF THE ARCTIC SLEDGER 231 - - TOROSSY IN HARNESS 234 - - CAPE TEGETTHOFF 242 - - MELTING SNOW DURING A HALT NEAR CAPE BERGHAUS 244 - - ON THE SONKLAR-GLACIER 247 - - BLOCK OF SNOW 254 - - THE BURIAL OF KRISCH 256 - - LIPARIS GELATINOSUS 266 - - HIPPOLYTE PAYERI 268 - - HYALONEMA LONGISSIMUM 268 - - UMBELLULA 269 - - KORETHRASTES HISPIDUS 270 - - NEPHTHYS LONGISETOSA 270 - - THE DOGS DIFFER AS TO THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG BEARS 273 - - THE WINTER HOLE OF A BEAR 277 - - LIFE IN THE TENT 279 - - CAPE FRANKFURT, AUSTRIA SOUND, AND THE WÜLLERSDORF MOUNTAINS 280 - - HOW SUMBU WAS LOST 284 - - CAPE EASTER AND STERNEK SOUND 285 - - HOW WE RECEIVED BEARS. CAPE TYROL IN THE BACKGROUND 286 - - DINING ON BEARS’ FLESH 287 - - CUTTING UP THE BEARS 292 - - ICEBERGS AT THE BASE OF THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER 298 - - THE SLEDGE FALLS INTO A CREVASSE ON THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER 300 - - KLOTZ’S AMAZEMENT 302 - - THE ALARM OF THE HOHENLOHE PARTY 303 - - HALT UNDER CROWN-PRINCE RUDOLF’S LAND 305 - - CAPE AUK 307 - - CAPE SÄULEN 309 - - THE AUSTRIAN FLAG PLANTED AT CAPE FLIGELY 311 - - MELTING SNOW ON CAPE GERMANIA 315 - - ENCAMPING ON ONE OF THE COBURG ISLANDS 318 - - THE VIEW FROM CAPE TYROL. COLLINSON FIORD—WIENER NEUSTADT ISLAND 321 - - BREAKING IN 323 - - ARRIVAL BEFORE THE OPEN SEA 325 - - DRAGGING THE SLEDGE UNDER THE GLACIERS OF WILCZEK LAND 326 - - THE SLEDGE IN A SNOW-STORM 328 - - DIGGING OUT THE DEPÔT 329 - - THE MIDNIGHT SUN BETWEEN CAPE BERGHAUS AND KOLDEWEY ISLAND 331 - - THE “TEGETTHOFF” DESCRIED 332 - - KLOTZ 333 - - MARKHAM SOUND, RICHTHOFEN PEAK FROM CAPE BRÜNN 338 - - FIRST ABANDONMENT OF THE “TEGETTHOFF” 348 - - IN THE HARBOUR OF AULIS 352 - - WE LAUNCH AT LAST 355 - - MARCHING THROUGH ICE-HUMMOCKS 357 - - HALT AT NOON 358 - - CROSSING A FISSURE 359 - - CARLSEN 361 - - SCENE ON THE ICE 366 - - BEARS IN THE WATER 371 - - CALKING THE BOATS 374 - - FAREWELL TO THE FROZEN OCEAN 375 - - LANDING ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA 380 - - THE BAY OF DUNES. THE RUSSIAN SCHOONERS 385 - - - - -[Illustration: MAP of the NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEA for the Austro-Hungarian -Expeditions.] - - - - -AUSTRIAN ARCTIC VOYAGES. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE FROZEN OCEAN. - - -1. The ice-sheet spread over the Arctic region is the effect and sign of -the low temperature which prevails within it. During nine or ten months -of the year this congealing force continues to act, and if the frozen -mass were not broken up by the effects of sun and wind, of rain, waves, -and currents, and by the rents produced in it from the sudden increase of -cold, the result would necessarily be an absolutely impenetrable covering -of ice. The parts of this enormous envelope of ice sundered by these -various causes now become capable of movement, and are widely dispersed -in the form of ice-fields and floes. - -2. The water-ways which separate these parts are called “leads,” or, when -their extent is considerable, “ice-holes.” The meshes of this vast net, -which is constantly in motion, open and close under the action of winds -and currents in summer; and it is only in its southern parts that the -action of waves, rain, and thaw produces any considerable detachments. -Towards the end of autumn, the ice, forming anew, consolidates the -interior portions, while its outer edge pushes forward, like the end -of a glacier, into lower regions, until about the end of February the -culminating point of congelation is attained. Motionless adhesion of the -fields, which naturally reach their greatest size in winter, does not, -however, exist even then; for during this period they are incessantly -exposed to displacement and pressure from the currents of the sea and the -air. - -3. When the ice is more or less closed, so as to render navigation -impossible, it is called “pack-ice,” and “drift-ice” when it appears -in detached pieces amid predominating water. Since there are forces -operating which promote the loosening process at its outer edge, and its -consolidation within, it is self-evident, that the interior portions -tend to the character of “pack-ice,” and its outer margin to that of -“drift-ice.” This general rule, however, is so modified in many places, -by local causes, currents, and winds, that we find not unfrequently at -the outer margin of the ice thick barriers of pack-ice, and in the inner -ice, ice-holes (polynia[1]) and drift-ice. - -4. Ice navigation, during its course of three hundred years, has created -a number of terms to designate the external forms of ice, the meaning -of which must be clearly defined. Ice formed from salt-water is called -“field-ice;” that from the waters of rivers and lakes “sweet-water ice.” -The latter is as hard as iron, and so transparent that it is scarcely -to be distinguished from water. Icebergs are masses detached from -glaciers. The words “patch,” “floe,” “field,” express relative magnitude, -descriptive of the smallest ice-table up to the ice-field of many miles -in diameter. The term “floe,” however, is generally applied to every -kind of field-ice, without reference to its size. The ice which lies -along coasts, or which adheres to a group of islands within a sound, -is called “land-ice.” Sledge expeditions depend on its existence and -character. Along the coast-edge land-ice is broken by the waves and tide, -and the forms of its upheaval and deposition on the shore constitute the -so-called “ice-foot.” Broken ice, or “brash,” is an accumulation of the -smaller fragments of ice which are found only on the extreme edge of the -ice-belt. “Bay-ice” is ice of recent formation, and its vertical depth is -inconsiderable. - -5. Land-ice is less exposed to powerful disturbances, and its surface, -therefore, is comparatively level, and is only here and there traversed -by small hillocks called “hummocks” or “torrosy.” These are the results -of former pressures, and they are gradually reduced to the common level -by evaporation, by thawing, and by the snow drifting over them. - -6. But ice-floes exposed to constant motion from winds and currents, and -to reciprocal pressure, have a more or less undulating character. On -these are found piles of ice heaped one upon another, rising to a height -of twenty or even fifty feet, alternating with depressions, which collect -the thawed water in clear ice-lakes during the few weeks of summer in -which the temperature rises above the freezing point. The specific -gravity of this water, where it does not communicate with the sea by -cracks, is in all cases the same with the specific gravity of pure sweet -water; and as the salt is gradually eliminated from the ice, the water -produced is perfectly drinkable. In the East Greenland Sea ice-floes -frequently measure more than twelve nautical miles across—these are -ice-fields properly so called.[2] In the Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya -Seas, they are much smaller, as Parry also found. - -7. The thickness which ice acquires in the course of a winter, when -its formation is not disturbed, is about eight feet. In the Gulf of -Boothia, Sir John Ross found the greatest thickness about the end of -May; it was then ten feet on the sea and eleven feet on the lakes. In -his winter harbour in Melville Island, Parry met with ice seven or -seven-and-a-half feet thick; and Wrangel gives the thickness of a floe -on the Siberian coast, which had been formed in the course of a winter, -at nine-and-a-half feet. According to the observations of Hayes the ice -measured nine feet two inches in thickness in Port Foulke. He estimates -it, however, by implication, far higher in Smith’s Sound: “I have never -seen,” he says, “an ice-table formed by direct freezing which exceeded -the depth of eighteen feet.” - -8. The rate at which ice is formed decreases as the thickness of the -floe increases, and it ceases to be formed as soon as the floe becomes -a non-conductor of the temperature of the air by the increase of its -mass, or when the driving of the ice-tables one over the other, or the -enormous and constantly accumulating covering of snow, places limits to -the penetration of the cold. - -9. While therefore the thickness which ice in free formation attains is -comparatively small, fields of ice from thirty to forty feet high are -met with in the Arctic Seas; but these are the result of the forcing of -ice-tables one over the other by pressure, and are designated by the name -of “old ice,” which differs from young ice by its greater density, and -has a still greater affinity with the ice of the glacier when it exhibits -coloured veins. - -10. When the cold is excessive a sheet of ice several inches thick is -formed on open water in a few hours; this, however, is not pure ice, but -contains a considerable amount of sea-salt not yet eliminated; complete -elimination of the saline matter takes place only after continuous -additions of ice to its under surface. A newly-formed sheet of ice is -flexible like leather, and as it becomes harder by the continued cold, -its saline contents come to the surface in a white frosty efflorescence. - -11. Hayes mentions that he met with fields of ice from twenty to a -hundred feet thick in Smith’s Sound. But if it is difficult in many cases -to distinguish glacier-ice, when found in small fragments, from detached -portions of field-ice, it is often still more difficult to distinguish -between old and new ice, and the attempt to do so is merely arbitrary, -because their masses depend not on their age alone, but on other -processes to which they are exposed. A floe of normal thickness is never -more than two or three years old; and if it is to exist and preserve its -size for a longer period, it must somewhere attach itself to land-ice, -so as to escape destruction from mechanical causes, and dissolution from -drifting southwards. Many floes run their course from freezing to melting -within a year. - -12. The perpetual unrest in the Arctic Sea, which continues undiminished -even in the severest winter, and the incessant change in the “leads” and -“ice-holes,” are the main causes of the increase of the ice, both in its -area and in its vertical depth. Were this constant movement to cease, the -result would be the formation of a sheet of ice of the uniform thickness -of about eight feet over the whole Polar region. - -13. A layer of snow, which, like the ice itself, is at a minimum in -autumn, covers the whole surface of all the ice-fields. This snow, -which in winter is sometimes as hard as a rock, sometimes as fine as -dust, takes, towards the end of summer, more and more the character of -the glacier snow of our lofty Alpine ranges. Its grains, in a humid -state, exceed the size of beans, and when in motion they make a rustling -noise like sand. This granular snow is the residuum of the incomplete -evaporation of what fell in the winter, and of the surface of the ice -which has become “rotten” and porous. Its crystals are frequently from -a third to a sixth of an inch in length, and firm ice is found even in -autumn only at the depth of one or two feet. In the North of Spitzbergen, -Parry observed that the surface of the ice was frequently cut up into -ice-needles of more than a foot long by the drops of rain, which in -summer fall upon it, and in some places he found it overspread with red -snow. We ourselves never saw the phenomenon observed by Parry, and the -ice-crystals we met with seldom exceeded the length given above. - -14. Field-ice is of a delicate azure-blue colour, and of great density, -and there is, in these respects, no difference between that of the -Arctic and Antarctic regions. Cook, indeed, calls the South Polar ice -colourless, though Sir James Clark Ross speaks expressly of the blueness -of its ice-masses. Sea-ice surpasses the ice of the Alps both in the -beauty of its colour and in its density. The glorious blue of the -fissures is due to the incidence of light, the blue rays of which only -are reflected, while the other rays are absorbed. A spectrum observation -made in 1869 on a Greenland ice-field gave brownish red, yellow, green -and blue. The yellowish spots observed in ice are due to the presence of -innumerable microscopic animalculæ. - -15. Sea-ice, which, when the cold is intense, is hard and brittle, -loses this quality with the increase of temperature till it acquires -an incredible toughness, far exceeding that of glaciers; and floes -several feet thick bend under mutual pressure before they split. Hence -the fruitlessness, especially in summer, of all attempts to loosen the -connexion of its parts by blasting with gunpowder. - -16. The specific gravity of sea-ice is 0.91, and accordingly about nine -parts of a cubical block of ice are under water, while one part only -rises above the surface. If, however, the ice of a floe be irregularly -formed and full of bubbles, the specific gravity will be correspondingly -reduced, and the volume submerged may diminish to two-thirds of the whole -mass. - -17. The irregularity of the forms of ice is so great, that no deduction -can safely be drawn from them; cases may occur where a recently-formed -ice-floe, which has been attached to old ice, is forced by its neighbour -to sink under the normal level; hence the submergence of floes beneath -the level of the sea is often overstated. - -18. The temperature of the Arctic Sea at the surface is generally below -the freezing point, and then increases slightly with the depth. Sir -James Ross observed that the temperature in all oceans does not alter at -great depths, and placed this constant temperature at 39° F. In summer -the temperature of the atmosphere rises little above freezing point, -and, according to Sir James Ross, it is still less at the South Pole, -because he saw no thaw-water streaming down from the icebergs there as -he did in the North. It was first observed in Forster’s days, that is -about a century ago, that the salt was gradually eliminated from frozen -sea-water. Of this fact Cook knew nothing; and even Sir James Ross -endorses Davis’s remark that “the deep sea freezes not.” But the fact -that ice is formed on the open sea, and far from the vicinity of land, -was first asserted by Scoresby, and has been confirmed by all subsequent -observers, though it was long disputed. - -19. The crackling sound so commonly heard along the outer edge of the ice -exposed to the action of the waves, is a consequence of the penetration -of its pores by the sea-water, which is then immediately frozen, and -disruption follows at once. But disruption on a far grander scale is -due to a cause the very opposite of this, the sudden contraction and -splitting of the ice, even in the great ice-fields, which is produced -usually in winter by the sudden fall of the temperature. - -20. When light falls on a field of pack-ice, it is reflected in the -stratum of air above it, and this span of light, called the “ice-blink,” -just above the horizon, warns the navigator of the impossibility of -penetrating further. This phenomenon is often observed also over -drift-ice, although not so intense nor so yellow in colour as over -pack-ice. - -21. Water spaces, on the other hand, show their presence by dark spots on -the horizon, produced by the formation of clouds from ascending mists. -These are the so-called “water-sky,” and faithfully indicate the “leads” -beneath them. Above the larger “ice-holes,” they assume the dark colours -of a thunder-sky, though they are never so strongly defined. - -22. The annual evaporation from the surface of the ice, which even in -winter is never entirely interrupted during the severest frost, and the -destruction of ice by the action of rain and waves, are balanced, to -speak generally, by its re-formation by frost. The maximum accumulation -of ice takes place in spring, its minimum in the beginning of autumn. -We observed in the autumn of 1873 not only the evaporation of the snow -of the preceding winter, but also a vertical decrease of ice of about -four feet. Evaporation is, therefore, the most potent regulator of the -balance between waste and growth in the accumulation of ice; and next in -importance is the drifting of its masses towards the south through all -those openings by which the Polar waters mingle with the waters of lower -latitudes. - -23. However great the agitation of the sea may be in the open ocean, -and though it may dash its waves with wild fury on the edge of the -ice, within the icy girdle it is undisturbed, in consequence of the -enormous weight of the superincumbent masses. It is only in the large -“ice-holes,” and when the winds are very high, that the action of -waves is discernible. An isolated accumulation of floes in a circular -form, suffices to produce a calm interior sea, and its outer edge only -encounters the beat of the ocean. - -24. The ceaseless attack to which the ice is exposed on its outer edge -is the cause of its excavation and undermining. Hence its centre of -gravity is constantly displaced; and the overturning of its masses and -its strange transformations are the consequences of this instability. -The smaller the masses of the ice, the more fantastic are the shapes they -assume. - -25. Change of colour in the sea as we enter the ice-region is frequently, -though not invariably, observed. Almost immediately on entering the ice, -its normal dull green colour gives place to a deep ultramarine blue, -especially in the East Greenland seas, and this colour is maintained -under all changes of the weather, and is only modified by local currents. -Two hundred and fifty years ago it appeared to Hudson, on the coast of -Spitzbergen, that the sea, whenever it was free from ice, was green, -and that its being covered with ice and its blueness of colour were -intimately connected. Sir James Ross states that in both Polar oceans -the colour of the sea changes in the neighbourhood of ice, and that the -dull brownish colour sometimes seen near pack-ice in the Antarctic Ocean -is owing to an infinite number of animalculæ. The rapid fall of the -temperature of the water to the zero point is another indication that ice -is near. - -26. Of all the ice-formations in the Arctic Seas, icebergs are the -most enormous. “It is well known that ice is not by any means so heavy -as water, but readily floats upon its surface. Consequently whenever -a glacier enters the sea, the dense salt water tends to buoy it up. -But the great tenacity of the frozen mass enables it to resist the -pressure for a time. By and by, however, as the glacier reaches deeper -water, its cohesion is overcome, and large fragments are forced from -its terminal front and floated up from the bed of the sea to sail away -as icebergs.”[3] This process is sometimes called “the calving” of the -glaciers; and the direction of the cleavage is a pre-indication of -the forms of the masses when detached. The characteristic features of -icebergs are their simple outline, differing widely from the fantastic -shapes which the fragments of sea-ice tend to assume; their great height -as compared with their breadth—their greenish-blue colour—their distinct -stratification—their slight transparency—and the roughly-granulated -character of their ice. Icebergs with long, sharp-pointed peaks, like -those exhibited in numerous illustrations, have no real existence. It -is only fragments of field-ice, raised up by pressure, exposed to the -action of waves and the process of evaporation which are transformed -into fantastic shapes. Icebergs are generally of a pyramidal or tabular -shape, and in time they are usually rounded off into irregular cones. -They vary in height from 20 to 300 feet. Sir John Ross (1818) mentions -an iceberg of 51 feet; Baffin (1615) of 240 feet; Parry (1819) of 258 -feet; Kane (1853) of 300 feet; and Hayes (1861) one 315 feet high, -the depth of which below the water-line he estimated at half a mile. -On the coast of East Greenland, Scoresby once counted 500 icebergs, -some of which reached the height of 200 feet; and during the second -German North-Pole expedition, we saw many at the mouth of the Kaiser -Franz-Josef fiord which measured 220 feet in height. In Austria Sound, -and on the east coast of Kron-Prinz Rudolph’s land, their altitude -varied from 80 to 200 feet. From the covering of mist which envelops -them, icebergs generally appear much higher than they really are, and -their depth below the surface is not so considerable as is generally -supposed. In an iceberg 200 feet above the water, a total height of 600 -to 800 feet may, as a mean, be inferred. It is only glaciers of a very -great size which shed icebergs; smaller glaciers, like those of Novaya -Zemlya, only strew the sea with a multitude of fragments which resemble -broken sea-ice. Hence the appearance of icebergs is connected with the -proximity to glacier-covered lands, and with the currents which prevail -along their coasts. Baffin’s Bay, Smith’s Sound, East Greenland, the -South-East of Greenland, Austria Sound, are the principal places where -they collect together and lie like fleets before the entrances of bays -and gulfs. Under-currents of the sea take them not unfrequently in -directions contrary to the drift of the field-ice, which depends only on -upper-currents; and abnormal winds may sometimes carry them out to seas -where they have been seldom or never seen.[4] This appears to be the case -even with those met with on the north-west coast of Novaya Zemlya. On the -other hand, they have never been seen on the coasts of Siberia, which -have no glaciers. - -27. The constant displacement of the centre of gravity of an iceberg, -resulting from the unsymmetrical decrease of its form, causes its -periodical oversetting; and the different temperature of the internal and -external ice is the principal cause of its rending asunder with a noise -like thunder; a process which occurs generally in the height of summer. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -NAVIGATION IN THE FROZEN OCEAN. - - -1. Although it be impossible to give any one, who has not with his own -eyes seen the Arctic Sea, a perfectly clear conception of its character, -the phenomena described in the preceding chapter are sufficient to -indicate the difficulties and dangers to which its navigation is -necessarily exposed. And to these difficulties and dangers, formidable -enough in themselves, are often added the evil influences of preconceived -theories and exaggerated expectations, usually followed by bitter -disillusions. The calm judgment, which, to all the bold plans of -navigation within the Polar basin, opposes distrust in their feasibility, -while it points to the hundred expeditions which have at last returned -home after penetrating but a little way into the frozen sea, is an -attainment of slow growth. Years, too, must be devoted to the theoretical -study of the Polar question, to the examination of all that predecessors -have experienced and recorded. But this study is very important to -Polar navigators; for the discoveries which they too readily regard as -exclusively their own prove sometimes to have been made centuries before -them. - -2. A most essential element of success is the choice of a favourable -ice year; and the commander of an expedition must possess sufficient -self-control to return, as soon as he becomes convinced of the existence -of conditions unfavourable for navigation. It is better to repeat the -same attempt on a second or even a third summer, than with conscious -impotence to fight against the supremacy of the ice. - -3. Polar navigators have learnt in the school of experience to -distinguish between navigation in the frozen seas remote from the -land, and navigation in the so called coast-waters. The former is -far more dangerous, entirely dependent on accident, exposed to grave -catastrophes, and without any definite goal. It affords no certainty -of finding a winter harbour for the long period when cold and darkness -render navigation impossible. On the other hand, a strip of open water, -which retreats before the growth of the land-ice only in winter, forms -itself along coasts, and especially under the lee of those exposed to -marine currents running parallel to them; and this coast-water does not -arise from the thawing of the ice through the greater heat of the land, -but from the land being an immovable barrier against wind, and therefore -against ice-currents. The inconstancy of the wind, however, may baffle -all the calculations of navigation; for coast-water, open as far as the -eye can reach, may be filled with ice in a short time by a change of -the wind. Land-ice often remains on the coasts even during summer, and -in this case there is nothing to be done but to find the open navigable -waters between the extreme edge of the fast-ice and the drift-ice. Should -the drift become pack-ice, the moment must be awaited when winds setting -in from the land carry off the masses of ice blocking the navigation, -and open a passage free from ice, or at least only partially covered -with drift-ice. It is evident that navigation in coast-waters must be -slow and gradual, though it has always been attended with the greatest -advantages. Barentz was the first who tested its value; but it was Parry, -the most distinguished of all Polar navigators, who discovered its full -importance, and from his day it has been accepted as an incontrovertible -canon of ice-navigation. On this point he himself says: “Our experience, -I think, has clearly shown, that the navigation of the Polar Seas can -never be performed with any degree of certainty without a continuity of -land. It was only by watching the openings between the ice and the shore -that our late progress to the westward was effected; and had the land -continued in the desired direction, there can be no question that we -should have continued to advance, however slowly, towards the completion -of our enterprise.”[5] - -4. The successes of the English in the North American Archipelago were -the result of this mode of navigation. Its principle is to search for -and sail along the network of narrow channels when the main passage is -blocked by pack-ice, and to turn to account the narrowest opening between -the ice and the land. In the Siberian coast expeditions also this method -of constantly following the coast-waters has been successfully observed. -Where coast-water does not exist, or only to a limited extent, as on -the East Coast of Greenland, this method is of course impracticable. -The fate of the second German North Pole expedition is an illustration -of this; it was ordered to penetrate in this direction, and its failure -was inevitable. On the other hand, all the unsuccessful attempts -of expeditions to penetrate northward from Spitzbergen—expeditions -whose course and termination resemble each other as one egg resembles -another—may be reckoned among those in seas remote from land. To the -same category belong the expeditions for the discovery of a north-east -passage, and simply because of the great extent of frozen sea between -Novaya Zemlya and Cape Tcheljuskin. - -5. In the frozen sea remote from the land, from 200 to 300, or at the -most 400, nautical miles must, according to all past experience, be -regarded as the greatest distance which a vessel is able to compass, -under the most favourable conditions, during the few weeks of summer -in which navigation is possible. The fact that Sir James Ross at the -South Pole, and Norwegian fishermen in the Sea of Kara, accomplished -still greater distances, only proves that they were little or not at -all impeded by ice. Ross observed that the ice-floes of the Southern -Arctic Seas are smaller than those of the Northern: “The cause of this is -explained by the circumstance of the ice of the southern regions being -so much more exposed to violent agitations of the ocean, whereas the -northern sea is one of comparative tranquillity.”[6] The rarer occurrence -of land at the South Pole permits freer scope to the currents of the sea, -diminishes the opportunity for the growth of ice on the coasts, tends to -widen the passages in the network of water-ways, and thus facilitates -navigation. Even the swell of the sea within the ice is observed in -the South Polar Ocean, while it is never seen in the North. Besides -the greater hindrances peculiar to the whole North Polar Sea, there is -the specially unfavourable circumstance, in the case of the North-East -passage, that the shallowness of the Siberian Sea prevents a close -navigation of its coasts. - -6. The choice of the most appropriate season is another important -consideration in ice-navigation; for this period does not fall at the -same time in all seas, and the disregard of season was a common cause of -the failures of the expeditions of earlier centuries. Since the frozen -sea remains unbroken and almost unaffected by the action of the sun even -in June, and at that time extends far to the south, it is evident that -all attempts to force a passage in that month are labour thrown away. -The ice-barrier retreating northward, or the transformation of pack into -drift-ice, leaves free navigable water four or five weeks later. The -month of August is the best time for ice-navigation in Baffin’s Bay; the -end of July or beginning of August on the East Greenland coasts; the -second half of August and the beginning of September in the Spitzbergen -waters; and in the region of the Parry Islands the favourable opportunity -ends about the beginning of September. In general, it seems that the -time most propitious for all the coast-water routes, begins some weeks -earlier than the corresponding period in the frozen seas remote from -land. But since, even in the first weeks of September, the most promising -conditions are often succeeded by a sudden reaction due to storms, to -cold setting in rapidly, or to excessive falls of snow, navigation in -the land-remote frozen seas, in itself so extremely hazardous, becomes -specially critical, just when the ice-sheet at its minimum appears to -promise the greatest results. - -7. The help of steam power is an indispensable requisite, as by it a -vessel is able to defy the capricious changes of the wind. The movements -of a ship amid the ice are made in interminable curves, and the power -to describe an arc with the least radius enables a vessel to follow -up narrow and often blocked water-ways. As it is incessantly exposed -to severe shocks from the ice, a paddle-wheel steamer is useless; and -even in screw-steamers care must be taken to protect the propeller by a -special construction. - -8. The rate of speed of a vessel in the ice must necessarily be moderate. -From three to six miles an hour are sufficient: and a rate of eight -or ten miles would soon render her not seaworthy. But even with this -reduced rate, her whole frame-work is shaken and loosened at last by the -incessant shocks she sustains; and this condition of the ship becomes -apparent when concussion with the ice is followed not by a noise as of -thunder, but by a low, dull, groaning sound. The larger a vessel, the -less her capacity to withstand these shocks, and the sooner will these -signs of her diminished strength betray themselves. - -9. An Arctic ship should be built with sharp rather than with full lines, -so that when pressed by the ice, she may more easily escape being nipped -and crushed. A ship built with what is called—in England—full lines, a -full, round ship, is not easily raised but is liable to be crushed by -ice-pressure. The _Hansa_ was built in this manner, and was crushed by -the first squeeze from the ice; the _Germania_ and the _Tegetthoff_ were -both of them sharp-built ships, and stood the test of the ice excellently -well. To protect it from the effects of grinding on ragged “ice-tongues,” -the hull is generally iron-plated for some feet under water, and the bows -are strengthened as much as possible, because this part of the ship is -exposed to the greatest shocks. - -10. The tactics of a ship in the ice are guided entirely by the character -of the hindrances to be overcome. If the ice-fields be large and heavy, -they are then generally separated by broader water-ways and “leads,” -and a ship may often amid such ice follow her course for hours with few -deviations subject always to the danger of being “beset” and crushed. -When the passage is blocked by a barrier of ice, the situation becomes -grave and serious; for such fields are not to be displaced by any force -which the ship may exert, and nothing is left to the navigator but to -await their parting asunder in a position as sheltered as possible. -When the ice is loose and the floes comparatively small, the impeding -barriers may be charged by the ship. She may then force asunder some of -these floes or separate them by the continuous pressure of steam-power. -In cases of this kind, large vessels have the advantage, and can bring -to bear a greater amount of pressure, whereas smaller ones stick fast -and remain immovable. These accumulations of ice, while they make a -“besetment” more likely, diminish the danger of pressure. - -11. Hence it is clear that small are to be preferred to large vessels -for ice-navigation, except under circumstances of rare occurrence; -first, because they are more readily handled, and next, because of their -greater power of resistance and of their being more easily raised under -pressure from the ice. Their one disadvantage of lesser momentum is of -comparatively slight consequence. The experience of all the North Pole -expeditions of this century shows, that ships of 150, or at the most of -300 tons, are best suited for all purposes. - -12. Iron ships have often been employed, but with no success; they -are far less able to bear pressure than wooden ships, as was proved, -among other things, by the fate of the _River Tay_ in 1868, in Baffin’s -Bay, and of the _Sophia_, a Swedish ship of discovery in the north of -Spitzbergen. - -13. It admits of no question, that two vessels should be employed in -preference to one, and this should be accepted as a first principle -whenever the means at our disposal admit of it. Both ships should also -be provided with steam-power, for otherwise their separation is almost -inevitable,—a danger, however, for which, under all circumstances, they -must be prepared. - -14. All that is commonly understood about piercing the ice by sawing and -boring through it is a delusion, and arises from the misunderstanding of -technical expressions. Where there is navigable water, there any one can -sail—where there is none, no one. In 1869 and 1870, after coming on a -_cul-de-sac_ of ice in Greenland to the east of Shannon Island, we could -not penetrate a yard further; in 1871, in loose, but solid ice, we drew -away only by warping on the smaller floes, without being able to make -the slightest progress, and in 1872 we were twice “beset,” in heavy ice, -in spite of our steam power. The penetration of close pack-ice is an -impossibility: in this case patient endurance is alone of any avail, and -hence Sir John Ross so emphatically recommends the Polar navigator “never -to lose sight of the two words caution and patience.”[7] If a vessel, -therefore, is arrested by impenetrable masses barring its way, the -breaking up of the ice must be patiently awaited, and this, generally, is -effected by calms, although the ebb and flow of the tide appear to have -an influence on the solidity of the ice. It is then usual with sailing -ships to seek the larger “ice-holes,” or keep in the freest water-ways, -in order to guard against the danger of being completely inclosed. These -precautions, however, are not so requisite for steam-vessels, as their -power to escape quickly and in any direction secures them against this -danger. A steam-vessel may even venture to fasten on to an ice-floe by -means of an ice-anchor, and of course under its lee, the fires being -banked up, so that by getting up steam she may shift her place as soon -as the ice moves nearer. As a principle, and so far as it is possible -without the exhaustion of her powers, a ship in the ice should endeavour -to be in constant motion, even though this entail many changes of her -course and the temporary return to a position which had been abandoned. -The making fast to a floe, however, should never be attempted, except -when every hope of navigating in the surrounding waters has been proved -fruitless. The fastening a vessel to an iceberg diminishes, indeed, its -drifting, but is, if possible, to be avoided, because of the danger of -the iceberg overturning or rending asunder, things which occur far more -frequently than we should be led to expect from their great appearance -of stability. When a ship, notwithstanding every possible caution, is -“beset,” it is then advisable to “ship” the rudder in order to protect -it from injury, to which it is peculiarly liable from its unusual weight -and size. A ship is exposed to considerable danger when she finds herself -among icebergs in a calm; but since these are over-spread by a dazzling -sheen, even in the thickest mist, the peril of the position is to be -avoided at the last moment by warping. - -15. As the happy choice of a sea-way is one of the essential conditions -of success in ice-navigation, the ability to determine the ship’s -position and to ascertain whether a surface covered with ice to the -horizon, admits of being penetrated, is most desirable. Hence the -employment of a balloon would be of the last importance in Arctic -navigation. The advantage of being able to ascend from the ship in a -balloon secured by a rope, to the height of a few hundred feet, is -self-evident; and, undoubtedly, the first vessel which avails herself of -this great resource will derive extraordinary benefit from it. - -16. From the deck of a ship even drift-ice appears to be of such solidity -at a little distance as to defy navigation, while from the mast-head more -water than ice may be descried. In order then to extend the horizon, a -look-out, called “the crow’s nest,” is fixed on the mast-head, in which -an officer is always on the watch, and from which all the operations -of the vessel are directed. In a ship of the size and height of the -_Tegetthoff_ the horizon visible from “the crow’s nest” extends to about -eleven miles,[8] but at the distance of even five miles the possibility -of penetrating cannot be determined with sufficient exactness. It is the -business of the officer in “the crow’s nest” to observe the passages -through the ice and distant objects generally, as he is in the best -position to fulfil this most important duty. It is the special business -of the watch on the forecastle to mark what lies in the immediate -neighbourhood of the vessel, and his constant care is demanded to avoid -isolated ice-floes and prevent collision with them. The seaman at the -helm steers the ship by the signs and calls which come to him from “the -crow’s nest,” and modifies them according to those of the watch on the -forecastle. The rest of the crew remove the smaller fragments of ice from -the vessel’s course, special care being taken to prevent their damaging -the screw. - -17. While sea-currents move the ice in close and continuous lines, winds -produce great disturbances in their movement, and open long “leads” in -the direction of their course, which often alternate with strips of the -thickest pack-ice. This movement of the ice varies with each accumulation -of floes, as its rate of motion depends on the height of the ice-field, -which then acts as a sail. It is ascertained by experience that calms, -on the other hand, have the remarkable property of breaking up the ice. -The knowledge and application of these circumstances are essential to -the Arctic navigator. If the course of a ship lies across or against -a current, it is constantly deflected. The deflection on the coast of -East Greenland, for example, amounted to five, even ten miles, within -twenty-four hours; hence the importance of choosing routes with and not -against the course of currents. - -18. Lastly, it is of the greatest moment to choose betimes an appropriate -winter harbour, and it is therefore necessary to keep near the coast -towards the close of the season for navigation. To find one suitable -for shelter during the winter in an unknown Arctic region is a matter -of great difficulty, for it very often happens, that the ice drifts out -from these “docks”[9] in the storms which constantly occur, or perhaps -the “dock” is so sheltered, that the ice, if it breaks up at all, breaks -up only in the following summer. Shallow bays which freeze almost to the -bottom, lying under the lee of a current or within a fiord, are the most -appropriate spots in which to winter. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE PENETRATION OF THE REGIONS WITHIN THE POLAR CIRCLE; THE PERIOD OF THE -NORTH-WEST AND NORTH-EAST PASSAGES. - - -1. Around the lonely apex of the Pole stand cairns of stone which serve -to mark the points to which the restless spirit of human enterprise -and discovery has penetrated. In its zenith wheels the sea-gull in -its flight, and the harpoon-persecuted seal finds on its ice-floes an -unapproachable asylum; but the Pole itself remains the goal which no -human effort has yet reached. - -2. As all knowledge is perfected slowly and gradually, so man’s knowledge -of the earth and its configuration forms no exception to this general -rule. Of the few attempts of early antiquity to enlarge the domain -of geographical knowledge, tradition tells us only of the Argonautic -expedition of the Greeks, of the voyage of the Phœnicians to Ophir, and -their bolder circumnavigation of Africa. With the conception of the -spherical form of the earth the still vague notion of climatal zones -makes its appearance, and to this, four centuries before Christ, Pytheas -of Marseilles gave the first scientific elucidation and the first -approximation to modern theories by his doctrine of the Polar Circle. -Almost contemporaneously Alexander’s expedition to the wonder-land of -India created a paradise for commerce and navigation, to secure which a -shortened route, _the route through the ice_—the most perverse notion -that ever entered into the mind of man to conceive—was one thousand eight -hundred years afterwards eagerly and passionately sought. - -3. Rome had extended her knowledge to Scandinavia, and Seneca’s -prophetical mind foresaw the discovery of new worlds. But the deluge -of religious strifes, the migrations of nations in the earlier part of -the Middle Ages, the holy zeal for destruction in the apostles to the -heathen, proved formidable barriers to the extension of geographical -knowledge, which were broken through only by the piratical hordes of -Normans so renowned in story. While the Romans boasted that Britain -had never been circumnavigated, the Normans, throwing the deeds of the -Phœnicians into the shade, discovered Greenland, and became _the first -Polar Navigators_. - -4. Travels by land were the principal means by which the geographical -knowledge of the world was enriched; but during the Middle Ages the -information which travellers communicated, uncertain and superficial even -for Europe, served only to supply food for the fancies of map-makers, as -far as the distant parts of the world were concerned. - -5. But the grand moment at length arrived in the history of mankind when -the civilization of the West, looking beyond the narrow horizon of the -Old World, and awaking from the geographical dreams of centuries, burst -the fetters of tradition, and within three hundred years perfected the -knowledge of our planet up to the Pole. - -6. When by his famous line of partition, Pope Alexander VI. granted to -Spain and Portugal the new countries discovered in the East and West, the -brigantines of these nations spread themselves over all seas in search of -new lands and fresh glory. To the other maritime nations, to the English -and the Dutch, nothing remained, if they meant to acquire gold-yielding -lands, but to drive the Spaniards and Portuguese from their conquests, or -to seek new Eldorados—yea, by the discovery of sea routes on the north -of Asia and America, to aspire to India itself. This was the conception -first entertained by both the English and the Dutch, and Geography at -any rate profited by their delusions. These nations were not to blame -if those routes, known afterwards as the _North-West_ and _North-East -passages_, degenerated into chimeras, if passages had to be sought in -higher and still higher latitudes,—ultimately in the ice itself, although -the Dutch geographer, Plancius, struck out the consoling theory of the -_open Polar Sea_. - -7. But who in those days could presuppose that the continents of Asia -and America, just where those passages were attempted, symmetrically -developed the most enormous longitudinal dimensions? Even the actual -discovery of the vast extent of Siberia exerted but little influence -on the question of the North-East passage, for the achievements of -individuals were not then so quickly disseminated as at present. A -succession of men in vessels poorly equipped now struggled against the -supremacy of the ice, avoiding at first the dreaded wintering, while they -attempted sometimes the North-East, sometimes the North-West, sometimes -the passage over the Pole itself. In these attempts many lost their -lives; many returned, despairing of but still hoping for the solution of -the problems—_but no one reached the goal_. - -8. The amazing simplicity of the first adventurers is seen in Frobisher’s -project to erect forts, duly provided with cannons and men, on the -commanding points of the passage, in the letters of recommendation given -by kings of England to the leaders of the expedition for the small -Saracenic states which were supposed to exist beyond the river Obi; but -these old navigators carried no letter of recommendation to the great -potentate—the ice. Gold, too, they hoped to find in the North, because -the book of Job speaks of gold coming from thence, and the North-East -passage was considered as free from danger, because Pliny mentions some -Indians who had been driven towards Norway! - -9. When another century and a half had elapsed, a series of unsuccessful -attempts to force the North-East passage put a decisive check to -material interests in Polar expeditions. The North-East passage belonged -henceforward to the history of the past. The English and Dutch withdrew -from the Novaya Zemlya seas; and after Wood’s retreat no scientific -expedition entered those seas for two hundred years, _until the days of -the Austrian Expeditions_. - -10. Among the maritime nations of Europe, it was England, and especially -her merchants, who had hitherto largely invested in the costs and risks -of these Argonautic expeditions “for the glory of God and the good of -the country.” The Dutch soon contented themselves, after Barentz’s -death, with the capture of whales in the Arctic seas; France remained -an unconcerned spectator, while the sylphs of Versailles consumed the -whalebone of whole fleets of whalers; and Spain and Portugal early -withdrew from seas in which, instead of ingots of gold, ice-floes only -were to be found. But even for England the days of the prophets had now -passed away—the days of a Cabot, a Mercator,[10] a Wolstenholme, and a -Walsingham. Men of weight raised their voices against the chimeras of -Arctic commercial routes, and Chillingworth contemptuously compared an -expedition for the discovery of the North-East passage to the study of -the Fathers. - -11. It may be asked why nations struggled with dauntless ambition for the -lost cause of the barren North-West and North-East passages, while for -a century they stretched forth timid hands after the rich treasures of -lands lying in the more favoured zones? _The mighty stimulus of the love -of the marvellous_ explains this series of efforts taken up by generation -after generation. Frobisher, Davis, Baffin, and the Novaya Zemlya -adventurers, told on their return of gold-lands far within the domains -of the icy Hydra. Their tales of single combats with spear or matchlock -against polar bears, of the dreadful snow-storms and fearful cold of -the Arctic winter, were heard with grim delight by listeners on whom -no hardships were imposed. Or they spoke of a darkness that continued -for months, of the flaming arches of the northern lights, of the sun -remaining visible for many weeks in the heavens, of a race of dwarfs, -of unheard-of animals, of fish as big as ships of war, of monsters with -long teeth which precisely resembled the Sphinxes of the plains of the -Pyramids, of white and blue foxes, of floating mountains of dazzling -crystal, of ships seen upside down in the air—when had ever the mind of -man more food to nourish the love of the marvellous or greater incentives -to stimulate the love of distinction? But besides these appeals to -the imagination, every generation desires new confirmations of its -convictions; and hence geographical questions, after being shelved for a -time, come again to the front as by an inward necessity. - -12. If the earlier Polar expeditions pursued exclusively material ends, -a decided change appears in those of the present century—the Polar world -itself became an object of scientific investigation. With Sir John Ross -(1818) began a series of expeditions, at first subservient to the -idea of a North-West passage, but which ultimately derived all their -importance from their attempt—ineffectual as it proved—to rescue the -lives of 139 men, who had fallen far from the fields and scenes where -earthly fame is commonly achieved. It was these expeditions, still fresh -in the memory of this generation, which, summoning to their aid the -modern power of steam against the ice, succeeded in drawing on our Arctic -maps a circle whose mean distance was 200 (German) miles from the Pole. -Parry on the frozen sea of Spitzbergen had approached it within 100 miles -(German); Kane, Hayes and Hall on the coast of the Kennedy Channel, the -former to within 116, and the two latter to within 108 miles, and the -Austro-Hungarian expedition to within 109 miles. - -13. M’Clintock, who returned with the relics of the Franklin expedition, -succeeded in perfecting a mode of discovery independent of the ship—that -by means of sledging—admirably adapted for future Arctic expeditions. -But the North-West passage for which six generations had toiled, though -discovered, was shown to be utterly worthless for all material purposes—a -dreary web of coast lines. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE INNER POLAR SEA. - - -1. The Arctic Sea, in some of its features, forcibly impresses us with -its resemblance to the glaciers of the Alps. In both cases, the ice -presses from a region, colder and less favoured by climate, towards one -warmer and more favoured. In the Alpine glaciers, the movement is from -above downwards; in the Frozen Ocean, the movement is from a higher to a -lower geographical latitude. In both cases, the tongues and spurs of the -masses of ice formed by the configuration of the land or by currents of -the sea, terminate, whenever they reach an isothermal curve of altitude -or latitude, the mean temperature of which suffices to dissolve them -or prevent their formation. Moraines also have their equivalent in the -Arctic Sea; for it is an established fact that icebergs and ice-fields -laden with the _débris_ and rubbish of Arctic lands, deposit these -burdens round the outer edge of the Frozen Ocean, and to this process, -partially at least, the origin of the Newfoundland Banks is ascribed. -If this comparison between the phenomena of high latitudes and great -altitudes be just, then we should have as much reason to believe in the -existence of the so-called open Polar Sea, as we should have to maintain, -that in our glacier ranges ice ceases to be formed above a certain -altitude. - -2. The belief of past times[11] in such a sea shows how unsatisfactory -is the simple to man’s mind, and how old is his tendency to clothe the -remote and the uncommon with a garment of the marvellous. What was the -open Polar Sea but the “Harz Sea” of the North, or the legendary zone -of the ever-sunny Eden of the Hyperboreans, far beyond the land of the -Anthropophagi over which was spread an atmosphere veiled in snow, and -through which no light could penetrate! Who has ever seen this open Polar -Sea? Do the accounts of navigators confirm its existence? Nay—their -accounts are rather a series of counter-statements: Hudson, Baffin, -Phipps, Tschitschagoff, Buchan, Franklin, Parry, Collinson, Scoresby, -M’Clintock, Koldewey, Torell, Nordenskjöld, have all expressed their -disbelief in its existence. If some have pretended that they have seen -it, how strange it is that they never sailed on it! It has recently -been attempted to make the great champion of the Polar question, Dr. -Petermann, a supporter of this conception; but in the “Mittheilungen” of -this highly meritorious geographer, there are many passages which most -emphatically protest against it. His views extend only to an inner Polar -Sea navigable under certain circumstances, and every one acquainted with -those regions may adopt his point of view, though he refuses to admit the -existence of the open Polar Sea. - -3. In those centuries when the Natural Sciences were little cultivated, -when the theories of the Trade Winds, of Equatorial and Polar -sea-currents, were still unknown, and when as yet the processes in the -Frozen Ocean had not been submitted to scientific investigation, we -cannot be surprised at the preconceptions which were formed concerning -its phenomena. In those times all beyond Norway was a chaos of ice-filled -darkness; the necessity of a scientific investigation of those wastes -was not felt; and down to the time of Sir John Ross, Polar navigators on -their return home brought with them no kind of scientific knowledge of -Nature in the Arctic regions. To reach India was the main if not the only -end they had in view. The instructions which Willoughby, the first Polar -navigator, received, give us an insight into the delusions of earlier -times. These, for example, warned adventurers against men-eaters who -swam naked in the sea, and in the rivers. It was the period of fables -long since forgotten. Maldonado, de Fuca, Bernarda, Yelmer, Andrejew, -Martinière, and the whale-fishers, brought home tales of passages to -India discovered, of new continents, of the ascertained connexion of -Novaya Zemlya with the northernmost point of Siberia (Yelmerland) or -even with Greenland. Two centuries ago the failure of all attempts at a -North-East passage was attributed to Russia’s commercial policy, inasmuch -as it had been proved to the satisfaction of all, that the heat was -greater in the north, that the seas there ceased to freeze, and that the -country was covered with a luxuriant green! - -4. There was, indeed, a certain logical consequence in the belief of an -inner Polar Sea, as long as it was unknown that ice is formed on the -open sea as well as on the coasts. There was also one argument, which -made the existence of such a sea not altogether improbable. It might -be assumed, that the formation of ice renewed every year in the Arctic -regions, would necessarily produce eternal bulwarks of congelation and -destroy all organic life, unless sea-currents modified these extremes of -climate. The ice which is formed round the Pole—it was argued—is not of -an unlimited but of a definite quantity. Since, then, this quantity of -ice must be brought with tolerable uniformity from the innermost Polar -region to lower latitudes by the action of sea-currents, there are at -least one or two months of the summer when the ice is at a minimum, when -no new formation takes place, and when a sea relatively ice-free may -appear in the place of the sea which had been covered with ice. This sea -would be the more open and navigable, just in proportion as less land -might be found at the Pole. But in this assumption it is implied, that -the ice moves with perfect regularity and in radial lines from a given -point without any disturbance from winds, or counter-currents, or land, -consequently with a quiet simplicity of hydrography, for which Nature, -neither there nor elsewhere, shows any predilection. Dove makes the mean -annual temperature of the North Pole, 2·5° F.; but it is probably still -less. What, then, is the probability of an open Polar Sea, if this annual -mean only be considered? All the accounts too of animal life increasing -in exuberance as we advance northwards—from which a more favourable -climate within the innermost Polar region and an open Polar Sea have been -inferred—must be received with caution, for the appearance of numerous -flocks of birds proves only that they remain where open water prevails -for a time and that they change their abode with its change of place. - -5. In more recent times great influence has been attributed to the -Gulf Stream as a power influencing all the seas, known and unknown, of -the whole Arctic region. Dr. Petermann, however, in a lately published -work, endeavours to show that its effects are discernible only on the -northern seas of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya. Its action on the coasts -of Spitzbergen has been indisputably established by the Swedes, who -discovered there certain tropical plants (_Entada gigalobium_); but the -penetration of the warmer waters of this current to the northern coasts -of Novaya Zemlya has not been so positively ascertained. In the Austrian -Expedition of 1873-4, we discovered no proofs of its existence. We found -neither the constant current, nor the water of a higher temperature, -which characterizes that renowned stream. - -6. For a long time the “ice-holes,” seen by Wrangel and Morton, were -regarded as indications of an ice-free Polar Sea. With regard to those -seen by Morton in 81° 22′, Richardson very justly remarks: “The open -water of the Kennedy Channel is not of greater extent in the month of -June than the open spaces which have occasionally been seen in summer on -the north of Spitzbergen by whale-fishers.” Wrangel, when he describes -the “Polynjii,” which he saw on the east of the New Siberian Islands, -accounts for them by the action of a local coast-wind; and yet Wrangel -would have been the first to favour the notion of an inner Polar Sea, for -he still thought, in opposition to Scoresby, that ice could not be formed -on the open sea, because of the absence of land as a support for the ice -in its formation. - -7. The first practical application of the theory of an open Polar Sea -was long ago devised by Plancius; the discovery, namely, of a route -in high latitudes to China. But the expeditions to the North Pole, -properly so termed, sprang also from this theory, which was held with -the greatest pertinacity. The evidence of unsuccessful undertakings was -always met and outweighed by the counter-experience of one favourable -year in the ice. Thus Barentz, in the exceedingly propitious summer of -1594, advanced without difficulty one degree of latitude beyond the -northern extremity of Novaya Zemlya, while his successors frequently -encountered insurmountable difficulties at Cape Nassau, and he himself -in the following year, 1595, found the state of the ice changed much -for the worse. In the years 1871, 1874, Mack, Carlsen, and the two -Austro-Hungarian expeditions came upon an open sea in the very places -where very few, if any, water-ways were to be seen in 1872 and 1873. In -the summers of 1816, 1817, the mighty stream of ice on the coast of East -Greenland had decreased to such an extent that Scoresby met with little -ice between 74° and 80° N.L., but since then whalers have constantly seen -the heaviest ice there, heavier than anywhere else. In 1753 and 1754, -the Sea of Kara and the Novaya Zemlya Sea were free from ice. But in -subsequent years the whale-fishers knocked in vain at their ice-barred -entrances. In 1823 Lütke from a point on the west coast of the Sea of -Kara saw that sea without ice; but, in the middle of August, 1833, -Pachtussow found the western side of that sea open, while in the previous -year he himself could not pass the Karian Gates. Again in 1743 and 1773, -the North Spitzbergen Sea held out promises the most inviting, which -might possibly have permitted the reaching of a still higher degree of -latitude than that which Nordenskjöld and Koldewey attained in 1868. Sir -John Ross, in the first year of his second voyage, found all things most -favourable for navigation; but in the following year the very reverse; -and Sir James C. Ross experienced the same alternation of circumstances -in the Southern Polar Sea. In 1850, Penny found the Wellington Channel -free from ice, but in 1852, Belcher, although he penetrated far further -than Penny, was confronted in the same channel by pack- and drift-ice. -Scoresby the younger, to whose profound faculty of observation we owe -the most significant hints on the nature of the Polar Sea, although he -had navigated the Greenland ice-ocean for twenty years, landed only -once on its coast. The Swedish expedition (1861) could approach the -north-east of Spitzbergen only in boats; Smith sailed over the sea there -(1871) as far as Cape Smith. The walrus-hunter, Matilas, sailed round -(1864) the north-east island completely, and Carlsen, an ice navigator, -as successful as he was skilful, in 1863 circumnavigated Spitzbergen, -and in 1871 Novaya Zemlya, and discovered there the relics of Barentz’s -winter quarters. In 1872, King Karl Land was circumnavigated, although -both Koldewey and Nordenskjöld (1868) as well as the first Austrian -expedition (1871) had in vain attempted to approach it. How greatly also, -in the same year, the state of the ice varies in different places, is -proved by the fact, that Franklin learnt from the whalers that they never -saw the ice so thick and so strong in Davis Straits as at the end of July -1819, while Parry, more to the north by some degrees of latitude, pursued -his path of discovery even to Melville Island, and in the following -year returned to England without meeting any special obstacles. These -examples, to which many more might be added, show how variable are the -chances of ice-navigation from one year to another. But however variable -the conditions of the ice may be, the impediments, even under the most -favourable circumstances, are so very great, that we have never been -able to penetrate the innermost Polar regions,—_penetrate_, that is, _to -where, according to the views of an earlier time, the open Polar Sea -should be found_. - -8. Those propitious ice-years amount therefore to nothing more than a -greater recession of the outer ice-barrier—trifling when compared with -the mighty whole—or to an increased navigability of certain coast-waters, -or to a local loosening of the inner Polar ice-net. In reality the whole -Arctic Sea, with its countless ice-fields and floes, and its web of fine -interlacing water-ways, is nothing but a net constantly in motion from -local, terrestrial, or cosmical causes. All the changes and phenomena -of this mighty network lead us to infer the existence of frozen seas up -to the Pole itself; and according to my own experience, gained in three -expeditions, I consider _that the states of the ice between 82° and 90°_ -N.L. _will not essentially differ from those which have been observed -south of latitude 82°; I incline rather to the belief that they will be -found worse instead of better_. - -9. If this view be correct, it will remain an insuperable difficulty -to reach the Pole with a ship. The penetrating to 82° or 83° exhausts, -according to all past experience, the disposable time for navigation, and -presupposes moreover the most favourable conditions for the attaining of -such high latitudes. A ship which reaches 82° N.L. by the beginning of -autumn must risk nothing more, should only navigate really open water, -and the expediency of securing a winter harbour should then outweigh -every other consideration. - -10. He who expects with a ship of the present construction to reach the -Pole in a single summer, necessarily believes in an ocean at the Pole. -But even if an expedition should penetrate to 84° in Smith’s Sound, or -should reach Cape Tcheljuskin on the north-east route, it would not -follow that such an ocean exists, but only that the Polar Sea presents at -different times and in different places open water-ways, which may enable -a ship to advance beyond a point hitherto reached; but it is improbable -that the circumstances which favoured this will be repeated the next -summer, so as to permit the ships to penetrate still further—or to -return. The last American expedition returned without being able to speak -decisively as to the possibility of navigating Lincoln Sea, and since -this has not yet been verified by fact, we must suspend our judgment on -the matter. To the English expedition, which has taken this route to -the Pole, is reserved the great work of throwing light on the region of -Upper Smith’s Sound, and the whole civilized world will hail with joy any -successes which a nation, so long conspicuous for its perseverance in the -cause of discovery, may happily achieve. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE FUTURE OF THE POLAR QUESTION. - - -1. The eagerness of human nature for gain and material prosperity is so -great, that we are wont to estimate the value of all undertakings by the -standard of utility; and too often it is forgotten, that each generation -is destined to fulfil the task of acquiring and collecting the knowledge -which is to benefit only a later generation. If, then, the Polar question -be valueless for our material interests, is it therefore valueless for -science? and assuming that it is for the present worthless as far as -gain and wealth are concerned, must it continue so for all time? Not -that we are entitled, even from this narrower point of view, to deny -the usefulness of Polar exploration, as Cook seems to have done when he -said, “Never from those regions will any advantage accrue to our race;” -but rather bear in mind what Sir James Ross tells us: “The profit which -accrued to England, in each year after the voyage (1818) of my uncle -(Sir John Ross) in North Baffin’s Bay, from those rediscovered parts of -the Arctic seas, was more than enough to defray all the expenses of the -voyages of discovery undertaken from 1818 to 1838.” Scoresby with his -single ship made a million thalers by the capture of whales, and the -Americans had for many years a clear profit of eight million dollars from -the fisheries of the frozen seas of Behring’s Straits. There were also, -it is true, very considerable losses; for, in 1830, nineteen English -ships engaged in the whale fishery were “beset” in the ice of Melville -Bay, and nearly all destroyed; in 1871, twenty-six American ships were -crushed to pieces in Behring’s Straits, and as many as seventy-three -Dutch vessels sank in one year in the seventeenth century from the -pressure of the ice. - -2. We do not, however, mean to assert, that the progress of Polar -discovery is always followed by a corresponding increase in the capture -of fish in the Arctic seas. On the contrary, the take of oil-yielding -animals is steadily decreasing, and even if an open sea should be -discovered in 82° N.L., in which whales should be found in as great -abundance as ice-floes unhappily are, the whaler with his poor equipment -would never be able to follow them thither. The fur countries, once as -productive as the mines of Peru, are incapable of further extension; even -the treasures of mammoths’ tusks have become rare, and in order to bring -thirty tons of lignite from the north-east of Greenland, a ship must -expend seventy tons of sound coal in the transit, besides passing the -winter there. That the teas of China, the silks of Japan, the spices of -the Moluccas will never descend to us from the ice-fields has long been -settled. No one at the present day thinks any longer of the commercial -value of the North-West and North-East passages. Modes of escape from -the perils and caprices of the ice have grown out of the endeavour to -discover routes of commerce, which lay beyond the reach of the cannon -of the Spaniards at the time when they aspired to the monopoly of the -trade of the world. The reward of 25,000 gulden, offered by the Dutch -government for the discovery of a North-East passage, and that of £20,000 -by the English parliament for the North-West passage, have never been -paid, because never claimed, nor are they, in the least degree, likely to -be claimed.[12] - -3. Yet, quite independent of material results, Polar exploration presents -no unworthy object for scientific investigation—a region of the globe -120,000 square miles in extent never yet entered by man. The Polar -question, as _a problem of science_, aims at determining the limits of -land and water, at the perfecting of that network of lines with which -comparative science seeks to surround our planet, even to its Poles. The -completion of this labour will serve to discover those physical laws -which regulate climates, the currents of the atmosphere and sea, and the -analogies of geology with the earth as we see it. - -4. But how is this to be attained? At first it would appear as if the -methods of ice-navigation had been followed by such success, that their -continued application guaranteed still greater results. The gradual -advance by means of ships, from the Polar Circle to 73°, 75°, 79°, or -even to 82° N.L., has been the result and is the reward of the labours of -three centuries. But to reach higher degrees, from 82° to 90°, depends on -other conditions than mere time. That increased experience and boldness -have removed many of the inconveniences and dangers attendant on Arctic -navigation is undoubtedly true, but it is also as true, that, upon the -whole, _the safely and convenience of ice-navigation have more steadily -increased than its successes_. Hudson, Baffin, and especially Scoresby, -and even some whalers of the seventeenth century, reached latitudes which -have scarcely been exceeded since, and in many cases this progress was -due, not to greater boldness and experience, but rather to chance and the -caprices of the ice, which “to the whaler often permitted glances into -its interior, which were denied to the scientific explorer.” - -5. The greater perfection of our means enables us to conduct Polar -expeditions with greater facility. Instead of dissipating our strength -by sending out several ships, even small fleets, amounting sometimes to -fifteen ships (often not larger than the boats of a modern Polar ship), -since the days of Sir John Ross, we equip one or two ships only, strongly -built for their “special purpose, provided with steam-power, and with -all that is desirable or requisite; and instead of despatching them -for short summer cruises, we provision them, send them out for several -years, and, by appropriate nourishment and the aid of medical science, -protect the crews from the scourge of scurvy. In those days, when even -the wealthy lived during the winter on salt beef, and English squires -were obliged at the beginning of winter, on account of the scarcity of -food for the cattle, to kill and salt a portion of their herd, preserved -and antiscorbutic victuals were an impossibility to a Hudson, a James, a -Fox, in their winters amid the ice. Those introduced by Ross—then called -“Donkin’s meat”—have been greatly improved since, and through them the -scurvy, which used to carry off whole crews of ships, has lost its -former terrors. - -6. In this power to extend our expeditions without danger, and especially -in sledge journeys during the autumn and spring, which are possible only -to expeditions prepared to winter in the ice, are the grounds why we have -not halted at the barriers “of the bulwarks built for eternity;” in the -Rennselaer harbour, in the Lancaster-Barrow route, or at the Pendulum -islands. It is only sledge expeditions, as Middendorf says, which have -been able to effect results of any magnitude on the inaccessible coasts -of the extreme north; and the great extent to which the Russians had used -sledge expeditions evidently served as an example both to the English and -to Kane. - -7. In Polar expeditions, therefore, we have probably reached, so far as -the exploration of the highest latitudes by means of ships is concerned, -the limits of possibility. The extraordinary success which fell to the -lot of Hall’s expedition _teaches us only the possibility of encroaching -but a little beyond that limit_, even under the most favourable -circumstances. - -8. In all cases where the attempt shall be made to reach the highest -latitudes with a ship, I would again recommend the route through Smith’s -Sound, because, in the first place, I believe that any considerable -advance is only to be expected in coast-water; and in the second place, -because the Grant Coast offers facilities for sledge expeditions on a -large scale. East Greenland in the higher latitudes, 73°-75°, may be -regarded as inaccessible; and the attempt to penetrate northwards in its -coast-water was a delusion of the second German North-Pole expedition. In -the north of Spitzbergen, and in Behring’s Straits, fifty expeditions and -countless whalers have heard from the ice an imperious _ne plus ultra_; -and the same prohibition has been uttered to as many expeditions on the -North-East passage. In both these routes the cause of failure was the -disproportion between what could be reached in one or two summers, and -the vast extent of sea blocked by impenetrable ice. In like manner, the -probability of reaching the Pole itself with our present resources is so -small, and the attempt to do it is so utterly disproportionate to the -sacrifices exacted and the results achieved, that it would be advisable -to exclude it from Arctic exploration, until, instead of the impotent -vessels of the sea, we can send thither those of the air. - -9. Be this as it may, the present English North-Pole Expedition will -essentially contribute to solve the question, whether the Pole can be -reached by the route through Upper Smith’s Sound. This, according to the -views of almost all Polar navigators, holds out the greatest chances for -further advance by sea. Should this expedition, equipped in so effective -a manner, and sent out by a nation of such great experience, not come -nearer to the goal, or, if nearer, only through sledging—which may very -probably be the case—the conviction will then be strengthened, that all -efforts to reach the Pole by navigation in the Frozen Ocean are hopeless, -and witness only to the glorious persistency of human endeavour. - -10. But until aërial navigation to the Pole shall be attempted, it -would be advisable to follow the example of the Swedes, and, in the -service of Natural History and Geography, content ourselves with the -exploration of those Arctic lands of which, up to the present moment, we -know only the coast-line, or which, situated on the outermost verge of -our Polar charts, are still untrodden by man; we mean specially Gillis’, -Grinnell’s, Wrangel’s Land, and above all, the interior of Greenland. -The Polar question, hitherto regarded chiefly as a geographical problem, -would thus, for a considerable time, be taken up in the interest of -Natural Science. Lieutenant Weyprecht, after dwelling on the predominance -of exploration in Polar expeditions, expresses a wish, that the great -civilized nations would unite in contemporaneous Arctic expeditions for -magnetical, electrical, and meteorological investigations: “In order to -attain decisive scientific results, a number of expeditions should be -sent to different places in the Arctic regions to make observations, at -the same time, with similar instruments, and in accordance with similar -instructions.” They who think such results too insignificant for the -energies and sacrifices which are expended to achieve them, and who would -rather that such efforts should be transferred to those still unknown -regions of the earth, which may become the dwelling-places of man, will, -of course, give their veto against the further agitation of the Arctic -question. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -POLAR EQUIPMENTS. - - -1. Every Arctic expedition should be guided by the experience of its -predecessors, both in its plan and its equipment; and hence we have often -to deplore the negligence of almost all Polar navigators in failing to -inform those who follow them of what they actually saw, of their modes -of procedure, or of the mistakes which they committed. It will not, -therefore, be labour thrown away, if we state our own experience and -record our own observations for the guidance of others, in order to show, -with the utmost possible clearness, what future explorers have before -them, and how best to meet it. - -2. Undivided command in an expedition is the first of all rules; but -if there be any division of command in a subordinate expedition by sea -or land, the duties and rights of its commander must be clearly and -exactly defined. In recent times the command of a Polar expedition has -sometimes been conferred not on a seaman, but on a man of science, -as in the cases of Kane, Hayes, Nordenskjöld, and Torell. Where the -investigation of questions connected with Natural History is the aim and -object, this precedent is admissible, but it should never be observed -where the commander has an important part to fulfil as a navigator. The -command of an expedition has never been conferred on a man of science -by the English government. In the very commencement, indeed, of Polar -discovery, an English expedition was placed under the command of Sir -Hugh Willoughby, who was not bred a sailor, but down to the seventeenth -century, even in their naval campaigns, such men were appointed to naval -commands. The Dutch expeditions of the sixteenth century generally -adopted a destructive division of command, under supercargoes and pilots, -representing the mercantile and nautical elements: confusion and discord -were the inevitable consequences. - -3. Next to the selection of a commander, the selection of the crew -demands the greatest care. This ought to be made some time before the -expedition starts, in order that those unfit for the service may be -discovered, and their places supplied by others; this cautious mode of -procedure, and not a preference for any particular nationality, will -secure the most effective crew. Although seamanlike qualities do not -belong in the same degree to every nation, time and pains only are needed -to secure a picked crew for a North-Pole expedition from almost any -nation. Endurance of cold is not the only test of effectiveness, although -this is a very common assumption; but a sense of duty, perseverance, -and resolution are the virtues of a seaman. Habit soon teaches men to -conquer cold, and inexorable necessity often hardens weaklings into -heroes for Arctic discovery. A certain degree of intelligence is of -high importance in the crew. In many cases resolution in the midst of -dangers depends on their capacity to observe and think, even on their -possessing certain branches of knowledge. The greater part of the crew of -the _Tegetthoff_ had these advantages. But men who, in a heavily-laded -sledge, leave the old and take to recently-formed ice, without noticing -the difference,—who observe a frost-bitten foot several hours after the -mischief has been done,—who lose their cartridges, know nothing of their -rifle, and little more of their compass, or who pass on without observing -the configurations of the land, possess an indifference indeed, but of a -kind very dangerous to themselves and to the whole party, though they may -despise death as much as Achilles is said to have done. - -4. An intelligent crew, from their greater feeling of independence, -is, however, more difficult to command than an ignorant one. Devotion -and blind confidence are more rarely found in an educated crew; their -amenability to discipline is dependent on the good example, the kindness -and unalterable calmness of those who may command them. The law of a -Polar expedition is obedience, and its basis morality. Punishments are -in such situations a miserable and depressing means for the preservation -of order, and then employment, especially in a private undertaking, -will tend rather to loosen than to maintain the bonds of discipline. -If Parry, in 1820, caused corporal punishments to be inflicted, this -proves the greater facility with which discipline is maintained on -board of a man-of-war, but not its appropriateness generally. Coercion -and threats produce no effect; and hence the folly of attempting to -secure success by sending out again those who returned without having -achieved anything, which was done last century by the authorities of St. -Petersburg with every unsuccessful enterprise on the Arctic coasts of -Siberia. The regulation that the most meritorious among the crew shall -be specially rewarded, after the return of the expedition, provides -for the recognition of merit, without exciting ill feeling in the less -worthy. For the officers scientific success may be a perfect reward -of their toils, but for the crew the reward should consist of more -material advantages. Money, indeed, seems a feeble motive of action to -men destined to withstand for years the inclemency of Arctic winters, -and uncertain whether they shall ever return; but, notwithstanding, it -is the only form by which men without sympathy for the aims of science -can be gained for the attainment of such objects. The crews of Sir John -Ross received for a martyrdom of four years passed in the ice about £100 -a head; in the second German expedition from eight to twelve thalers -were the monthly pay of each sailor. The pay of the sledgers in the -_Tegetthoff_ was, however, nearly four times as much; in some sledge -journeys it amounted to 3,000 gulden a man. - -5. Contrary to what might be expected, the re-employment of those who -have served before is not to be recommended as a rule. The very best -only should be re-enlisted. The others are too much disposed to place -their experience on a level with that of their commanders; and in -all cases, where their opinions differ from those of their officers, -they damage by a kind of passive opposition the fundamental law of an -expedition—obedience. Those who enter the Arctic regions for the first -time are wont to receive the orders of an experienced commander with an -attention as unquestioning as it is respectful. Married men also should -be excluded, as they were by Barentz in his second (1596) expedition. - -6. Some of the crew should be good shots, good pedestrians and -mountaineers, but all must be of the same nationality, and in perfect -health. The least symptom of rheumatism, of diseases of the lungs and the -eyes, and of certain chronic maladies only too common among seamen, unfit -them for the endurance of the Polar climate, and especially for sledge -expeditions. Those who are addicted to drink are peculiarly liable to the -scurvy. - -7. The medical man of an expedition, besides professional skill and -experience, must possess the most imperturbable patience, for to many of -his patients he is not less a physician of the mind than of the body. He -should convince himself of the sanitary condition of the crew before the -expedition starts, although it may have been previously investigated by -medical authorities and declared satisfactory. - -8. Since an expedition, in addition to its scientific functions, should -take up the illustration of Nature at the Pole, the employment of a -photographer, but still better of an artist, is very desirable, for the -former is too much confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the ship in -his operations. - -9. The records of Arctic adventure in former days tell us of equipments -strangely incompatible with the object pursued. Their commercial purpose -constrained them to fill the hold with bales of silk, instead of -provisions for years; but the letters of recommendation which were given -to the explorers of the North-East passage for the Saracen princes on -the route to Chatai seem peculiarly ludicrous. Some justification may be -discovered for Owczyn taking a priest with him on his Siberian expedition -(1734), but hardly for his wanting fifty-seven men in a vessel only -seventy feet long, and arming it with eight falconets. The employment -of a drummer, twelve privates and a corporal, on Gmelin’s scientific -Siberian expedition, is still more unintelligible; more so than Davis’s -band of music, which was intended to charm the feelings of the Eskimos -and dispose them to peaceful proceedings, his predecessor Frobisher -having had the saddest experience of their barbarism. Other expeditions -by the too plentiful distribution of knives and hatchets among the -Eskimos placed them in a position seriously to threaten the white man, -and even at the present day the so-called “Wilden-kiste” often contains -articles little calculated to inspire the natives with a high opinion of -our moral superiority. - -10. In fitting out a Polar expedition, all respect should be paid to the -principle of bestowing on those who are for a time banished, the greatest -possible amount of comfort. The proportions of a ship, and the space at -its disposal, narrow the limits available for this end; and since the -return to the employment, as at the first, of small vessels, even these -limits have been considerably diminished. - -11. The following table shows that the employment of small vessels was -the principle at first followed, although the English undertakings -even of this present century never thoroughly adopted the example of a -Fotherby, a Baffin, and a Ross:— - - +------------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+ - | THE EXPEDITIONS OF |TONNAGE OF THE |PROVISIONED FOR|CREW.| - | | SHIPS. | | | - +------------+-----------+---------------+---------------+-----+ - | | | | | | - | | A.D. | | | | - |Willoughby | 1553 |120| 90|160| | 18 months | | - |Frobisher | 1576 | 25| 25| 10| | | | - | ” | 1577 |180| 30| 30| |} | | - |Pett Jackman| 1580 | 40| 20| | |} | 15 | - |Davis | 1585 | 50| 35| | |} | 42 | - | ” |2nd expedn.| 10| 50| 53|120|} | | - |Weymouth | 1604 | 70| 60| | |} | | - |Knight | 1606 | 40| | | |}Mostly for } | | - |Hudson | 1607 | | | | |}one year } | 10 | - | ” | 1608 | | | | |}only. } | 15 | - |James Poole | 1609 | 70| | | |} | 15 | - |Hudson | 1610 | 55| | | |} | | - |Smith | 1610 | 50| | | |} | | - |James Poole | 1611 | 50| | | |} | | - |Fotherby | 1615 | 20| | | |} | | - |Baffin | 1616 | 58| | | |} | | - |Fox | 1631 | 80| | | | 18 months | 20 | - |James | 1631 | 70| | | | 18 ” | | - |Wood | 1676 | | | | | 16 ” | 19 | - |Moor | 1746 |180|140| | | | | - |Ross | 1818 |385|252| | | | | - |Parry | 1819 |375|180| | | 2½ years | | - |Lütke | 1821 |200| | | | | 45 | - |Hayes | 1860 |133| | | | 1½ ” | 15 | - |Koldewey | 1869 |180|200| | | 2 ” | 29 | - +------------+-----------+---+---+---+---+---------------+-----+ - -12. The inspection of this table shows that it was the practice of the -sixteenth century to send out fleets of ships of a very small size, -that in the seventeenth one small ship was commissioned, and that the -employment of two vessels has been the rule since; and this would have -been still more evident, if the various Franklin expeditions had been -included in the above table. In 1829 Sir John Ross started with a ship -drawing eighteen feet, but changed afterwards to one drawing eight -feet; and from eight to twelve feet is now the recognised draught in -Polar ships. Large vessels require a numerous crew, and if they have -not been built exclusively for the purpose of Polar exploration, their -small economy of space prevents their being fitted out for more than -two years and a half. In 1819 Parry’s ship, the large _Fury_, had, with -a draught of eighteen feet, provisions for only two and a half years, -whereas the _Victory_ (1829) of Ross with only seven feet draught had -on board, besides stores for the same period, a steam-engine and coals -for a thousand hours’ steaming. The Russian Novaya Zemlya navigators of -this century have adopted vessels of a size which must be destructive -of all comfort and convenience. These vessels are thirty or forty feet -long, with a draught of five or six feet, and a crew of nine or ten men. -But Arctic ships must have a crew above the ordinary strength and be -provided with steam-power; so that, allowing for the necessary space for -the quarters of the crew, for the engines and the coalbunkers, little -room will be left for the stowage of stores. But this little should -be reserved for well-chosen provisions stowed away so as to avoid all -empty spaces, and secure the greatest amount of resistance to lateral -pressure. The weakest parts of a ship are always the spaces left for -air in the quarters of the men. A crew, which is exposed to threatening -dangers from the ice, will never regret the strengthening of these -void spaces by heavy horizontal tie-beams, removable when the ship is -in the winter harbour, and so adjusted as not to impede communication. -The mere suspension of heavy beams against the hull of a ship does not -always answer the purpose of protection, since the pressure of the ice -frequently drives away these protecting timbers. The practice, however, -is not absolutely to be rejected. - -13. The daily allowance of solid food for the effectives in an Arctic -expedition amounts to about two pounds, and in sledge expeditions to -2¾ pounds, of which half a pound is bread and one pound preserved meat. -Besides the usual provisions, large supplies of preserved vegetables, -of cocoa, of extract of meat, of rice, of preserved peas, of dried -farinaceous food (such as macaroni), are very desirable. Salted meat is -to be avoided as much as possible. The luxury of fresh bread twice a week -instead of the hard ship’s biscuit is an essential means of promoting -health, and the want of yeast for its preparation may be supplied by -“baking powder.” Once a day a ration of lemon-juice should be served out -as a preservative against scurvy, and anti-scorbutic victuals should -be laid in abundantly. Plenty of tea and tobacco is indispensable; the -want of these is painfully felt, especially by the sailors. Cases have -actually occurred, where crews have ground the wooden blocks of the -rigging to powder, to serve as tea, and have used the hoops of casks for -tobacco. - -14. The moderate enjoyment of spirituous liquors is much to be -recommended, as their influence on health and sociality is of great -importance. The preservation, however, of a sufficient stock of wine, -especially in winter, is a matter of much difficulty, since most kinds -freeze at 21° F. or 14° F. As long as the ship is afloat, as it generally -is when winters are passed in the ice, it is advisable to preserve the -supply of wine at the bottom of the hold, and to place all other things -most liable to be frozen in layers above it. But if a ship be nearly -or entirely out of water, it is advisable to keep the wine, and other -indispensable liquids, in the empty spaces of the cabin, under the -cabin table, near the stove, below the berths, and under the sky-light -after it has been closed for the winter. Only absolute want of space -justifies the preparation of _chemical wine_,[13] since the volume of -its constituent parts without water is only a fifth of real wine; and -under all circumstances _chemical wine_ is but a miserable shift, and -the beer (even the spruce beer of Sir John Ross) which the English used -to manufacture on board ship from the essence of malt and hops is far -preferable. The rum and cognac, especially for sledge expeditions, in -order to save weight should contain the greatest possible amount of -alcohol, for its dilution before use is a matter of no difficulty. - -15. During the winter, residence in the ship itself is preferable to -living in log-houses, because the ship can be more easily heated and -suffers less from the accumulation of ice. But since a ship in the Arctic -Sea ceases for ten months of the year to be a ship and becomes in fact a -house, this should be kept in view when she is being fitted out. - -16. The place where the men live is always in the fore-part of the ship, -but their berths should be changed in a certain rotation, because of -the inequality of the condensation. It is not advisable to place the -kitchen in the quarters of the crew in order to diminish the consumption -of coals, because an accumulation of moisture is thereby increased. The -officers and _savans_ occupy a common messroom in the after-part of the -ship, and sleep in little cabins ranged round it. The power to withdraw -occasionally from the presence of those who must be together for years -is an important element of harmony. Sir John Ross and his officers in -1833, even in the miserable hut built on the Fury coast, did not occupy -the common messroom heated by a stove, but preferred separate cabins, -the temperature of which seldom rose above the freezing point, and in -which they had to suffer much from the accumulation of ice. All the -living rooms should be provided with waterproof carpets. Their heating -by means of the common stoves is objectionable, because of the unequal -distribution of warmth. An even temperature is best maintained by the use -of the Meidinger “Fullofen,” which has the further advantage of consuming -only a small quantity of coals. Hot-air flues are, perhaps, preferable -even to these, because they better prevent the freezing of the moisture -in the cabins, and indeed in every part of the ship. - -17. An Arctic ship should be provided with an iron-plated washing and -drying closet, without which the washing of linen would be restricted -to the few weeks of summer weather. This closet may also be used as a -bath-room, an important means of promoting health. The lighting of the -living rooms by petroleum sufficiently answers all purposes; in the -cabins, however, stearine candles are to be preferred either to it or any -other oil. The construction of the lamps used in making observations in -the open air during the long Arctic darkness is a matter of the greatest -importance. Those used in the second German North-Pole Expedition were -of peculiar excellence, and never failed in their difficult service. -Massive lamps, with glass globes protected with wire, and burning -petroleum in preference to common oil, should be used on deck, and as -they are employed for so many purposes and exposed to so many risks, a -plentiful supply of them should be provided. In the huts on the deck, -built over the hatchways, train-oil may be used with advantage, if the -lamps are so constructed that the flame may heat the reservoir containing -the oil. - -18. So long as the crew remains on board the ship, their clothing, even -in the severest winter, needs but little attention. Thick close-fitting -woollen under-garments, knitted woollen gloves, outer-garments of strong -cloth, are in all cases sufficient on deck, and in all those parts of -the ship which are kept at a certain temperature. Leather boots lined -with fur were long considered an indispensable requisite for Polar -expeditions, but they have not maintained their character, as they are -very heavy, become unpliable in frost, and soon quite useless through its -action and the wearing off of the fur. - -19. Before the departure of the expedition, all the instruments should be -thoroughly cleansed from oil by a practical optician, and the fire-arms -should undergo a like operation at the hands of the gunmaker, and -their barrels should be browned to protect them better from rust. The -ammunition, powder and matches to blast the ice, alcohol and petroleum, -should be stowed in the after-part of the ship, and the two latter should -be reached only through a closely-fitting pump. A very ample supply of -alcohol, flannel, buffalo-skins, strong cloth, water-proof canvas, felt, -leather, reindeer shoes, snow boots, shovels, cramp irons, poles, &c., -articles which are too often overlooked, should be taken, both from their -usefulness on board ship and also on land expeditions. - -20. The costs of Polar expeditions have relatively rather diminished than -increased. The expenses of Willoughby’s expedition 300 years ago amounted -to the sum—quite enormous for that day—of £6,000; Moor’s (1746) cost -£10,000; while Back’s difficult but successful undertaking to explore -the great Fish-river (1833-1835), only £5,000. The Siberian expedition -of Middendorf (1844)—costing only 13,300 rubles (£1,717)—was a matchless -example of extraordinary achievements with little expenditure. The costs -of the various Franklin Expeditions from 1848 to 1854 amounted, according -to the statement of the English Admiralty, to twenty million francs -(£833,333); those of the second German North-Pole Expedition to 120,000 -thalers (£11,000), and the expenses of our own Austrian-Hungarian North -Pole Expedition to 220,000 gulden (£18,333). - - - - -PIONEER VOYAGE OF ISBJÖRN. - -_JUNE 20-OCTOBER 4, 1871._ - - - - -THE PIONEER VOYAGE OF THE “ISBJÖRN.” - - -1. The failure of the second German Arctic expedition directed the future -efforts of Polar exploration to the seas of Novaya Zemlya. Although the -geographical position and political relations of Austria prevented its -Government from taking any active part in the great geographical problems -and questions of our times, an interest in Polar discovery had been -excited in her statesmen, which gradually ripened into a determination to -send its flag, renowned for its military fame, to consecrate struggles -on the peaceful domain of scientific exploration. The magnanimous act -of Graf Wilczek, contributing 40,000 florins towards the equipment of -an Austro-Hungarian expedition, not only strengthened but also endowed -the resolve. In order, however, to obviate the possibility of spending -large sums on a plan which might be unfeasible, or if feasible, of little -value, it was determined to despatch a pioneer expedition to the seas of -Novaya Zemlya under the joint command of Lieutenant Weyprecht and myself. -The knowledge and experience gained in that voyage—which is described in -the following pages—induced the Austrian Government to send another and -more powerful vessel to those seas, equipped to pass two or more winters -in the ice. - -2. It seemed to be established as the result of many expeditions, that -almost invincible difficulties opposed the reaching of the central Arctic -regions by the routes through Baffin’s Bay, Behring’s Straits, along -the coast of Greenland, and from Spitzbergen, mainly because on them -all we are met by the great Arctic currents, which act as channels to -carry off the ice of the Polar basin. These currents carry with them -vast masses of ice, which they deposit on all the coasts which they -strike. On the results of many Norwegian, Russian, and German voyages, -partly in the interests of science, partly in the interests of commerce, -many geographers maintained that the traces of the Gulf Stream did not -disappear at the North Cape, but rather that it exercised a considerable -influence on places and in latitudes not before imagined, as, for -instance, on the north-east coasts of Novaya Zemlya. An expedition, -therefore, which followed the course of the warmer waters of the Gulf -Stream would find fewer and less formidable obstacles, than on the routes -exposed to the Arctic currents, carrying with them colossal masses of -ice towards the south. On the east of Spitzbergen there is a land which -has, indeed, been often seen, but never reached, or even attempted to -be reached—Gillis’ Land—lying in the course of the Gulf Stream; and it -is a probable assumption, that navigable water would be found under its -western coast, as at Spitzbergen, where 80° N. Lat. can be reached every -year without any difficulty. If, then, this stream extends still further -to the north—which is probable according to the soundings taken by the -Swedes—it is reasonable to expect that higher latitudes may be reached on -this than on any other route. - -3. It is remarkable, that the seas between Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya -were utterly unknown to science. No expedition had ever been sent -thither, though many things seemed to invite and favour the venture, -and Dr. Petermann had long endeavoured to organize a powerful and -well-equipped expedition to explore higher latitudes on this route. At -length Lieutenant Weyprecht and I undertook a voyage of reconnaissance to -those waters, in order to ascertain whether the climate and the state of -the ice were as favourable in reality, as they seemed to be in theory. -No attempt was to be made to reach high latitudes or to make important -geographical discoveries. The small means at our command forbade either. -Our aims were more limited; they referred to the temperature of the -water and the air, to the currents, to the state of the ice, to the -probability of success in the following year (1872), and lastly, to -opportunities for extended sledge journeys. We were to sail from Tromsoe -about the middle of June, and return thither by the middle of September. - -4. In order to diminish expenses, we chartered at Tromsoe a small sailing -ship. A steamer would, indeed, have been more serviceable, but the cost -would have been quadrupled, without any adequate advantage. The _Isbjörn_ -(i.e., Ice-bear) was a vessel of fifty tons, cutter-rigged, 55 feet long, -17 feet broad, with a draught of 6 feet. Her bows were protected with -sheet-iron, two feet above, and two feet under, water. She was new and -strong, and made with us her first voyage. We had also two small boats, -and a so-called “Fang-boot”—whale-boat. She was commanded by Captain -Kjelsen, and had as a crew a harpooner, four sailors, a carpenter, and -a cook—all Norwegians. We were provided with the requisite instruments -by the Imperial Geographical Institute, and were provisioned for four -or five months. The Austrian Consul Aagaard aided us to the utmost of -his ability in the equipment of the vessel. It must be observed, that -we had no direct command or control over the vessel and its crew; the -responsibility for the ship, and the immediate command over its crew, -belonged to the skipper Kjelsen. Weyprecht was, however, the real -commander. - -5. The information we gathered concerning the state of the ice in the -region of our projected exploration, was exceedingly contradictory. -While, for example, Dr. Bessels, in the steamer _Albert_, of Rosendal, -discovered a branch of the Gulf Stream with a temperature of 41° F. at -the ice-barrier on the south of Gillis’ Land, Dr. Petermann sent us a -letter of Lamont, in which he said: “Every year the ice appears to me -more formidable.” The whalers of Tromsoe, who knew the ice of that region -only from hearsay, and could give no positive information as to its -limits, uttered many unfavourable prognostications as to the possibility -of penetrating that frozen sea, or of approaching Gillis’ Land from the -south. The region was utterly unknown, even to many skippers who sailed -from Spitzbergen to Novaya Zemlya. The few attempts to penetrate to that -land, first seen in 1707, and regarded by the Swedes as a continent, had -been unsuccessful. So also their efforts to reach it from the south-west -in 1864 and 1868. Captain Koldewey’s attempt also, which was made from -the “Thousand Isles” three months before the last-named voyage, had been -attended with the same want of success. None of these expeditions had -passed beyond the ice-barrier, and their failures contributed greatly to -strengthen the opinion, that the Novaya Zemlya seas were unnavigable. - -6. All our inquiries were met also with the prediction of an exceedingly -unfavourable year for the ice. The spring of 1871 had been unusually -severe, and even to the middle of June the northern parts of Norway were -covered with a mantle of snow reaching down to the sea. It was inferred, -therefore, that there would be an excessive accumulation of ice in the -seas further north. We heard even, that there was ice at the distance -of about twenty (Norwegian) miles from North Cape. And it was certainly -true, that the north winds, which prevailed for some weeks, kept a number -of Norwegian fishing and seal-hunting vessels weatherbound off the -“Scheeren.” All this notwithstanding, we determined to keep to our plan -of sailing to Hope Island, and of following from thence the ice-barrier -towards the east, our progress, of course, being dependent on favourable -conditions of the ice, and perhaps on the influences of the Gulf Stream. -As it was within the verge of possibility to make Gillis’ Land during the -season of our operations, we considered it advisable not to pass beyond -40° E. Long. while we penetrated northward. - -7. On the 20th of June we left Tromsoe during a drizzling snow-storm, and -while we were sailing up the “Qualsund” without a pilot, we touched the -ground—a danger we incurred from the desire of our married sailors to put -their wives ashore, after leave-taking, as near the land as possible. At -Rysoe we fell in with the fleet of the Tromsoe fishing-boats at anchor, -waiting for a change of weather, and with them some vessels which, we -thought, would have been by this time in the ice, having left Tromsoe -four weeks before. - -[Illustration: THE FIRST ICE] - -8. The rocky islands off the coast of Finnmark are surrounded by bleak -cliffs, rising to the height of 2,500 feet, and upwards. Trees cease -to grow there; occasionally the birch appears, but never in sufficient -numbers to form a wood. The numerous islands of a gneiss formation -show the same landscape which characterizes Norway—indescribably bleak -table-lands, deep secluded valleys and gorges, interspersed with lonely -mountain lakes. The bold, picturesque outlines of these islands are -exceedingly striking, though their fertility is meagre in the extreme. -The solitary rocky shores are inhabited by poor families, secluded from -the world, and having little intercourse with each other. They live for -the most part on the fish which they catch. The remains of fish round -these settlements render their approach exceedingly disagreeable; on the -Loffoden Islands a guano manufactory has been established, which turns -this refuse to good account. Tromsoe or Hammerfest appears in their eyes -as the glory and pride of the world. We were detained two days—June 24 -and 25—by contrary winds, at Sandoe, an island covered with sea-sand -full of small mussel shells, to the height of 600 feet. Ascending an -elevated peak of this island, 2,000 feet high, we saw a panorama of -countless cliffs of all sizes stretching down to Andeness, and opposite -to us, the gloomy, rugged wastes of Norway, which show iron-bound walls, -waterfalls, and bleak headlands, without woods, meadows, or habitations. -For many hours we were mocked by an eagle, which, now soaring high, now -darting down with rapid flight, gave his unwieldy pursuers a stiff and -exhausting climb. We at last put to sea on the 26th of June, and passed -the enormous rocky pile of Fugloe, down the precipitous face of which the -inhabitants descend by means of ropes to get the down of the Eider-geese. -Next day we were out of sight of land. The breeze freshened, and, as we -sailed further to the north, we saw many whales. On the 28th of June we -came on the _first ice_—a sight which reminds the Polar navigator that he -has reached his home! Driven down by the north wind, its fragments lay -thickly on the misty horizon like gleaming points. We were now south-east -of Bear Island in 73° 40′ N. Lat. and 21° E. Long., and found the ice so -broken up that we did not hesitate to penetrate it, in order to find out -the latitude in which its closed masses would appear. We passed through -forty miles of this loose drift-ice, and then came on the pack in 74° 30′ -N. Lat. and 23° E. Long. Already, on the 30th of June, we had experienced -the powerlessness of a small sailing vessel in such circumstances. The -calms which had set in rendered it impossible to steer the ship, just -when the ice was drifting in wild confusion. In spite of all our efforts -to warp, the ship was inclosed by ice—in fact, _beset_. During our -captivity of ten days, there was an alternation of fogs and gales with -heavy sea-swells. The neighbourhood of floes sometimes small, sometimes -large, which constantly shifted their places, kept us in a state of -continual watchfulness. The _Isbjörn_, on some of these days, sustained -such severe pressures from the ice, that her safety was imperilled. On -the 4th of July we had heavy storms from the south-east, which packed -the ice still closer, and, though the sea is generally quite calm within -the ice, it was otherwise on this occasion. In the afternoon we heard -through the dense fog the thunder of the ocean breaking on the outer -edge of the ice, and the roar increased as the sea rose. Our attempts to -haul further into the ice and still-water were fruitless; the ship was -pressed too firmly, and was not to be moved from its place. Our position -became more and more critical as the sea continued to rise. During the -whole night the waves roared and boiled around us. The rudder groaned -under the pressure of the floes, and had to be made fast to prevent its -being broken off. A mass of ice grazing past the davits utterly destroyed -one of our boats. The critical nature of such a situation is simply -the uncertainty as to the amount of pressure which a ship can sustain. -Towards evening the fog lifted and rolled away, presenting a spectacle -of fearful grandeur. All round us lay the open sea dashing against the -ice, which was itself in wild motion. Floes and icebergs were driven -about by the waves, and their fragments strewed in all directions. At -midnight our little ship sustained shock after shock, and her timbers -strained and creaked. The “brash” of the crushed ice, which had gathered -round the ship, prevented her destruction. As the storm abated, the -larger masses of ice moved off to the edge of the horizon, so that in the -morning we could not see open water from the deck. The day broke: what -a change in the ice! The sea was calm, and a long swell died out on its -outer edge. Piles of ice all round us,—a weird and deathlike calm! The -heavens were cloudless; the countless blocks and masses of ice stood out -against the sky in blue neutral shadow, and the more level fields between -them sparkled like silver as they shone in the sun. The movement of the -sea beyond the ice abated, “leads” within the floes, hitherto scarcely -perceptible, widened out. But again the sky was overcast, the sea assumed -the colour of lead, though it continued quite calm and the “ice-blink” -appeared on the northern horizon. - -9. On the 10th of July the ship under full sail forced her way through -the floes, which were still somewhat close, and reached open water. The -masses of ice through which we pressed were of considerable size. We now -continued our course, which had been interrupted in the manner described, -along the ice-barrier in a north-easterly direction. After leaving the -Norwegian coast, the depth of the sea decreased considerably. We were -now on the bank of Bear Island, and we found bottom at 90 metres (49·213 -fathoms). Our course was impeded by calms, currents and winds from the -east, and even in the middle of July by severe storms. We were sometimes -in drift-ice and sometimes outside of it. We soon discovered that the -ice of these seas was not to be compared with the vast masses of the -Greenland seas. The floes we saw were not more than one year old. As we -sailed eastward, the icebergs were neither so numerous nor so large, -and disappeared almost entirely at 40° E. Long., which we reached on -the 21st of July, after we had followed the ice-barriers from 74° to -75° 30′ N. Lat. Here we penetrated within them. Though drift-ice lay on -every side, a steamer would have found nothing to arrest her progress. -But the prevalence sometimes of east winds, sometimes of calms, the -constant occurrence of fogs, the defects of our vessel, the little -authority we had over the crew when extraordinary labour was demanded, -the great extent of the region to be explored,—all these difficulties -prevented our pressing on in this direction. We therefore turned, July -22, in a westerly direction, in order to explore another opening in the -ice, into which we advanced for about fifteen miles, and found floes -not more than a year old lying so loosely together, that our ship under -full sail seemed to pass over them, much in the same fashion as a sledge -glides over a snow-covered plain. But again our course had to be altered, -and Weyprecht steered the vessel in a south-westerly direction to the -ice-barrier. In 76° 30′ N. Lat. and 29° E. Long. we came on high and -close masses of ice, and escaped with much difficulty (July 29) the -danger of being again “beset.” - -10. We had meantime been convinced that, though the state of the ice -was on the whole so favourable, we could not, with the means at our -command and with a crew not trained to habits of obedience, do more -than carry out our original intention. We could not make up for the -defects of our sailing craft by any special exertion on the part of the -crew. Could we have done this, we might have penetrated further in a -northerly direction; though at this late period of the summer we could -not calculate on being able to return, and by the end of October our -provisions would have been exhausted. We could only, therefore, attempt -to reach Gillis’ Land, and ascertain whether it possessed the importance -attributed to it by the Swedes. A safe harbour had therefore to be -sought, in which the ship might be left, while a party in a boat should -make for the mysterious land. Such a harbour we expected to find at Cape -Leigh-Smith. We therefore held to the westward, towards the Stor-Fiord. -It is an extremely hazardous thing, demanding incessant attention, to -tack and cruise at the ice-barrier during the continuance of fogs and -with heavy seas and unfavourable winds. Not unfrequently, the ice-blink -is seen all round the horizon, and we discover that we have come into a -great “ice-hole,” or a calm makes it impossible to steer the ship, just -when a strong current is bearing her into the thickest of the ice-masses. -We had our share of these and other risks till we suddenly beheld, while -sailing in a fog among icebergs a hundred feet high, the long stretching -plateau of Hope Island. According to Weyprecht’s observations, there is -an error of 40′ in latitude in the position of this island on the Swedish -maps. The real position of the south-west cape of Hope Island is 76° 29′ -N. Lat., and 25° E. Long. Seduced by a great opening in the ice, and -deviating from our course for a short time, we advanced in a northerly -direction to the east of the island, in the hope of reaching Gillis’ Land -from thence. But after sailing in a fog for a whole day among icebergs -lying close to the cliffs of the island, we were driven further westward, -and coming suddenly on the ice—Lat. 76° 30′—with an exceedingly high -sea, escaped being dashed to pieces as by a miracle. To penetrate -here was an impossibility. We therefore altered our course again for -Walter-Thymen’s Straits. A dense girdle of ice several miles deep, and a -strong current setting towards the south-west, frustrated every attempt -to land on Hope Island. To the west of this we found the ice-barrier in -76° N. Lat., formed of heavy pack-ice, and small icebergs. Our passage -to the South Cape (Cape Look-out) of Spitzbergen (76° 30′ N. Lat.) was -comparatively quick. Numerous cliffs and rocks on which the waves were -breaking, not marked on any chart, rose in the night of August 4 out of -the fog at the distance of a few ships’ lengths from us, and it was with -the utmost difficulty that we could tack with the heavy sea and strong -north-east wind. - -11. The day after, when the heavy storm-clouds lifted from the table-land -of Cape Look-out, we made the unpleasant discovery, that we were to the -south-west of it. Hitherto we had been sailing in dense fog, but after -passing this Cape we had almost unbroken sunshine, which illuminated -the whole western side of Spitzbergen up to Prince Charles’s foreland. -A current one or two miles wide, which flows southward, turns at Cape -Look-out and flows in a northerly direction. At this Cape, which is the -apex of the current, besides many rocks on which the waves break, there -are twenty islands, some of them of considerable size. This promontory, -which has been of great importance to navigators for more than 200 -years, is erroneously represented in the charts I have seen. Many -ships, therefore, have been wrecked at this place, chiefly those of the -Spitzbergen whalers and sealers, who base their sailing on making this -headland, though they are ignorant of its exact geographical position. -Thrice we tried at the beginning of August to reach the Stor-Fiord from -the western side of Cape Look-out, and thrice we were driven back by this -current, though the wind was in our favour. This, however, gave us an -opportunity we had not expected, of seeing something of the west coast -of Spitzbergen with its fiords and glaciers as far as Horn Sound. A fog, -as dense as coal smoke, floats almost always over “Hornsundstind” (4,500 -ft. high) and the pyramid of Haytand. The slopes, clothed in dull green, -running down to the coast, make Spitzbergen seem scarcely an Arctic land -when compared with the cold grandeur of Greenland. The rocky shores of -the northern parts of Norway are more dreary, and wear more the aspect -of Arctic regions than Spitzbergen. Hence General Sabine, comparing -Spitzbergen with Greenland, called it “a true paradise.” - -12. On the 10th of August the ice began to move out from the Stor-Fiord. -It pushed on with great velocity from the north-east, turned round Cape -Look-out, and deposited itself along the west coast, covering it with -thick layers in sixteen hours. On the 12th of the month, in consequence -of the fog and strong current, we found ourselves between the heavy -drift-ice and the reefs of Cape Look-out. According to our reckoning we -should have been twenty-five miles to the east of it. It was only by -boldly charging the drift-ice, with the vessel under full sail, that the -_Isbjörn_ escaped the danger of being beset. On the 13th the wind chopped -round, and, standing away to the south, we succeeded, after cruising -about for ten days, in running into Wyde-Jans Water. Our involuntary -detention off Cape Look-out enabled us to land twice. During one of these -visits we built a cairn, in which we deposited a notice of the course we -had steered. The hasty survey we made enabled us to correct some very -gross errors in the maps. On the evening of the 14th we sighted Edge -Island, and cruised in the drift-ice, which was becoming gradually more -dense in that direction. Here we fell in with two ships from Finland, -engaged in the capture of the walrus, and learnt from their skippers some -particulars concerning the state of the ice, which induced us to give up -the direct course to Cape Leigh-Smith, and to prefer coasting along the -west side of the Fiord. - -13. The ice was now more packed. The ship, weakened by numerous -ice-pressures and countless shocks, and making much water, was in so bad -a condition, that part of the bows under the water-line was shattered, -and some timbers of the hull were forced in. In order to give some notion -of the force of the shocks to which we had been exposed in forcing our -course through the ice, let it suffice to say, that the iron plating an -inch thick, with which the bows had been strengthened at Tromsoe, had -been broken off like so many chips. - -14. Tacking up against the north wind we came, in the night of August -16, on broken ice off Whale’s Bay, in 77° 30′ N. Lat. The expected free -coast-water was not to be found, and the prevailing winds from the north -took away any hope of reaching Cape Leigh-Smith in less than a week. -Our plan of a boat expedition, for which three weeks would have been -necessary, from Cape Leigh-Smith to explore Gillis’ Land, had now to -be renounced; and as the southern extremity of Stor-Fiord is generally -blocked up at the end of August by an accumulation of ice brought from -the east, we were constrained to leave the fiord at once, and return to -the ice-barrier we had left. - -15. The geological formation of the western coast of this fiord has never -been explored. From a visit to the land and the ascent of a mountain -2,000 feet high, we learnt some interesting facts concerning its Jurassic -formation, which appeared to extend far to the south. We found traces, at -some distance apart, of the more recent brown coal, and fossil remains -(Bivalves in ferruginous chalk-marl); we gathered also some plants -still in flower, and brought away some red snow. This excursion enabled -us also to examine the beautifully-developed glaciers of Spitzbergen. -Hornsundstind (4,500 feet high) is a most imposing mountain, and viewed -from the east resembles a sugar-loaf. The other mountains on the -coast of the fiord rise to heights varying from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. -Noble glaciers slope down both sides of the main ridge, which runs in -a southerly direction through the island. Some of these, when they -reach the sea, are three or four miles wide, and their terminal fronts -are about 80 feet high. The snow-line of those which debouch on the -Stor-Fiord is at an altitude of 1,000 feet, and their surface is little -broken by crevasses. None of these glaciers are of sufficient size to -shed icebergs, properly speaking. The sea close to the coast is shallow, -and the detachments from the glaciers are merely larger or smaller blocks -of ice. - -16. On the evening of August 16, sailing before the wind, we forced our -way through the ice of the Stor-Fiord, and two days afterwards arrived -at Hope Island, the steep, rocky walls of which rose out of the fog just -as we were close under it. We found the icebergs still firmly grounded, -precisely as we had observed them three weeks before. As an unusually -strong current was running towards the south-west at the rate of two -miles an hour, great caution was needed when we landed in the whale-boat -amid rocks and cliffs not marked on any chart. The geological formation -of the island was identical with that of the mountainous region on the -south of Whale’s Bay. We found brown coal, but the shortness of our visit -did not permit us to inspect the beds of it. Drift-wood of Siberian larch -and pine lay in great quantities on the shore. - -17. It was surprising to observe the change which meanwhile had taken -place; the ice both to the west and east of us had disappeared. We were -eager to find it, and again penetrated as far as possible into it. We -tacked about on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of August—the weather being -stormy—with little success against the north wind, which had prevailed -for some weeks. A current from the north drove us constantly southwards. -After leaving the Stor-Fiord the temperature of the water exceeded the -temperature of the air. On the 22nd of August, in 76° 45′ N. Lat. and 28° -30′ E. Long. we found very little drift-ice, which standing out but a -few inches above the water-level presented no impediment to navigation. -Nothing but contrary winds stood in the way of our penetrating in a -northerly direction, except, indeed, the doubts and fears raised by -our skipper and his crew at our attempting higher latitudes at so late -a period of the year. König Karl’s Land lay only forty miles to the -north—still invisible on account of the mists. Fresh traces of Polar -bears announced the neighbourhood of land. We therefore bore away to -the east in 32° E. Long. on the 24th of August—the day on which the sun -set for the first time. The number of icebergs constantly increased -from this date, while some weeks previously, in the same region, we had -scarcely seen one. This, perhaps, is to be explained from the fact, that -their appearance is irregular, depending on the varying movement of the -glaciers, and also on the time and manner in which the icebergs clear out -from the bays and fiords. On the 26th we had stormy weather, rain, and -snow. On the 27th, amid a dense fog, and with the sea running high, we -came close to an iceberg, against which the sea was dashing itself in -foam and spray, just in time to avert a collision. On the 29th of August -we perceived that the ship had been carried 1° 30′ eastward in a short -time by a current. The further we sailed in this easterly direction, the -further northward the ice retreated, and we began to hope that we should -come nearer the Pole than any ship ever had in this sea. The southern -limit of the ice-barrier in the Novaya Zemlya seas, towards the end of -summer, is usually placed at 76° N. Lat., but we had reached 78° N. Lat., -with 42° E. Long., without seeing (August 30th) a fragment of ice. The -_Isbjörn_ had, therefore, penetrated 100 miles in seas hitherto unknown. -There was still a long heavy swell from the north, but the temperature of -the water had fallen 4½° within twenty-four hours, and it was no longer -of an ultramarine, but of a dirty green colour; so that, notwithstanding -the sanguine expectations we had cherished, we expected every moment to -come on pack-ice. Already, too, the “ice-blink” was visible here and -there on the horizon. - -18. Whales, secure from persecution in this remote sea, seemed to abound; -we saw many “blowing” and spouting. They came sometimes in pairs close to -the ship. Their chase and capture might have been carried on here with -every hope of success. On the morning of the 31st of August we saw six -Eider-geese, the precursors of near land. A blue shadow on the eastern -sky arrested the attention of us all for a long time. We felt as if we -were on the brink of great discoveries. But, alas! the supposed land -dissolved into mist. The poverty of our equipment prevented us from -penetrating further. We might easily have been driven onwards by unknown -currents, and the ice closing behind us might have cut off return to -Europe. We could not be assured that we had not come upon a bight, or -_cul-de-sac_, stretching far to the north, and which might quickly change -its character. On the night of August 31, in 78° N. Lat., the ice lay in -some places loose and widely dispersed, in others it was more compact, -but nowhere was it in great masses; it scarcely rose above the horizon, -and it was entirely without icebergs. There was nothing to prevent a -vessel with steam power from penetrating further. - -19. Still following the ice-barrier as it retreated northwards, we -passed beyond 78° 30′ N. Lat. in the night of August 31. The influence -of the high latitudes we had reached, on the duration of light, was -unmistakable. For some days, however, the temperature had fallen below -32° F., a coating of snow lay on the deck, and the rigging was covered -with ice like glass. The morning of the 1st of September broke; about -half-past three o’clock fresh breezes from the north drove off the mist, -and revealed one of those pictures peculiar to the high north from its -dazzling effects of colour—the beams of the sun in glowing splendour were -piercing through heavy masses of clouds, while the moon shone on the -opposite side of the heavens. An ice-blink resembling an Aurora lay on -the north. - -20. We had reached 78° 38′ N. Lat., and yet the ice around us presented -no serious impediment—none at least as far as we could see. Should we -then venture further with our ship in its weakened condition? We might -still follow up an opening within the ice running northward, though, in -doing this, we should expend the time needed for the exploration of the -eastward-lying Novaya Zemlya seas. We determined therefore to bear away -to the east before some currents of loose drift-ice. But fog and a high -sea from the north-west caused us to alter our course more and more to -the south-east. For the first time in these high latitudes we observed -drift-wood, and we found ourselves in a sea, the temperature of which -at the surface did not materially exceed the temperature of the air. -Whenever, however, the temperature of the air rose, a thaw suddenly set -in. The colour of the sea alternated between blue and a dull green. A -few days previously we had passed over a sea extraordinarily rich in the -ribbed Medusæ (Beroë), and where the Rorqual (whale) abounded. - -21. The great question now arose, whether the open water found in these -high latitudes were only an accidental bight in the ice or a connected -sea. It seemed bold to assume the latter, since 76° 30′ N. Lat. had never -before been passed in that region. In order, therefore, to arrive at some -positive conclusion on this point, we stood away from the ice at noon -of the 1st of September, and ran down in open water to 75° 52′ N. Lat. -and 51° 44′ E. Long., intending to return to the north again, in order -to explore the state of the ice to the north-east. Overcoming with much -difficulty the opposition of our skipper, we returned to the edge of the -ice, which we found, September 5th, in 78° 5′ N. Lat. and 56° E. Long. -Though there was not much wind, a high sea running on the ice compelled -us to leave it. In our course to the south-east we crossed 77° 30′ N. -Lat. and 59° E. Long.; here, also, to the south of 78°, there was no ice. -To penetrate further to the east formed no part of our plan, and since -another attempt to return to the ice would have been objectless, for the -reasons above stated, we proposed to run into a bight on the west coast -of Novaya Zemlya to take in fuel and water, which we urgently needed. The -longer nights now made it almost impossible to manœuvre a ship in the -ice when the winds were high, though a good steamer might have persisted -for some time longer. The temperature of the sea on the 5th of September -was 39° F. in Lat. 77° 30′, and on the 8th of the month, when we were in -sight of Cape Nassau, it reached 41° F. - -22. Storms compelled us to keep to sea. As a current constantly set us -to the north-east, we found it not possible to land on Novaya Zemlya, -scarcely even to see it. On the night of September 12th we came into -the region where the equatorial and Polar air-currents meet, and had an -opportunity of observing the hurricane-like effects of their conjunction. -The barometer fell about two inches, and the sea was so broken that the -ship could hardly be steered, even with a fresh wind. On September 14th -we were off Matoschkin Schar, and could not anchor, a snow-storm from the -north-east completely hiding the coast. The change, which meantime had -taken place in the sky, was strange and remarkable. Heavy thunder-clouds -lay over our heads, just as they do in the region of the trade-winds, and -every moment threatened to discharge themselves. On the 13th of September -we saw the first Aurora, in the shape of an arch, passing through, our -zenith. The want of fuel and water, from which we began to suffer, and -the end of the season for navigation, compelled us to avail ourselves of -the favourable wind which had set in, and begin our voyage home, without -landing on Novaya Zemlya. On this same day three of our crew of seven -men fell ill, one of them with scurvy. A heavy storm from the north-east -compelling us to heave to, we lay close under the coast of Lapland for a -whole day. On the 20th of September we ran into Tana Fiord on the east -of North Cape, the most northerly point of Europe, and took in water. -The gloomy cliffs of Tanahorn and the rocky iron-bound coasts were not -at all behind the lands we had left in their terrible desolation. On the -24th of August the _Isbjörn_ passed North Cape; on the 4th of October -she anchored in Tromsoe. Weyprecht had remained on board while, with a -Lapland sailor who could speak Norwegian, I left the ship in Tana Fiord -and went on to Tromsoe through Lapland, sometimes by means of a small -boat on the shallow rivers and sometimes by means of reindeer sledges. - -23. It had formed no part of our plan, either to make discoveries, or to -reach high latitudes. Our object was to investigate whether the Novaya -Zemlya seas offered greater facilities, either from the influence of the -Gulf Stream, or from any other causes, for penetrating the unexplored -Polar regions. Many arguments, derived from the scientific results of -our voyage, would seem to favour this idea, and in contradiction to the -discouraging views of our predecessors, whose failures are explained by -their defective equipment and the choice of the most unfavourable season -for navigation, we ventured to draw the following inferences: - -(1.) The Novaya Zemlya Sea is not filled with impenetrable ice, rendering -navigation impossible; on the contrary, it is open every year, probably -up to 78° of N. Lat., and is connected with the Sea of Kara, which is -also free from ice in autumn, and even, it may be, with the “Polynjii,” -in the North of Asia. If this inference should not be admitted, the -following remarks of Lieutenant Weyprecht, in anticipation of objections, -are put forward as worthy of consideration:—“In all probability the -open condition of the ice in 1871 will be ascribed to chance, or to an -especially favourable ice-year. With respect to the latter alternative, -the accounts given by the walrus-hunters of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya -should convince us, that the year 1871 was not only not a favourable, -but a most unfavourable year in the ice. It was almost impossible to -navigate Wyde-Jans Water, and the Sea of Kara could only be reached -through the most southerly straits—the Jugorsky Straits. There remains, -therefore, only the other objection, that the accident of favourable -winds was the cause of our penetrating so far. But our meteorological -journal shows North, or at any rate Northerly winds, and often, too, -blowing freshly, from August 4th to September 5th, with the exception of -twelve watches, _i.e._ two days. But in no case could these winds have -driven the ice to the north. With respect to the loose character of the -ice we encountered, it might be said, that we saw only the outer ice. -But, in the first place, we were often so far within the barrier that it -would be inadmissible to speak of it as the outer ice; and, in the second -place, the ice-barrier shows the state of the ice behind it. Whenever the -wind lies against the ice, there the ice is always the most dense and -packed, and we find open places only when we have worked our way through -the outer ice.” - -(2.) The time most favourable for navigation in this sea falls at the end -of August, and lasts—though rendered hazardous by storms, the formation -of young ice, and the darkness which supervenes at that season—till the -end of September, and during this period the ice may be said to be at its -minimum. - -(3.) The Novaya Zemlya Sea is a shallow sea—a connection and continuation -of the great plains of Siberia. In the extreme north, its depth was 600 -feet, and south-east of Gillis’ Land about 300 feet. - -(4.) Gillis’ Land is not a continent, but either an island or a group of -islands. Whereas, from the circumstance that in the highest latitudes—in -79° N. Lat.—we found drift-wood covered with mud, sea-weed, creatures -which live only near the land, decreasing depths of the sea, sweet-water -ice and icebergs laden with dirt, it may be inferred, with great -probability, that there exist masses of land to the north-east of Gillis’ -Land. - -(5.) The appearance of Siberian drift-wood, only in the most northern -seas reached in our voyage, seems to point to an easterly current there. - -(6.) The Russian expeditions in the past and present centuries, which -attempted to penetrate by the north-west coast of Novaya Zemlya, -miscarried, because they sailed before the favourable season for -navigation, and also because they had not the advantage of steam. - -(7.) How far the Gulf Stream has any share or influence in the favourable -conditions for the navigation of the Eastern Polar Sea which have been -described, cannot as yet be positively determined. The state of the -ice, the observations which were made on the temperature of the sea, -its colour and the animal life found in it, seem to speak in favour of -the action of this current in that region. It is possible that the Gulf -Stream may exercise its culminating influence on the west coast of Novaya -Zemlya only at the beginning of September; for while the temperature of -the sea in the months of July and August gradually fell from 45° F. to -36° F. in Lat. 75° N., and to zero and below it, still more to the north, -we observed 39° F., September 6, in Lat. 78°, and 41° F., September -10, in Lat. 75° 30′. The temperature of the air was in all these cases -considerably less than that of the water. If the unusually favourable -state of the ice on the east of Spitzbergen should be ascribed to warm -southerly currents of air, it may be replied that our observations -specify the almost uninterrupted occurrence of north winds. It is also -possible, that at the beginning and middle of summer the Gulf Stream may -move slowly in a northerly direction along the coasts of Novaya Zemlya, -and that towards autumn it spreads itself more and more to the west. Our -observations proved the existence, in the eastern Novaya Zemlya seas, -of a band of warm water, from thirty-six to forty feet deep, beneath -which lies, without gradation, a colder stratum. It is evident that the -unequal density of these strata prevents their mingling. This band of -warmer water near North Cape is about 150 feet deep, with a temperature -of nearly 45° F., but diminishes as it flows northward. The frequency -of fogs and mists in the Novaya Zemlya Sea, and the squalls unknown -to other Arctic regions, which are characteristic of a more southerly -region, indicate also a current of warm water. How this warm current -gradually cools towards the north, and becomes shallower, and how -distinctly it divides into those strata of water of equal temperature, -so characteristic of the Gulf Stream, is shown by three series of -observations taken by Weyprecht at different latitudes, with the maximum -and minimum thermometer of Casella:— - - 72° 30′ lat., 44° long.|77° 26′ lat., 44° long.|76° 40′ lat., 55° long. - 12 to 114′ + 4·8° C. | 6′ to 30′ + 2·2° C. | 6′ to 39′ + 2·5° C. - 144 + 2·5 | 36 + 1·8 | 48 + 1·0 - 174 + 2·0 | 45 + 0·3 | 60 - 0·0 - 204 + 1·5 | 60 + 0·3 | 72 - 0·6 - 234 + 1·3 | 75 - 0·9 | 90 - 0·6 - 264 + 1·0 | 90 - 0·8 | 120 - 1·3 - 294 + 0·5 | 120 - 1·6 | 180 - 1·2 - 360 + 0·5 | 180 - 1·8 | 300 - 1·2 - 450 + 0·0 | 360 - 1·6 | - 600 - 0·4 | | - 800 - 1·3 | | - -24. These inferences rendered the despatch of a well-equipped expedition -to the Novaya Zemlya seas very desirable, either to penetrate towards -the north, or to pursue the direction of the north-east passage. To this -idea a most gracious reception was given by the Emperor of Austria. -Hence arose the Austro-Hungarian expedition of 1872. The promoters of -this undertaking assumed neither the existence of an open Polar Sea, -nor the possibility of reaching the Pole by sledge or boat expeditions. -Their object, simply and broadly stated, was the exploration of the -still unknown Arctic regions, and it was their belief, that a vessel -could penetrate further into this region by the route between Novaya -Zemlya and Spitzbergen, where the _Isbjörn_ in her pioneer voyage found -the ice more loose and navigable than had been imagined possible. But -in addition to the causes already specified, the influence of the warm -currents, produced by the great rivers of Siberia discharging themselves -into a shallow sea, was also supposed to co-operate in producing this -phenomenon. Of these rivers, the Obi and Jenisej alone discharge -into that shallow sea a body of water as great as the waters of the -Mediterranean or the waters of the Mississippi. The course of the current -produced by these mighty rivers is as yet unknown; but it was natural -to suppose, that old and heavy pack-ice could not be formed on a coast -submitted to such an influence. This is confirmed by the observations -of the Russians, who in the coldest period of the year always find -open water in the Siberian seas. Middendorf, August 26, 1844, found the -Gulf of Taimyr quite free from ice; our own observations, made in 60° -E. Long., and those of the Norwegian Mack, who advanced to 81° E. Long. -(75° 45′ N. Lat.), support the supposition of a still navigable sea. Of -the region between Cape Tscheljuskin and the ice-free spaces asserted -to exist by Wrangel, and others, we know but little; but it is probable -that the character of the ice in those seas does not greatly differ from -the character of the ice in contiguous seas. Of the seas between Novaya -Zemlya and Behring’s Straits, at the distance of a few miles from the -Asiatic coast, nothing is known. No ship has ever navigated this enormous -Eastern Polar Sea. - -25. It was the plan of the Austro-Hungarian expedition to penetrate in -an E.N.E. direction, in the latter half of August, when the north coast -of Novaya Zemlya is generally free from ice. The places at which the -expedition was to winter were left undetermined; these might, possibly, -be Cape Tscheljuskin, the new Siberian islands, or any lands which might -be discovered. A return to Europe through Behring’s Straits, however -improbable it might be, lay among the possibilities of the venture. -Minor details were left to circumstances. In the event of the loss of -the ship, the expedition was to endeavour to reach the coast of Siberia -by boats, and, on one of the gigantic water-courses of Northern Asia, -penetrate into more southern regions. The depôt of provisions and coals -which it was Graf Wilczek’s intention to deposit on the north coast of -Novaya Zemlya, was to be the nearest refuge for the crew in the event of -disaster to the ship. Stone cairns were to be erected on all prominent -localities, and in these were to be laid accounts of the course of the -expedition. Till its return at the end of the autumn of 1874, its members -were to be cut off from all intercourse with Europe. The motives of an -undertaking so long and so laborious cannot be found in the mere love -of distinction or of adventure. Next to the wish to serve the interests -of science by going beyond the footsteps of our predecessors, we were -influenced by the duty of confirming and fulfilling the hopes which we -ourselves had excited. - - - - -VOYAGE OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.” - -_JUNE, 1872-SEPTEMBER, 1874._ - -I. - -FROM BREMERHAVEN TO KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -FROM BREMERHAVEN TO TROMSOE. - - -1. He who seeks to penetrate the recesses of the Polar world chooses a -path beset with toils and dangers. The explorer of that region has to -devote every energy of mind and body to extort a slender fragment of -knowledge from the silence and mystery of the realm of ice. He must be -prepared to confront disappointments and disasters with inexhaustible -patience, and pursue devotedly his object, even when he himself becomes -the sport of accident. That object must not be the admiration of men, -but the extension of the domain of knowledge. He spends long years in -the most dreadful of all banishments, far from his friends, from all -the enjoyments of life, surrounded by manifold perils, and bearing the -burden of utter loneliness. The grandeur therefore of his object can -alone support him,—for otherwise the dreary void of things without can -only be an image of the void within. How many are the preconceptions with -which the novice begins the voyage to the rugged, inclement north! Books -can tell him little of the stern life to which he dooms himself, as soon -as he crosses the threshold of the ice, thinking perhaps to measure the -evils that await him by the physical miseries of cold instead of by the -moral deprivations in store for him. - -2. In the year 1868, while employed on the survey of the Orteler Alps, a -newspaper with an account of Koldewey’s first expedition one day found -its way into my tent on the mountain side. In the evening I held forth on -the North Pole to the herdsmen and _Jägers_ of my party as we sat round -the fire, no one more filled with astonishment than myself, that there -should be men endued with such capacity to endure cold and darkness. -No presentiment had I then that the very next year I should myself have -joined an expedition to the North Pole; and as little could Haller, one -of my _Jägers_ at that time, foresee that he would accompany me on my -third expedition. And much the same was it with the three-and-twenty men -who early in the morning of June 13, 1872, came on board the vessel in -Bremerhaven, to cast in their lot with the ship _Tegetthoff_, whatever -that lot might be; for we had all bound ourselves by a formal deed, -renouncing every claim to an expedition for our rescue, in case we should -be unable to return. Our ideal aim was the north-east passage, our -immediate and definite object was the exploration of the seas and lands -on the north-east of Novaya Zemlya. - -3. A bright day rose with us, and no augur’s voice could have heightened -the glad hopes which animated every one of us. Friends from Austria and -Germany had come to bid us a last farewell; but, as every venture should -be, so our departure that morning was, quiet and without pretension. -About six o’clock in the morning the _Tegetthoff_ lifted her anchor and -dropped down the Schleusen and the Weser, towed by a steamer. Down the -broad stream we calmly glided, full of satisfaction at the fulfilment -of long-cherished plans. There lay the same pastures, the same trees -and meadows which had so delighted us on our return from Greenland. Yet -unmoved we saw all the charms of nature grow young under the morning -sun and then fade away in the evening twilight—as the land gradually -disappeared behind us, and the coasts of Germany were lost to view. With -the feeling that we were leaving them for so long a time, our thoughts -turned to our new life in the narrow limits of a ship, and the resolve -to live and labour in harmony animated each breast. How often we should -be liable to casualties which no eye could foresee, we were soon to find -out, when in almost dead calm and without steam we came on the shallow -waters of Heligoland. What would have become of the expedition, had we -not discovered in time, that we had only a few feet of water under the -keel! - -4. The vessel, 220 tons burden, was fitted out for two years and a half, -but was over-freighted by about thirty tons, so that our available space -was much curtailed. Yet the cabin, which Weyprecht, Brosch, Orel, Kepes, -Krisch, and I occupied, was far more commodious than the miserable -hole in which eight of us had been crowded together on our Greenland -expedition. Our supply of coals, 130 tons, was large in proportion to -the size of the ship, being calculated not only for our daily wants, but -to enable us to keep up steam for about sixty days. But to economise -this store we used our sails, as much as possible, even in the ice. Both -ship and engine—of 100 horse power—tested in the trial trip of June 8, -sustained their character during the expedition, and did great credit to -the Tecklenborg firm. - -5. The wind being unfavourable, it took us some time to cross the North -Sea and reach the coast of Norway. My journal describes this part of -our voyage. “Light winds from the south carried the _Tegetthoff_ on her -lonely course over the North Sea. In undimmed brightness the blue sky -stretched overhead, the air was balmy and mild. In the grey distance -frowns the iron rampart of countless cliffs encircling the barren wastes -of Norway. Occasionally a sea-gull comes near us, or some bird rests -on the mast-head; now and then a sail is seen on the horizon,—but save -this, no life—no event. Every one feels, though no one utters it, that a -grave future lies before him; each may hope what he wishes, for over the -future there is drawn an impenetrable veil. All, however, are animated -with the consciousness, that while serving science, we are also serving -our Fatherland, and that all our doings will be watched at home with the -liveliest sympathy. - -6. “On board the _Tegetthoff_ are heard all the languages of our -country, German, Italian, Slavonic, and Hungarian; Italian, however, is -the language in which all orders are given. The crew is lighthearted -and merry: in the evening a gentle breeze carries the lively songs of -the Italians over the blue sea, glowing under the midnight sun, or the -monotonous cadence of the _Ludro_ of the Dalmatians recalls the sunny -home which they are so soon to exchange for its very opposite, which -remains a sort of mystery to all their powers of fancy. Thus begins -so peacefully our long voyage into the frozen ocean of the north. In -a few weeks the ice will grate on the bows of the _Tegetthoff_, the -crystal icebergs will surround her, and with many a strain will the good -ship force her way through the icy wastes, sometimes inclosed on every -side, sometimes free in coast-water, or threatened by the ‘ice-blink’ -foreboding danger.” - -7. The officers and crew of the _Tegetthoff_ amounted in all to -twenty-four souls. - - Lieutenant Carl Weyprecht, } - Lieutenant Julius Payer, } _Commanders of the Expedition._ - Lieutenant Gustav Brosch,[14] } - Midshipman Edward Orel, } _Officers of the Ship._ - Dr. Julius Kepes, _Physician to the Expedition_. - Otto Krisch, _Engineer_. - Pietro Lusina,[15] _Boatswain_. - Antonio Vecerina, _Carpenter_. - Josef Pospischill, _Stoker_. - Johann Orasch, _Cook_. - Johann Haller, } - Alexander Klotz, } _Jägers_, from Tyrol. - Antonio Zaninovich, _Seaman_. - Antonio Catarinich, ditto. - Antonio Scarpa, ditto. - Antonio Lukinovich, ditto. - Giuseppe Latkovich, ditto. - Pietro Fallesich, ditto. - George Stiglich, ditto. - Vincenzo Palmich, ditto. - Lorenzo Marola, ditto. - Francesco Lettis, ditto. - Giacomo Sussich, ditto. - Captain Olaf Carlsen, _Icemaster and Harpooner_. - We had eight dogs on board; two we got in Lapland, the rest were - brought from Vienna. - -8. Stormy weather detained us for some time among the Loffoden Isles, -so that we made Tromsoe only on July 3. Here we were received most -courteously by the Austro-Hungarian Consul, Aagaard, who invited us to -a banquet. We remained here a week, in order to complete our equipment. -The ship, which had leaked considerably ever since we left Bremerhaven, -was thoroughly examined by divers, the stores were landed, the ship -repaired and reladen. Our supply of coals was replenished, a Norwegian -whale-boat added to our equipment, and, lastly, the harpooner, Captain -Olaf Carlsen, was taken on board. On July 6 we received our last news -from Austria, letters and newspapers. The Ukase granted by the Russian -Government also arrived, drawn up both for Weyprecht and myself in case -of our being separated, a document of great importance, if the ship -should be lost and we had to return through Siberia; an issue only too -probable when the vast length and enormous difficulties of the north-east -passage were considered. While Lieutenant Weyprecht was engaged in -stopping the leak of the ship, some of us ascended—a Lapp of the name -of Dilkoa being our guide—a pinnacle of rock, 4,000 feet high, towering -over Tromsoe’s labyrinth of fiords, in order to compare our aneroid and -mercurial barometers. From the summit we beheld an enormous dark column -of smoke rising perpendicularly to the height of about 1,500 feet in the -still air—the northern extremity of Tromsoe was in flames. Most gladly -would we have learned something of the state of the ice this year; but as -yet this was impracticable, for none of the walrus hunters had returned -from their grounds in the north. - -9. On the morning of Saturday, July 13, officers and crew heard mass from -a French priest, and bidding adieu to our Tromsoe friends, we left the -quiet little city, the most northerly of Europe, early on Sunday morning. -The passengers of the Hamburg mail steamer, entering the harbour as we -left it, greeted us with loud and long cheers, and steaming through the -narrow Grötsound, close under the cliffs of Sandoe and Rysoe we came into -the open sea, Captain Carlsen acting as our pilot. As we issued from -the _Scheeren_, a mist arose which covered and obscured the huge rock -of Fingloe. Here the engine fires were put out and the sails set, and -the first and last voyage, which the _Tegetthoff_ was destined to make, -began. On July 15 we steered towards the north, the Norwegian coast with -its many glaciers in full view, and on the 16th we sighted the North Cape -in the blue distance. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -ON THE FROZEN OCEAN. - - -1. Unfavourable winds had hindered our progress for some days; we now -encountered heavy seas. On July 23 a sudden fall of the temperature and -dirty rainy weather told us that we were close to the ice, which we -expected to find later and much more to the northward, and on the evening -of July 25, lat. 74° 0′ 15″ N., we actually sighted it, the thermometer -marking 32·5° F., and 34·5° F. in the sea. The northerly winds, which had -prevailed for some time had broken up the ice, and it lay before us in -long loose lines. Its outer boundary was consequently the very opposite -of those solid walls of ice which we met with in Greenland in 1869, and -two years afterwards on the east of Spitzbergen. Though surprised at -finding the ice so far to the south, we never imagined that this was -anything but a collection of floes, which had drifted out perhaps from -the Sea of Kara through the Straits of Matotschkin. But only too soon -the conviction was forced upon us that we were already within the Frozen -Ocean, and that navigation in the year 1872 was to differ widely from -that of the preceding year. Lieutenant Weyprecht had the day before -fastened “the crow’s nest” to the mainmast of the _Tegetthoff_, and -henceforth it became the abode of the officer of the watch. On July 26, -while steering in a north-easterly direction, the ice became closer, -though it was still navigable; but we nowhere saw the heavy fields which -had astonished us on the east coast of Greenland, and which Lütke found -to be so dangerous to navigation. The temperature of the air and the sea -fell rapidly, and during the two following weeks it remained below the -freezing point almost uniformly, and without any essential difference -between day and night. - -[Illustration: STILL LIFE IN THE FROZEN OCEAN.] - -2. The frozen sea of Novaya Zemlya is characterized by that inconstancy -of weather which in our lower latitudes we attribute to the month of -April; the same variability is met with, though in lesser degree, in the -Greenland seas during the summer months. Snowstorms now alternated with -the most glorious blue skies. The black-bulbed thermometer showed 113° F. -in the sun, with 39° F. in the shade. The hunting season began, and the -kitchen was well provided with auks and seals. Our Dalmatians soon learnt -to like the dark flesh of the latter. - -3. The ice gradually became closer; July 29 (74° 44′ N. Lat., 52° 8′ E. -Long.) we were able to continue our course only under steam, and heavy -shocks were henceforward inevitable; in many cases the vessel could -not force a passage except by charging the ice. In the night a vast, -apparently impenetrable barrier stopped our progress; but the tactics of -charging under steam again cleared a passage, and we penetrated into a -larger “ice-hole.” We now glided along over the shining surface of its -waters, as if we were navigating an inland lake, save that no copsewood -clothed the shores, but pale blocks of ice, which the mist, that now fell -and enveloped us, transformed into the most fantastic shapes, and at -last into mere shapelessness itself. In all that surrounded us neither -form nor colour was discernible; faint shadows floated within the veil -of mist, and our path seemed to lead no whither. A few hours before -the glowing fire of the noonday sun had lain on the mountain wastes of -Novaya Zemlya, while refraction raised its long coast high above the icy -horizon. Nowhere does a sudden change in Nature exercise so immediate an -effect on the mind as in the Frozen Ocean, where, too, all that brings -delight proceeds from the sun. - -4. For some days we had entered into a world utterly strange to most -of us on board the _Tegetthoff_. Dense mists frequently enveloped us, -and from out of the mantle of snow of the distant land the rocks, like -decayed battlements, frowned on us inhospitably. There is no more -melancholy sound than that which accompanies the decay and waste of the -ice, as it is constantly acted on by the sea and thaw, and no picture -more sad and solemn than the continuous procession of icebergs floating -like huge white biers towards the south. Ever and anon there rises -the noise of the ocean swell breaking amongst the excavations of the -ice-floes, while the water oozing out from their icy walls falls with -monotonous sound into the sea; or perhaps a mass of snow, deprived of its -support, drops into the waves, to disappear in them with a hissing sound -as of a flame. Never for a moment ceases the crackling and snapping sound -produced by the bursting of the external portions of the ice. Magnificent -cascades of thaw-water precipitate themselves down the sides of the -icebergs, which sometimes rend with a noise as of thunder as the beams of -the sun play on them. The fall of the titanic mass raises huge volumes -of foam, and the sea-birds, which had rested on its summit in peaceful -confidence, rise with terrified screams, soon to gather again on another -ice-colossus. - -5. But what a change, when the sun, surrounded by glowing cirrus clouds, -breaks through the mist, and the blue of the heavens gradually widens -out! The masses of vapour, as they well up, recede to the horizon, and -the cold ice-floes become in the sunlight dark borders to the “leads” -which gleam between them, on the trembling surface of which the midnight -sun is mirrored. Where the rays of the sun do not directly fall on it, -the ice is suffused with a faint rosy haze, which deepens more and more -as the source of light nears the horizon. Then the sunbeams fall drowsily -and softly, as through a veil of orange gauze, all forms lose at a little -distance their definition, the shadows become fainter and fainter, and -all nature assumes a dreamy aspect. In calm nights the air is so mild -that we forget we are in the home of ice and snow. A deep ultramarine sky -stretches over all, and the outlines of the ice and the land tremble on -the glassy surface of the water. If we pull in a boat over the unmoved -mirror of the “ice-holes,” close beside us a whale may emerge from its -depths, like a black shining mountain; if a ship penetrates into the -waste, it looks as weird as the “Flying Dutchman,” and the dense columns -of smoke, which rise in eddies from her funnel, remain fixed for hours -until they gradually melt away. When the sun sinks at midnight to the -edge of the horizon, then all life becomes dumb, and the icebergs, the -rocks, the glaciers of the land glow in a rosy, effulgence, so that we -are hardly conscious of the desolation. The sun has reached its lowest -point,—after a pause it begins to rise, and gradually its paler beams -are transformed into a dazzling brightness. Its softly warming light -dissolves the ban under which congelation has placed nature, the icy -streams, which had ceased to run, pour down their crystal walls. The -animal creation only still enjoys its rest; the polar-bear continues to -repose behind some wall of ice, and flocks of sea-gulls and divers sit -round the edge of a floe, calmly sleeping, with their heads under their -wings. Not a sound is to be heard, save, perhaps, the measured flapping -of the sails of the ship in the dying breeze. At length the head of a -seal rises stealthily for some moments from out the smooth waters; lines -of auks, with the short quick beat of their wings, whiz over the islands -of ice. The mighty whale again emerges from the depths, far and wide -is heard his snorting and blowing, which sounds like the murmurs of a -waterfall when it is distant, and like a torrent when it is near. Day -reigns once more with its brilliant light, and the dreamy character of -the spectacle is dissolved. - -6. We had sailed over one “ice-hole,” and again a dense barrier of ice -frowned on us; as we forced our way into it, the ice closed in all round -us—we were “beset.” The ship was made fast to a floe, the steam blown -off, its hot breath rushing with a loud noise through the cold mist; -every open mesh in the net of water-ways was closed by the ice, which -soon lay in such thick masses around us, that any one provided with a -plank might have wandered for miles in any direction he liked. July 30, -the _Tegetthoff_ remained fast in her prison; no current of water, nor -any movement among the floes lying close to us was discernible; a dead -calm prevailed, and mist hung on every side. On the following day we -made vain efforts to break through a floe which lay on our bows. The -calm still prevailed, Aug. 1 (74° 39′ N. L. 53° E. L.), and no change -was to be seen in the ice. Aug. 2, the crew began with hearty good-will -the toilsome work of warping, but with no success, the smallness of the -floes hardly admitting of this manœuvre. In the evening of the same day -it seemed as if a fresh breeze would set us free; but after we had gone -on for a few cable-lengths, a great floe once more barred the route, -while at the same time the wind fell. At length, when the ice became -somewhat looser, we got up the engine fires, and in the following night -broke through, under steam, a broad barrier of ice, which separated us -from the open coast-water of Novaya Zemlya. In the morning of Aug. 3, -we forced our way into coast-water, twenty miles broad, to the north of -Matotschkin Schar, and steered due north, the mountainous coasts still in -sight. A belt of ice 105 miles broad lay behind us. The country greatly -resembled Spitzbergen, and we observed with pleasure its picturesque -glaciers and mountains rising to the height of nearly 3,000 feet, though -inconsiderable compared with the mountains of Greenland. Far and wide not -a fragment of ice was to be seen; there was a heavy swell on, the air was -unusually warm (41° F.), in the evening rain fell, and on Aug. 4 we had -dense mists and driving snow-storms, which forced us to keep to the west -of Admiralty Peninsula. During the night of Aug. 6, the snow-storms were -heavier than before, and the deck was quite covered. Towards the north -and west very close ice was seen, and since the temperature of the air, -even with the winds in the south-west, remained constantly below zero, -it was evident that the ice must stretch far in that direction also. -Aug. 7, we ran on the white barriers to the west of Admiralty Peninsula, -and far to the north, beyond a broad field of ice, refraction indicated -open water and showed the forms of “Tschorny Nos” floating in the air. -In the afternoon of Aug. 8 the ice in 75° 22′ N. L. became so thick -around us that we were compelled to have recourse to steam-power; but the -_Tegetthoff_, even with this auxiliary was unable against a head-wind -to penetrate a broad strip of close ice, and banking up our fires, we -determined to wait its breaking up. Close under the coast open water was -again observed, and in it—a Schooner! Every one now hastened to write -letters to his friends and relations, but the schooner, to which we -meant to give our letters and despatches, by running into the heart of -Gwosdarew Bay escaped the duty we had in store for it. About half-past -ten P.M. the wind had fallen and the ice began to open out, and we were -able to continue our voyage under steam in a north-westerly direction. -The sun lay before us, the clear mirror of distant “leads” glowed with -a glorious carmine, the barriers of ice which lay between these “leads” -appeared as stripes of violet, and only our immediate neighbourhood was -pale and cold. The _Tegetthoff_ laboured through the dense accumulation -of floes and about midnight reached open water, and the steam was again -blown off. Aug. 9, we sailed in coast-water perfectly free from ice, -excepting the icebergs we encountered, some about forty feet high. These, -generally, were so numerous and so small in size, that they were at once -seen to be offshoots from the small glaciers of Novaya Zemlya as they -plunge into the sea. Their surface was frequently covered with débris. -Loose drift-ice showed itself, Aug. 10, but the ship continued to steer -between the floes towards the north. In the forenoon of that day we were -again nearly “beset,” but happily escaped that fate after four hours’ -warping. Aug. 11, our course was continued without impediment in a -northerly direction through the loose drift-ice. The land, from which we -had hitherto remained distant about eight or twelve nautical miles, now -declined in height from three thousand to fifteen hundred or a thousand -feet, and quickly lost its picturesque character. On the noon of August -12, on account of a thick mist, we made fast to a great floe, and were -able to commence on it the training of the dogs to drag the sledges. - -[Illustration: GWOSDAREW INLET.] - -7. In the neighbourhood of the Pankratjew Islands, a ship suddenly -and unexpectedly appeared on the horizon, and endeavoured to gain -our attention by discharges from a mortar, and by the hoisting of -flags. How great was our astonishment and our joy when we beheld the -Austro-Hungarian flag at the peak of the _Isbjörn_, and were able to -greet Count Wilczek, Commodore Baron Sterneck, Dr. Höfer, and Mr. -Burger half an hour afterwards on board the _Tegetthoff_. Coming from -Spitzbergen in the _Isbjörn_ (the ship of our precursory expedition of -1871) they had sighted us two days before. That in a sailing vessel, and -without any sufficient equipment, they had succeeded in following and -overtaking the _Tegetthoff_, which had penetrated so far with difficulty -and by the aid of steam was a proof both of skill and resolution. Their -object was to establish a depôt of provisions at Cape Nassau, at whatever -personal risk to themselves. About two o’clock in the morning our guests -returned to the _Isbjörn_, and both ships now sailed in company, and -without meeting any hindrance in the ice-free coast-water, in a northerly -direction. In the forenoon of Aug. 13, in 76° 18′ N. Lat. and 61° 17′ E. -Long., we came upon closer ice, amid mist and stormy weather, and the two -ships anchored to some firm land-ice two cable-lengths from each other, -about a mile from the land. Close to the south of us lay the Barentz -Isles with their singularly formed hills, which the walrus-hunters call -by the somewhat gloomy name of “The Three Coffins.” On our north an -enormous iceberg rose in dazzling whiteness above a faintly glimmering -field of ice, a harbinger of new countries—for its size forbade us -to think that it owed its origin to the glaciers of Novaya Zemlya. -Continuous winds from the W.S.W., close ice, mist, downfalls of snow, -the necessity of determining the geographical position of the depôt of -provisions which we had established, compelled us to lie for eight days -before the Barentz Islands. The opportunity we thus had of putting our -feet once more on the land was exceedingly agreeable. We made repeated -visits to the shore with two dog-sledges, in company with Professor -Höfer; and as his observations on the phenomena of the country are those -of a distinguished geologist, I here insert those he has kindly placed at -my disposal. - -8. “The Barentz Isles are flat, girt with cliffs, and separated by -narrow straits from the coast, which rises up terrace on terrace. Its -rocks consist of a black, very friable slate, frequently alternating -with strata of mountain limestone of the carboniferous period, varying -in breadth from one to ten _metres_. These strata are filled with a -countless number of fossilized inhabitants of the sea, trilobites, -mussels, brachiopodes, crinoides, corals, &c., which are utterly foreign -to the Frozen Ocean as it now is, and whose cognates live only in warm -seas. - -9. “The animal world, therefore, buried in the limestone of these -islands, is an indisputable proof that there was once, in these high -latitudes, a warm sea, which could not possibly co-exist with such great -glaciers as those which now immerse themselves in the seas of Novaya -Zemlya. That portion of the earth, now completely dead and buried in -ice, once knew _a period of luxuriant life_. In its sea there revelled -a world of life, manifold and beautiful in its forms, while the land, -as the discoveries on Bear Island and Spitzbergen prove, was crowded -with gigantic palm-like ferns. This age of the earth’s history is called -the carboniferous period; it was the rich and fertile youth of the high -north, which lived out its time more rapidly than the southern zones, now -in all their vigour and variety. If we compare the Fauna buried in the -chalk formations of the Barentz Isles, with the contemporaneous Fauna -which we know from the carboniferous formation of Russia, specially -that of the Ural, we find a very remarkable agreement, not only in -their general character, but also in particular organisms. Many of the -fossils of the carboniferous limestone of these high degrees of latitude -(76°-77°) are found in analogous strata of the Ural, and are proved -by the researches of Russian geologists to exist there as far as the -fiftieth degree of latitude. Without stopping to insist on the great -similarity between the stratification of Novaya Zemlya and the Ural—the -former being the real continuation of the latter—we dwell here on the -fact that in the carboniferous period there was a sea which stretched -from the fiftieth to the seventy-seventh degree of north latitude, _i.e._ -twenty-seven degrees, or 405 geographical miles, which was animated by -the same Fauna, and which consequently must have presented the same -relations, especially a like warm temperature. From these signs it -would appear that the zones of climate now so decisively marked on the -surface of the earth did not exist at the carboniferous period. The -horizontal surface of the land leads us at the first to infer horizontal -stratification; but we find the contrary to be the case; the marine -deposits once horizontal, have been so raised at a later period that -they are now vertical. Since the friable slate degrades rapidly, and -the limestone layers very gradually, it may be assumed that the former -wasting away leaves the limestone layers standing like walls between -them—a thing which, in a small scale, may often be elsewhere observed. If -a glance at these buried fossils awakens in us an image, as in a dream, -of a creation rich in organic forms, a glance at the present state of the -Barentz Isles impresses us with the gloomiest feelings. - -10. “Before us lies this small greyish brown fragment of the earth. The -cold, level ground is covered with sharp-edged pieces of rock, which -appear to be as it were macadamised, so closely are they rammed together. -Here and there, about a fathom’s length from each other, lie brownish -green masses like mole-hills. When we examine them more closely, each -mass resolves itself into a vast number of small plants of the same -species (_Saxifraga oppositifolia_), whose little stalks are covered with -dark green leaves, which are alive, and also with brown leaves, which -have been dead for years and years, but wither in the cold much more -gradually than with us. From this small heap, tender rosy blooms raise -their little heads, bidding defiance to the bitter snowy weather which -sweeps over the miserable plain. Another species of saxifrage (_Saxifraga -cœspitosa_), with shorter stalks and yellowish-white flowers, growing in -thick clumps, forms, together with the first-named variety and the more -rarely appearing _Saxifraga rivularis_, the hardiest representatives -of this family of plants so frequently found in the Polar regions. If -to these we add _Draba arctica_ with its little yellow flowers, forming -in valleys large patches of sward, the yellow flowering poppy (_Papaver -nudicaule_), and a rare willow (_Salix polaris_), which with some few -leaves peeps forth from the soil, we have described the whole Flora of -that desolate waste, in which a mere passing glance would scarce detect -the existence of vegetable life among the débris of rocks and the heaps -of snow. Mosses are found here and there in the moister fissures of -rocks, and especially on the coast, where old drift-wood, or the bones -of whales or other animals, afford the nourishment they need, and in -some places the mosses spread themselves out into small carpets. Lichens -love to shelter under the clusters of the different kinds of saxifrage, -though sometimes they are found by themselves. Of this class we will -mention merely the so-called Iceland moss (_Cetraria islandica_), -and a reindeer lichen (_Cladonia pyxidata_); the few other forms are -nearly related to those mentioned, and belong to the so-called creeping -lichens. One peculiarity of the Flora of the far north, which we have -already mentioned, is their growth in clumps. Only thus can these tender -organisms maintain their existence against the stern elements; and this -indeed is a characteristic of all Arctic creation, which is seen in the -animal world also, when its means of nourishment are hard to find. We -will point only to the herds of reindeer, of lemmings, of walruses, of -seals, &c., lastly to the vast flocks of birds; all of which illustrate -the principle: _common danger begets common defence_.” - -11. Our involuntary leisure at the Barentz Isles enabled us to make -some precautionary preparations for our future contests with the ice; -for a ship may be crushed by the ice and sink in a few minutes, as had -happened some days previously, not far from us, to the yachts _Valborg_ -and _Iceland_. Provisions and ammunition for four weeks were got ready, -and each man was entrusted with a special service, if it should ever come -to this extremity. To guard against the dreaded pressures of the ice, -heavy beams were hung round the hull of the vessel, so that the pressure -on the ship might be distributed over a larger surface, and the vessel -itself be raised instead of crushed. Our space on deck, somewhat limited -at first, had been considerably enlarged, although our numerous sledges, -our stock of drift-wood, and the rudder which had been unshipped, formed -inconvenient obstacles, while the chained-up dogs occasioned some -unpleasant surprises to those who had not succeeded in gaining their -affections. These poor animals, without protection, suffered much from -the cold rough weather which now prevailed, though subsequently some -provision was made for their comfort. Sumbu and Pekel, the two Lapland -dogs, were the most hardy, and slept without stirring, even when they -were completely covered with snow. It was only after a long and stout -resistance that the dogs became accustomed to the flesh of seals; at -first they growled at every one who offered it to them. - -[Illustration: FORMATION OF THE DEPÔT AT “THE THREE COFFINS.”] - -12. Aug. 14, we were threatened by the advance of an enormous line of -pack-ice, which inclosed us in the little “docks” of the land-ice, and -caused the _Isbjörn_ to heel over. In the evening a bear came near -this vessel, which was shot by Professor Höfer and Captain Kjelsen. On -the following day, with the help of the dogs and sledges, we removed -over the land-ice to “The Three Coffins” the provisions which were -to form the depôt: 2,000 lbs. of rye-bread in casks, 1,000 lbs. of -pease-sausages in tin cases. These were deposited in the crevice of a -rock and secured against the depredations of bears. We felt assured of -the conscientiousness of Russian or Norwegian fishermen, that they would -make use of these provisions only under the pressure of urgent necessity. -This depôt was intended to be the first place of refuge, in the event of -the ship being lost. - -[Illustration: THE “TEGETTHOFF” AND “ISBJÖRN” SEPARATE.] - -13. Both ships were dressed with flags, and round one common table we -celebrated the birthday, Aug. 18, of the Emperor and King, Francis Joseph -I. On Aug. 19 we fetched some drift-wood from the land, and saw from a -height an “ice-hole” stretching to the north at no great distance from -the coast. As we returned to the ship we came across a bear, which, -being assailed by so many hunters at once, took to flight. Aug. 20, some -changes in the ice seemed to make navigation possible, and we forthwith -went on board the _Isbjörn_ to bid adieu to our friends. It was no -common farewell. A separation to those who are themselves separated -from the world moves the heart to its depths. But besides this, in -bidding adieu to Count Wilczek, we felt how much we were indebted to -him, as the man who had fostered the work we were about to undertake, -who dreaded no danger while providing for our safety in the event of a -catastrophe to the expedition. Our high-minded friend was at this moment -the embodiment of our country, which, honouring us with its confidence -and trust, demanded that we should devote all our energies to the high -objects of the expedition. Often afterwards did this adieu return to our -memories. With a fresh wind from the north-east we passed the _Isbjörn_ -as we steamed towards the north, while this vessel, veiled in mist, soon -disappeared from our eyes. - -[Illustration: THE “TEGETTHOFF” FINALLY BESET.] - -14. Our prospects, so far as the object of our expedition was concerned, -had meantime not improved. To cross the Frozen Sea to Cape Tscheljuskin -in the present year was not to be dreamt of, and yet the thought of -wintering in the north of Novaya Zemlya was positively intolerable. The -navigable water was becoming narrower every day, and the ice seemed to -increase in solidity, especially in the neighbourhood of the coast. In -the afternoon of this day we ran into an “ice-hole,” but in the night -barriers of ice stopped our further progress. As usual, the ship was -made fast to a floe, the steam blown off, and we awaited the parting -asunder of the ice.[16] Five walruses who had been watching us from a -rock as we entered that ill-starred “ice-hole,” sprang into the water and -disappeared. - -15. Ominous were the events of that day, for immediately after we had -made fast the _Tegetthoff_ to that floe, the ice closed in upon us from -all sides and we became close prisoners in its grasp. No water was to be -seen around us, and _never again were we destined to see our vessel in -water_. Happy is it for men that inextinguishable hope enables them to -endure all the vicissitudes of fate, which are to test their powers of -endurance, and that they can never see, as at a glance, the long series -of disappointments in store for them! We must have been filled with -despair, had we known that evening that we were henceforward doomed to -obey the caprices of the ice, that the ship would never again float on -the waters of the sea, that all the expectations with which our friends, -but a few hours before, saw the _Tegetthoff_ steam away to the north, -were now crushed; _that we were in fact no longer discoverers, but -passengers against our will on the ice_. From day to day we hoped for -the hour of our deliverance! At first we expected it hourly, then daily, -then from week to week; then at the seasons of the year and changes of -the weather, then in the chances of new years! _But that hour never -came_, yet the light of hope, which supports man in all his sufferings, -and raises him above them all, never forsook us, amid all the depressing -influence of expectations cherished only to be disappointed. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -DRIFTING IN THE NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEAS. - - -1. At the end of August the temperature in the Frozen Ocean is generally -at the freezing point of the Centigrade thermometer, but this year (1872) -it was constantly six degrees below it. A cold bleak air enveloped us, -there was abundance of snow, the sun showed himself rarely, and for -some days he had sunk, at midnight, under the horizon. The ship and her -rigging were stiff with ice, and everything indicated that for us winter -had begun. As the masses of ice which inclosed us consisted only of small -floes, we were led to hope that the strong east winds would soon disperse -them. But the very contrary really happened, for the low temperatures, -the calms, and falls of snow, bound the floes of ice only the more -closely together, and within a few days congealed them into one single -field, in the midst of which the ship remained fast and immovable. Our -surroundings were monotonous beyond description,—one vast unattractive -white surface, and even the high-lands of Novaya Zemlya were covered with -freshly fallen snow. - -2. To reach the coast of Siberia under these circumstances had become -an impossibility, and even in the event of our being liberated, the -search for a winter harbour in Novaya Zemlya would be a matter of peril -and difficulty. Yet we calculated confidently on this contingency and -employed our enforced inactivity in completing our preparations for -sledge journeys during the autumn, although we could not but feel, that -their importance must be of secondary interest and value in a country -so well known as Novaya Zemlya. Meantime we drifted slowly along the -coast in a northerly direction and apparently under the influence of -a current, which has been often observed on the northern coasts of -Novaya Zemlya. But the gloom of our situation, as we became conscious -of our captivity, was more distinctly and painfully felt. On the 1st of -September the temperature sank nine degrees below zero (12° F.), and -the few and limited spaces of open water round our floe disappeared. -The sun now remained six hours below the horizon, and the formation of -young ice in a single night often reached such a thickness, that we soon -perceived that our last hope for this year lay in the setting-in of heavy -equinoctial storms to break up the ice-fields. - -[Illustration: ATTEMPTS TO GET FREE IN SEPTEMBER.] - -3. On the 2nd of September a fissure running through our floe reached -the after-part of the _Tegetthoff_ and opened into a “lead,” and even -our floe partially broke up; but this availed us nothing, for the ship -itself remained fast on a huge fragment. During the night of Sept. 3, the -after-part of the _Tegetthoff_ was gently raised for the first time by -the pressure and driving from beneath of the ice; yet of the formidable -nature of such pressure we had as yet no presentiment. Though our -situation seemed desperate, it was not attended by immediate danger, and, -condemned as we were to inactivity, we found the amusement and occupation -we needed in skating on the young ice, which covered many of the -newly-formed ice-holes between the ice-floes. Besides the duty of making -and recording meteorological observations, the training of the dogs, the -bringing ice to the kitchen to be transformed into water, the manufacture -of oil, expeditions on foot to explore the country, were the only forms -in which our energies could be exerted. Absolute loneliness surrounded -us; even the Arctic sea-gull (_Larus glaucus_) and the grey stormy petrel -(_Procellaria glacialis_, L.) of the polar regions, were but rarely seen, -and a bear, which, Sept. 5, came within forty paces of the ship, was -driven away by the awkwardness of our hunters. The cold became more and -more intense and the weather more gloomy. Sept. 2, the cabin lamp had to -be lit for the first time about half-past nine o’clock, and on the 3rd we -began to heat the interior parts of the ship, the temperature of which -had been for some time at zero; and on the 11th, the first fiery belts -of the Aurora flamed in the northern heavens. On the 9th and 10th, there -was a very heavy storm from the north-east, which drove us back for a -short time towards the west, and partially broke up our floe, but all the -efforts of the next week to destroy the connection of what remained by -sawing and blasting proved unsuccessful. Blasting with powder, whether -above or below the surface-ice, proved ineffectual. Even old fissures -in the ice appeared to defy further disruption, segments which had been -laboriously made by sawing, froze again almost immediately, and even -the application of steam was powerless to set our floe in motion and -force the breaking-up of the parts which had been sawn through. It was -of no avail that, up to Oct. 7, we kept open a trench round the ship, by -destroying in the day the ice which had been formed during the night: the -expected disruption of our ice-field never happened. Dark streaks in the -heavens still proclaimed that we were in the neighbourhood of open water, -and though they seemed only to indicate “leads” of no great breadth or -extent, they helped to sustain our hopes. But these were soon doomed -to be disappointed, for even these “leads” closed up, and _at the same -time the temperature fell to an unusually low degree_. On the 15th of -September we had 15 degrees of cold, and on the 19th the temperature fell -18·6 degrees below zero (C.). To add to this, there were frequent falls -of drifting snow. As long as fissures remained we had opportunities of -seal-hunting, but by the end of the month the “ice-holes” were overspread -with spongy ice, which hindered the movements of our boats within them. -The alternate openings and closings of the water-ways around us seemed in -our monotonous life a harmless spectacle, for the lofty walls of piled-up -ice had not as yet for us the language of imminent and threatening -dangers. - -[Illustration: SEAL-HUNTING—SEPTEMBER 1872.] - -4. Sept. 22, there was a fissure in the ice about thirty paces from the -ship, and we quickly put on board all the materials which were lying on -the floe, believing that the moment of our deliverance had come. But no -such moment came, nor did the equinoctial storms which we expected set -in; _we continued to drift still further to the north_; and on Oct. 2, we -had passed the seventy-seventh degree of north latitude. In the beginning -of this month a storm, which lasted but a short time, opened up a large -“ice-hole” near the after-part of the ship, and forthwith we set to work -to open a passage through our floe in order to reach it, but two days -afterwards this “ice-hole” also closed up. Yet amid all our mishaps we -forgot not on October the 4th—the name-day of his Majesty the Emperor -Francis Joseph I.—the homage which was due to our noble and gracious -Sovereign. The ship was gaily dressed with flags, and a rifle-match, -in which watches and pipes were the prizes, scared away for a short -afternoon the sad impressions of the moment. - -[Illustration: SHOOTING AT A TARGET, OCTOBER 1872.] - -5. Encounters with polar bears afforded us much excitement. On the 6th -of October our first bear was killed and divided among the dogs, for as -yet we had not learnt to regard the flesh of these animals as the most -precious part of our provisions. A fox also, the first seen during this -expedition, showed himself during the previous night. He had evidently -come from Novaya Zemlya, and his curiosity had led him close to the -ship, from whence he was driven by the dogs. It now became indispensable -for everyone who left the immediate neighbourhood of the ship to carry -arms with him, and the neglect of this precaution had sometimes rather -ludicrous, at other times somewhat serious, consequences. On the 11th -of October I left the ship unarmed, and with no other companion than -our Lapland dog, Pekel, to employ myself in the harmless occupation of -piling up a tower of ice. Working as I was in a stooping position, I was -unconscious of what was immediately around me, when on a sudden the loud -barking of Pekel caused me to raise myself, and I saw a bear quite close -before me. Shaking his head and making a snuffling noise, he came on -towards me. In the expectation that some of the people engaged on deck -would see my critical position, I contented myself with shaking my fist -at him, unwilling to reveal any weakness to my enemy. As this, however, -seemed to produce no effect, I cried out repeatedly, “A bear!” At last -I saw Klotz, who was on deck, go to the stand of arms, but with such -stoical composure, that I ceased to trust to others, and left to the -bear, who had now advanced to a distance of about fifteen paces from me, -the glory of forcing his enemy to take to flight. - -6. In the first days of October the temperature rose considerably, the -thermometer standing a little below zero (C.). This was due to south-west -winds, and to the temporary extension of the “ice-holes” in our immediate -neighbourhood. The days now became shorter, the sun surrounded with -red masses of clouds set behind barriers of blackish-blue ice, and -an ever-deepening twilight followed his disappearance. Sept. 29, a -“snowfinch” flew from the coast of Novaya Zemlya to the ship, hopped -about the deck for a little time, and after delighting us all by his -little song, again left us. Some few sea-gulls still wended their flight -to the spaces of water in our neighbourhood. Skimming over the top of -the mast, they seemed to gaze down upon us, and then with a shrill cry -darted away like arrows towards the south. There was something melancholy -in this departure of the birds; it seemed as if all creatures were -retiring from the long reign of night which was before us. In order to -divert our attention from the dreadful monotony of our captivity by some -occupation in the open air, we fell on the plan of building houses of ice -round the ship. The activity of a building-yard reigned on our ice-floe; -heavy ice-tables were broken or sawed through, the dogs in the sledges -carried the fragments to their appointed places, and with these blocks we -raised crystal walls and towers. Snow, mixed with sea-water, furnished an -inexhaustible source of the most excellent mortar; and while we worked -laboriously at these meaningless erections, we earned at least by our -labour the reward of sleep free from care. - -[Illustration: PARHELIA ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA.] - -7. As we drifted helplessly northward, the coasts of Novaya Zemlya -receded gradually from our gaze. Hitherto we had lain close to the land, -which with its rounded mountains and valleys filled with glaciers seemed -a miniature of Alpine scenery. Daily almost the gigantic luminous arcs -of parhelia stood above it, the usual precursors of stormy weather or -heavy falls of snow. Towards the north and north-east the country becomes -flatter, and runs into glacier-wastes little raised above the level -of the sea. The topography of the northern parts of Novaya Zemlya is -complete confusion. The only survey which exists—that of Lütke—extends no -further than Cape Nassau. The maps of the Barentz Isles are frequently -in contradiction with fact, and their correction is extremely desirable. -Though this land was of no value for our object, yet it was still land, -and it seemed also to us, drifting as we did, the symbol of the stable -and immovable. But now it was gradually disappearing from our eyes. -During September we had moved slowly, but with October we drifted at a -greater rate, so that by the 12th of this month we saw nothing but a line -of heights some thirty miles off, towards the south. At last every trace -of land disappeared from our gaze; a hopeless waste received us, in which -no man could tell how long we should be, or how far we should penetrate. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE “TEGETTHOFF” FAST BESET IN THE ICE. - - -1. Autumn was passing away, the days were getting shorter, and in our -immediate neighbourhood no movement in the ice was perceptible, save that -we had drifted continuously towards the north-east; sometimes, though -rarely, a fissure in the ice grew to the proportions of an “ice-hole,” -only, however, to be quickly frozen over and present a surface for -our skates. There lay the frozen sea, the picture of dull, hopeless -monotony; shelter there was none. Our floe, though it seemed to combine -the conveniences of a winter harbour, could not stand the test of closer -observation, the illusion of such a notion must be short-lived. But -many signs now indicated the insecurity of our position. Fields of ice -in our neighbourhood cracked and split asunder, and piled-up masses -floated round us, silent preachers, as it were, of the destruction which -ice-pressure could produce. - -2. A change, however, was soon to come over the scene. On the evening of -October 12 we imagined that the cabin lamp oscillated, and consequently -that our floe was in motion. On the same night we were conscious -of a violent movement in the ice. A dreadful day was the 13th of -October,—a Sunday; it was decisive of the fate of the expedition. To -the superstitious amongst us the number 13 was clothed with a profound -significance: the committee of the expedition had been constituted on -February 13; on the 13th of January the keel of the _Tegetthoff_ had -been laid down; on the 13th of April she was launched; on the 13th of -June we left Bremerhaven; on the 13th of July, Tromsoe; after a voyage -of 13 days we had arrived at the ice, and on the 13th of October the -temperature marked 16 degrees below zero (C.). In the morning of that -day, as we sat at breakfast, our floe burst across immediately under the -ship. Rushing on deck we discovered that we were surrounded and squeezed -by the ice; the after-part of the ship was already nipped and pressed, -and the rudder, which was the first to encounter its assault, shook and -groaned; but as its great weight did not admit of its being shipped, we -were content to lash it firmly. We next sprang on the ice, the tossing -tremulous motion of which literally filled the air with noises as of -shrieks and howls, and we quickly got on board all the materials which -were lying on the floe, and bound the fissures of the ice hastily -together by ice-anchors and cables, filling them up with snow, in the -hope that frost would complete our work, though we felt that a single -heave might shatter our labours. But, just as in the risings of a people -the wave of revolt spreads on every side, so now the ice uprose against -us. Mountains threateningly reared themselves from out the level fields -of ice, and the low groan which issued from its depths grew into a deep -rumbling sound, and at last rose into a furious howl as of myriads of -voices. Noise and confusion reigned supreme, and step by step destruction -drew nigh in the crashing together of the fields of ice. Our floe was -now crushed, and its blocks, piled up into mountains, drove hither and -thither. Here, they towered fathoms high above the ship, and forced the -protecting timbers of massive oak, as if in mockery of their purpose, -against the hull of the vessel; there, masses of ice fell down as into an -abyss under the ship, to be engulfed in the rushing waters, so that the -quantity of ice beneath the ship was continually increased, and at last -it began to raise her quite above the level of the sea. About 11.30 in -the forenoon, according to our usual custom, a portion of the Bible was -read on deck, and this day, quite accidentally, the portion read was the -history of Joshua: but if in his day the sun stood still, it was more -than the ice now showed any inclination to do. - -3. The terrible commotion going on around us prevented us from seeing -anything distinctly. The sky too was overcast, the sun’s place could -only be conjectured. In all haste we began to make ready to abandon the -ship, in case it should be crushed, a fate which seemed inevitable, if -she were not sufficiently raised through the pressure of the ice. About -12.30 the pressure reached a frightful height, every part of the vessel -strained and groaned; the crew, who had been sent down to dine, rushed -on deck. The _Tegetthoff_ had heeled over on her side, and huge piles -of ice threatened to precipitate themselves upon her. But the pressure -abated, and the ship righted herself; and about one o’clock, when the -danger was in some degree over, the crew went below to dine. But again a -strain was felt through the vessel, everything which hung freely began to -oscillate violently, and all hastened on deck, some with the unfinished -dinner in their hands, others stuffing it into their pockets. Calmly -and silently, amid the loud sounds emitted by the ice in its violent -movement, the officers assumed and carried out the special duty which -had been assigned to each in the contemplated abandonment of the ship. -Lieutenant Weyprecht got ready the boats, Brosch and Orel cleared out the -supply of provision to be taken in them; Kepes, our doctor, had an eye to -his drugs; the Tyrolese opened the magazine, and got out the rifles and -ammunition—I myself attended to the sledges, the tents, and the sacks for -sleeping in, and distributed to the crew their fur coats. We now stood -ready to start, each with a bundle—whither, no one pretended to know! For -not a fragment of the ice around us had remained whole; nowhere could -the eye discover a still perfect and uninjured floe to serve as a place -of refuge, as a vast floe had before been to the crew of the _Hansa_. -Nay, not a block, not a table of ice was at rest, all shapes and sizes -of it were in active motion, some rearing up, some turning and twisting, -none on the level. A sledge would at once have been swallowed up, and -in this very circumstance lay the horror of our situation. For, if the -ship should sink, whither should we go, even with the smallest stock -of provisions?—amid this confusion, how reach the land, thirty miles -distant, without the most indispensable necessaries? - -4. The dogs, too, demanded our attention. They had sprung on chests, and -stared on the waves of ice as they rose and roared. Every trace of his -fox-nature had disappeared from “Sumbu.” His look, at other times so -full of cunning, had assumed an expression of timidity and humility, and, -unbidden, he offered his paw to all passers by. The Lapland dog, little -Pekel, sprang upon me, licked my hand, and looked out on the ice as if -he meant to ask me what all this meant. The large Newfoundlands stood -motionless, like scared chamois, on the piles of chests. - -5. About 4 P.M. the pressure moderated; an hour afterwards there was -a calm, and with more composure we could now survey our position. The -carpenter shovelled away the snow from the deck in order to inspect -the seams. They were still uninjured. The knees and cross-beams still -held, and no very great quantity of water was found in the hold. This -result we owed solely to the strength of our ship and to her fine lines, -which enabled her to rise when nipped and pressed, while her interior, -so well laden as to become a solid body, increased her powers of -resistance. Everything was again restored to its place, so that it was -possible to go up and down the cabin stairs without great difficulty, -and in the evening the water in the hold, which had risen 13 inches, -was pumped out to its normal depth of 6 inches. We went down into the -cabin to rest, but though thankful and joyful for the issue, our minds -were clouded with care and anxiety. Henceforth we regarded every noise -with suspicious apprehensions, like a population which lives within an -area of earthquakes. The long winter nights and their fearful cold were -before us; we were drifting into unknown regions, utterly uncertain of -the end. When night came, we fell asleep with our clothes on, though our -sleep was disturbed every now and then by onsets of the ice, recurring -less frequently and in diminished force; but daily—and for _one hundred -and thirty days_—we went through the same experiences in greater or -lesser measure, almost always in sunless darkness. It was, however, a -fortunate circumstance for us that we encountered the first assaults of -the ice at a time when we were still able to see; for instead of the calm -preparations we were able to make, hurry and confusion would have been -inevitable had these assaults surprised us amid the Polar darkness. - -[Illustration: AN OCTOBER NIGHT IN THE ICE.] - -6. Early in the morning of Oct. 14 we all met at breakfast, but on every -face there lay an expression of grave thoughtfulness, for each of us was -contemplating the long perspective of those dreary nights, in which we -should drift without a goal in the awful wastes of the Frozen Sea. The -speedy restoration of our floe was now our most earnest desire. It was -only severe frost and heavy falls of snow—as we vainly imagined—which -could cement the chaos of broken fragments around us and form from them -a new floe; for as yet we had not learnt by experience, that severe cold -in itself, unaccompanied with wind, is sufficient to break up the fields -of ice, from the contraction which it causes. We deluded ourselves with -another consolation—we imagined that the ice-pressures would cease as -soon as we passed the eastern extremity of Novaya Zemlya, and that in the -Sea of Kara we should drift without encountering the pressures, due, as -we conceived, to our nearness to land. But vain also was this hope, for -we were drifting not into the Sea of Kara, but towards the north-east. -We should have found, even in that sea, that pressures from the ice may -occur within the Frozen Ocean, however, as well as at its coasts. The -masses of ice which caused our disasters probably came from that sea. - -7. The time subsequent to this crisis was full of painful and anxious -moments, but a chronological description of the events of each day, -involving a mere repetition of our sad impressions, would be wearisome to -the reader. I will, therefore, transfer from my journal such portions of -it as most forcibly express the thoughts that passed through the minds of -the handful of men on board the _Tegetthoff_ during those terrible days:— - -“_October 14._—About half-past eight o’clock in the evening a new fissure -in the ice appeared astern of the ship; a strain was felt throughout her -timbers; in a moment every one in his fur dress and with his bundle in -his hand was on deck: so will it be, perhaps, throughout the winter—what -a life! - -“_October 15._—All had slept in their clothes. Fresh pressures from the -ice were felt about eight o’clock in the morning, not so powerful as on -the 13th, but of such force that all sprang from their berths and within -a minute again stood ready on the deck. Much ice had been forced under -the after-part of the ship, which was raised up by the pressure. When -all was calm every one set to work to make a bag to contain the gear he -meant to take if the ship should be crushed. Mine contained the following -articles: one pair of fur gloves, one pair of woollen gloves, a pair of -snow spectacles, six pencils, a rubber, three note-books, the journal of -my Greenland expedition, a book of drawings, ten ball-cartridges, two -pairs of stockings, a knife, a case of needles and thread. On the 13th -we had neglected to provide ourselves with maps of Novaya Zemlya; two -of these I now included among my stock of necessaries. Six Lefaucheux -rifles, four Werndl-rifles, two thousand cartridges, two large and two -smaller sledges, a tent for ten, one for six men, two great sleeping -sacks, each for eight, and a smaller one for six men, were placed in the -boats. Although all these preparations would have been quite vain if -the ship had sunk with the ice in motion to crush us, we must, for our -mutual encouragement, keep up the appearance of believing in them. About -six o’clock in the evening the full moon rose, like a copper coin fresh -from the mint, above our horizon on the deep blue of the heavens. In the -evening the ice was at rest, and for the first time for some days we -ventured to undress on going to bed. - -“_October 16._—Slept without care or disturbance till two o’clock in -the morning, when pressure from the ice again set in, and all rushed on -deck. Some of the crew threw out on the ice the antlers of a reindeer of -Novaya Zemlya,—for according to a superstition of the seamen the horns -of a reindeer are the generators of mischief! The ice again calm, and -I fell asleep from exhaustion; but about half-past five in the morning -there was a new pressure of about twenty minutes’ duration, and almost as -fearful as on the 13th of the month. The exceeding haste with which every -one rushes up from below as soon as the ship begins to strain, shows the -effect which the noise makes on us; it is impossible to become accustomed -to it; every one runs on deck. Again the ice rests, but about half-past -seven in the morning, another pressure, which almost tore away the beams -protecting the hull and the davits to which they were fastened. The ship, -however, rights herself. To-day the ice which overhung our bulwarks was -dug away to prevent masses of it falling on the deck. In the evening, -diminished pressure from the ice; at night, glorious moonlight scenery; -nothing more peaceful, but nothing more illusive, than such a scene at -such an hour. - -“_October 17._—All quiet during the night till Lusina came to announce, -with a voice as from the grave, that the ship was making more water, -sixteen inches in the forepart, eleven inches amidships. East wind, with -heavy drifting snow-storms—during the day once only a strain of short -duration was felt in the ship, as a new fissure opened in the piled-up -ice on our starboard quarter. - -“_October 18._—Our anxieties somewhat abate and our watchful state of -preparation to leave the ship relaxes, and most of us determine once -more to undress for the night. After several weeks the sun, which had -been obscured by the weather, becomes visible, rising 2° 25′ above the -horizon; the temperature stands at -20° F., and our latitude is 77° 48′. - -“_October 19._—Straining in the ship; the sun rose about a quarter past -eight, but was soon veiled in frosty vapours. - -“_October 20._—The hull of the ship is still without its necessary -protection of ice and snow, while we are wrapt in furs and wear -reindeer-shoes and felt-boots. In the evening a faint mock moon was -visible. - -“_October 21._—At night we were alarmed by a loud sound, and in few -minutes all were on deck with their fur clothes on—a fissure had opened -on the starboard side of the ship, connecting itself with that which had -been formed astern of the ship. In an hour this fissure had widened about -four feet, and we worked for some hours by the light of lamps to fill it -up with snow and pieces of ice. The low temperature (-21° F.) led us to -expect that this chasm would be bridged over without further effort on -our part. The moon stood surrounded by a vast halo in the heavens and -illuminated the awful loneliness of our abode. Once more a calm! When -any one comes down from the deck into the cabin, the eyes of all are -involuntarily turned upon him to read in the expression of his face what -is going on above, and each dreads to hear it said, that the ice is in -motion. In the afternoon, when the fissure closed, we heard the old dull -sound from the ice, and the ship strained violently, and all were on deck -ready to leave. About nine o’clock in the evening the motion of the ice -was again felt. Uncertain and full of fears as to what the night might -bring forth, we go early to rest; no one knows how short that rest may -be. Even Klotz lays aside his stoical calmness, and the philosophical -dignity of his remarks departs when his comrades spring from their berths -and rush on deck with their bundles. The frozen pumps are daily thawed -by boiling water; to-day the shaft of one of them broke, through the -excessive strain put upon it. - -[Illustration: THE MOON WITH ITS HALO.] - -“_October 22._—During the night, motion in the ice. At 9.30 A.M. the -sun rose, and attains its meridian altitude at 1° 41′. In the evening -the fissure in the ice again opens. Rents and small ‘ice-holes’ are all -round us, and frosty vapour fills the air. To-day the skull of a bear was -thrown out on the ice, the crew asserting that mischief comes from the -possession of it! - -“_October 23._—During the night violent movement in the ice; the sound -produced resembles the noise of a fleet of paddle-wheel steam-ships, -steaming now with full, now with half power. The height of the sun to-day -above the horizon was a little above one degree, its form was distorted -by refraction into an egg-like shape, and its edges were in constant -vibration. - -“_October 24._—The daylight is now so feeble that the lamps have to be -lighted during the day, with the exception of two or three hours in the -forenoon. Many of the crew are suffering from frost-bites on their hands, -in consequence of their exposure in removing the unnecessary rigging, and -in the preparations to facilitate the removal of our stock of provisions -in the event of our being forced to abandon the vessel. - -“_October 25._—In the afternoon we made an attempt to drive the dog -sledges, but the snow, in spite of the low temperature, lay in such -masses between the small hummocks and on the few level places, that -they sank deep into it. It is storms of wind only that harden the snow, -and for some time we have had calms or light breezes. In the evening -there was a movement in the ice astern of the ship, accompanied with the -highest soprano tones. The noise the ice makes in its pressure very much -resembles the piping and howling of a storm among rocky cliffs or through -the rigging of a ship. About half-past ten at night, the oscillating -movements of the ice, occurring at definite intervals, made it appear -as if they arose from a swell of the ocean. The ship groans and creaks -constantly; indeed, creaking and groaning are weak expressions for such a -noise. Once more all are ready. We begin to fear that the ice will never -rest. - -“_October 26._—Pressure throughout the whole night. Armed and provided -with lanterns, we used the sledges to remove two boats, 150 logs of wood, -fifty planks, and a supply of coals, to the port side of the vessel, and -chose a stronger floe, on which to build a house of refuge. Tired and -exhausted, we fell asleep, in spite of the straining and creaking of the -vessel. - -[Illustration: OUR COAL-HOUSE ON THE FLOE.] - -“_October 27._—The sun at noon was scarcely visible above the horizon. At -night of the same day a strong wind from the south-east opened a fissure -on the starboard side of the vessel and about 150 paces from it, which -grew into the dimensions of an ‘ice-hole.’ - -“_October 28._—To-day the sun took leave of us. Only with its upper -edge had it appeared above the horizon, and sent towards us its mild -beams like the consoling glance of a departing friend. The coal-house -is finished. But what reliance can be placed on such an abode in such a -position? A storm may carry away the planks which form its roof; sparks -from a fire may set fire to its walls and consume it; and at any moment, -through a pressure opening up an abyss beneath, it may sink and be -engulfed. Two o’clock in the afternoon, the groaning sound comes from -the piles of ice around us; our floe appears to twist somewhat, and the -pressure of the ice will probably soon begin. - -“_October 29._—During the night a noise in the ice, which, though it did -not further disturb us, was yet witness enough that it is ever ready to -disturb us. The sun no longer appears; only a rosy light at noon in the -heavens. - -“_October 30._—At half-past three o’clock in the morning there was a -dreadful straining and creaking in the ship: at once we sprang out of our -berths, and stood on deck with our fur garments on, and with our bags as -before. New fissures had appeared which rapidly enlarge themselves; the -two boats and the coal-house are now surrounded by up-forced masses of -ice and separated from us. Then a pause! There is however no real repose, -and the least sound on deck, the falling of anything heavy—at other times -quite unnoticed—alarms us into the expectation of new onsets. At noon, as -we sate at dinner, there was renewed and excessive straining in the ship, -and even in the cabin we heard such a rushing sound in the ice without, -that it seemed as if the whole frozen sea would the next moment boil and -rise in vapour. During all the afternoon the noise continues, and all -the fissures send forth dense vapours, like hot springs. During the day -no quiet for reading or working, and every night almost our sleep is -disturbed by a horrible awaking within a great creaking, groaning coffin. -Men can accustom themselves to almost anything; but to these daily -recurring shocks, and the constantly renewed question as to the end and -issue of it all, we cannot grow accustomed.” - -8. There is however such an intolerable monotony in my diary, that, -to spare my readers, I thus, in a few words, resuming its contents, -describe our situation:—“One of us, to-day, remarked very truly, that he -saw perfectly well how one might lose his reason with the continuance -of these sudden and incessant assaults. It is not dangers that we fear, -but worse far; we are kept in a constant state of readiness to meet -destruction, and know not whether it will come to-day, or to-morrow, or -in a year. Every night we are startled out of sleep, and, like hunted -animals, up we spring to await amid an awful darkness the end of an -enterprise from which all hope of success has departed. It becomes -at last a mere mechanical process to seize our rifles and our bag of -necessaries and rush on deck. In the daytime, leaning over the bulwarks -of the ship, which trembles, yea, almost quivers the while, we look out -on a continual work of destruction going on, and at night, as we listen -to the loud and ever-increasing noises of the ice, we gather that the -forces of our enemy are increasing.” - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -OUR FIRST WINTER (1872) IN THE ICE. - - -1. In the beginning of November we were already environed by a deep -twilight; but our dreary waste had become of magical beauty; the rigging, -white with frost, stood out, spectre-like, against the grey-blue of -the heavens; the ice, broken into a thousand forms and overspread with -a covering of snow, had now assumed the cold pure aspect of alabaster -shaded with the tender hues of arragonite. Southward at noon we saw veils -of frosty vapour rise into the carmine-coloured sky out of the fissures -and “ice-holes,” in which the water seemed to boil. - -2. All our preparations for wintering had now been completed. Lieutenant -Weyprecht struck the top-masts to diminish pressure from the wind; some -sails were still kept set, in order that the ship, in the event of her -being set free, might at once get under weigh. The fore-part of the ship -only could be covered in as a tent, for the preparations to abandon her -in case of need compelled us to leave her after-part uncovered. There, -in perfect order, lay all the materials we meant to take with us, our -provisions, ammunition, tents, sledges, &c. The ship was surrounded with -a wall of snow and ice, which we constantly restored, whenever it was -injured by pressure from without, and her deck was gradually overspread -with a mantle of snow, which contributed, however, to maintain an equable -warmth in the ship. Our distance from land rendered it impossible to -cover the deck with a layer of sand, which would have prevented the -melting of the snow from the warmth of the ship. - -[Illustration: THE TWILIGHT IN NOVEMBER, 1872.] - -3. The temperature of November rose once only—about the middle of the -month—considerably; but, except on that occasion, the thermometer stood -with tolerable regularity below -13° F., and on the 20th of the month -it reached its minimum at -33° F. Winds, from whatever quarter they -might blow, constantly raised the temperature, because the colder air -was thus modified by the warmer which lay above the open spaces of -sea-water; calms were accompanied by a rapid intensification of cold. -Wind, increased drifting, pressure, and the formation of fissures—all -these are naturally connected. New openings were quickly covered with -young ice, which presented a smooth surface when formed by less intense -cold, but when the temperature fell lower its saline contents were exuded -in a moist, tough layer, which lay on its surface about an inch thick. In -this state of the ice, sledge-travelling was rendered more difficult, -and even walking was far from easy; for it is only under a temperature -ranging from -4° F. to -13° F. that this layer is frozen. The incessant -rending of the ice-sheet, by exposing the warmer surface of the sea, -tends to mitigate the cold, while, on the other hand, the freezing of -these fissures augments the quantity of ice. - -[Illustration: SUMBU CHASED FOR A FOX.] - -4. In the beginning of the month our nights were dark, and it was only -occasionally that the light of the aurora and meteors visited us with -their fleeting splendours. Although in clear weather day was still -distinguishable from night, yet the darkness, even at noon, was so -great, that mists could not be seen, but felt only, and it was no longer -possible, without the light of a lantern, to make even the slightest -sketch, or to take aim with the rifle. Hence, when we met with bears we -could not be certain of our aim, if they were at any distance from us, -and, on one occasion, Sumbu was mistaken for a fox, chased, and but for -my coming up would have been shot. - -[Illustration: WANDERINGS ON THE ICE IN OUR FIRST WINTER.] - -5. The first days of November passed away without any new disturbance -from the movement of the masses of ice, and our feeling of security grew -apace, and with it our hopes revived, never again to leave us entirely, -not even when the pressures returned, as they did too soon. Once more -the fields of ice, firmly pressed together, were rent asunder; fissures -opened out, and shone in the moonlight like rivers of silver. The night -of Nov. 20 was one of extreme anxiety. A mountain formed of piles of -broken ice bore down on us amid a fearful din, threatening to bury the -ship. Silent, and conscious of our utter helplessness, we watched this -gigantic heap of crashing ice-tables drifting nearer and nearer, crushing -as it advanced the heaviest pieces of ice with a noise which echoed -through our ship. Escape seemed impossible: and Providence alone arrested -its career. This night the crew received each an extra glass of grog to -obliterate the impression of this terrible crisis. - -6. With the exception of books, we had no other amusement than short -expeditions, never extending beyond a mile from the ship, in which we -were accompanied by all the dogs. We generally set out with two small -sledges, and, when the moon was not shining, with our rifles ready to -fire, for the darkness and the utter absence of open spaces on the ice -imposed the utmost caution against bears. At a very short distance -we could see nothing of the ship, and only by our footsteps on the -snow could we make out where we were and find the way back. In these -expeditions we were exposed to another danger—the risk of being cut off -from the ship by the breaking-up of one of the drifting floes. Even the -dogs felt the insecurity of recently-formed ice, and put their feet on it -with fear and hesitation, and only by compulsion. There seemed to be a -cunning agreement among them to shirk the work altogether; for they often -rushed away into the coal-house, and threw the harness of the sledges -into inextricable confusion. - -7. December came, but it brought no change in our situation. Our life -became more and more monotonous; one day differed in no respect from -another, it was but a mere succession of dates, and time was reckoned -merely by the hours for eating and sleeping. The ice, however, did not -share in the universal repose. It was never weary of threatening; no day -elapsed without movement on its part. My journal records December 1, 8, -9, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, and 31, as days of special disturbance -and agitation. On the 20th, as we were talking in the coal-house of the -approaching festival of Christmas, a sudden violent movement of the ice -surprised us, and rushing out we found that the floe on which the house -stood was breaking up. With all haste we endeavoured to save as much as -possible of the coal and materials, and moved them close to the ship. The -minimum temperature of December was -26° F.; the mean of the whole month -amounted to -22° F.; and the extreme of cold, -33° F., was reached on the -26th. A few days before Christmas the temperature rose to a little below --13° F. It may be observed that the lower temperatures were registered -during the prevalence of winds from the south-east, and the higher during -winds from the north. - -8. When the moon returned in the middle of December, our sledge -expeditions were extended to a distance of 1½ miles from the ship, over -snow and hummocks, to recently frozen ice-holes, the lonely beauty of -which, edged with dark masses of ice, in the distance, and lying under -the clear silver light of the moon, filled us with feelings of profound -melancholy. On returning from one of these expeditions to our vessel, -after we had unharnessed the dogs, we heard loud barks from Sumbu, and -looking round saw a bear close beside him, which Orel managed to shoot -dead when he was not above five paces from the rope-ladder on the port -side of the vessel. He was at once cut up, the dogs meanwhile looking -on with profound attention; and in reward for his watchfulness, Sumbu -was indulged with an extra good feast—the heart and tongue of the bear, -which, as yet, we ourselves had not learnt to eat and enjoy. On the -18th, however, he encountered our heavy displeasure for the offence of -frightening off a fox, which had ventured to come very near the vessel. - -[Illustration: ENCOUNTER WITH A POLAR BEAR.] - -9. When there was no moon it was perfectly dark, even during the day; but -on December 14, in a very clear forenoon, we saw in the south a tender -orange segment of light, three or four degrees above the horizon, edged -with green, sharply defined against the dark sky, and when the moon, -high in the heavens, faced this arch of light, a peculiar faint twilight -was observable. But generally there was no difference between the light -of midday and the light of midnight. The heavens were usually overcast, -and the light of the aurora, during the few minutes of its greatest -intensity, seldom exceeded that of the moon in its first quarter. But -how deep would be the night of the Polar regions, if the land, instead -of being white with snow, were covered with forests! On December 20 we -were unable, even at noon, to read anything but the titles of books of -the largest type; a man’s eyes were invisible at the distance of a few -paces, and at fifty even the stoutest ropes of the ship were scarcely -discernible. The effect of the long Polar night—when the range of the -light of a lamp is the whole world for man—is most oppressive to the -feelings; nor can habit ever reconcile those who have lived under the -influences of civilization to its gloom and solitude. It can be a -home only to men who spend their existence in eating and drinking and -sleeping, without any disturbing recollection of a better existence. The -depression was made more intense by the consciousness that we had been -driven into an utterly unknown region and with our eyes bound. Work, -incessant work, was the only resource in these circumstances. - -[Illustration: ICE-HOLE COVERED WITH YOUNG ICE.] - -10. Again from my journal I reproduce some passages which express the -feelings which passed through our minds—through mine at least—during this -season of the _Tegetthoff’s_ first winter in the ice:—“_December 21_—The -middle of the long night. It is noon, and, though nothing can be lighter -than the colour of all that surrounds us—of the snow—yet it is as dark -as midnight. Nothing but a pale yellow sheen hovers over the south. The -sun has sunk below the horizon 11° 40′, and we should have to ascend -a mountain eighteen and a half (German) miles high in order to behold -it. Nothing is to be seen, neither bears nor men, and we only hear the -steps of those who are near us. We see but the confused outline even of -the ship, as she drifts hither and thither with the floe, a prisoner in -the fetters of the ice, the sport of winds and currents, carrying her -further and further into the still and silent realm of death. A definite -object, with hope to inspire them, raises men above toils and troubles -of every kind; but exile like ours, when the sacrifice seems useless, -is hard to be borne. An inexorable ‘No’ lays its ban on every hope, and -daily struggle for self-preservation is our lot. If we attempt to fathom -destiny, our utmost hopes are liberation from our icy captivity some -time next summer, and the reaching the coast of Siberia. Siberia a hope! -And yet how changeable are the feelings when the reign of monotony is -interrupted! The moon is up—darkness exists no more. In the North the -moon is an event—it is life, everything almost; it is the only link which -connects us with the far-distant home. As its beams fall on the meanest -forms, diamonds blaze forth in its light from the snow and the frost, -and the soul feels the beauty of the transformation. She looks down on -us like a returning friend that watches over us, and unfolds bewitching -forms and magic images to cheer us. Two weeks ago she rose above the -horizon, first as a blood-red disk, then paled as she climbed higher and -higher, till she stands out the clear, silver-bright, full moon.” - -11. Christmas had come; the season when in the forests of our -far-distant home the branches of the pine-trees are heavy laden with -snow, and which ever comes back with the memories of the days of our -youth, and with the remembrances of our families and absent friends. -Only for a short time, about noon, we were made uneasy by a movement and -pressure of the ice. But the alarm passed away, and we gathered together -for a choice and gorgeous feast, both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, -and each of the cabin-mess had a bottle of good wine to himself. Carlsen -and Lusina were our guests. Each of the crew received half a bottle of -wine, together with a quarter of a bottle of “artificial wine,”[17] and -in addition an allowance of grog, so weak, however, that even a baby -might have drunk it without harm. Dried fish, roast bear well kept and -seasoned, nuts and the like, contributed in their way to heighten the -joyous feelings which, this day at least, animate even the most miserable -of men. The dogs, at other times so insatiable, had for once enough and -to spare, and carried off the fragments to bury them in the snow. The -contents of a chest full of presents, which we had brought with us, were -distributed by lot, and great was the delight of those who won a bottle -of rum or a few cigars. - -12. The last day of the year 1872 afforded us no very happy thoughts -as we looked back on its events; it had been to us a year of -disappointments. The comparison drawn between our actual condition -and the expectations we had so ardently cherished seemed full of the -bitterest irony. This day also, about noon, a pressure from the ice, -which lasted but a short time, alarmed us all, and we rushed on deck to -make our usual preparations. The enemy, however, passed away without -further disturbance, and cheerfully and socially we awaited the first -hour of the new year. With a bottle of champagne, one of the two still -left, we meant to greet its coming in with that hopefulness of mind -which seems inextinguishable in all the changes and chances of life. -But the champagne, alas! proved a delusion. Klotz, the Tyrolese, in one -of his brown studies exposed this precious bottle for four hours to a -temperature of -19° F., and when he produced it the bottle had burst and -the wine was thoroughly frozen. At midnight the crew serenaded us, and -we afterwards marched forth in a body with torches, and walked round -the ship, whose rigging glowed in the light of the tarred torches. The -frosted fur garments of the men seemed edged with shining light, and a -red glare fell on the masses of ice. - -[Illustration: CARLSEN MAKES THE ENTRY IN THE LOG.] - -13. To-day, too, we allowed the dogs to descend into our cabin,—the -constant object of their longings. The poor animals were so dazzled by -looking at our lamp, that they almost took it for the sun itself; but -by and by their attention was directed exclusively to the rich remains -of our dinner, the sight of which appeared completely to satisfy their -notions of the wonders of the cabin. After behaving themselves with great -propriety, they again quietly withdrew, all except Jubinal, who appeared -to be indignant at the deceitfulness of our conduct, inasmuch as we had -allowed him to starve so long on dried horse-flesh and on crushed bear’s -head, while we revelled in luxury. He accordingly made his way into -Lieutenant Brosch’s cabin, where, discovering a mountain of macaroni, he -immediately attacked it, and warned us off from every attempt to rescue -it, by growling fiercely till he had finished it all. Sumbu, however, -with much levity, suffered himself to be made drunk by the sailors with -rum, and everything which he had scraped together for weeks and buried in -the snow and so carefully watched, was stolen from him by the other dogs -in one night. - -14. Another year had now glided away. Looking anxiously into the future, -we shortsighted mortals saw the fulfilment of our highest wishes in being -liberated from the floe. In the pious manner of the whalers of the Arctic -Ocean, Carlsen wrote this day in the log: “Önsker at Gud maa vere med os -i det nye aar, da kan intet vare imod os—_May God be with us in the new -year and nothing can be against us_.” In this new year, with its happier -issues, was verified again the eternal truth, that Providence acts in -ways not to be fathomed, and that it is folly in man to mark out his own -path beforehand according to his own mind. The sun of this new year, -whose beams were to light us to new lands and discoveries, was still low -beneath the horizon. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -LIFE ON BOARD THE “TEGETTHOFF.” - - -1. Like a spectre in white, the ship stretches out her arms, as if in -silent complaint, towards the heaven, and rests, in cruel mockery of -her destiny, on a mountain, not of water, but of ice, and seems like a -building ready to fall in. A wall of snow and ice surrounds her hull, -snow lies thick on her deck, and her rigging is stiffened in icy lines. -Could we see through her sides, we should then behold four-and-twenty -men parted off in two spaces under the suns of two lamps. Let us inspect -them, and first the cabin of the officers in the after-part of the ship. - -2. Neither few nor slight were our struggles to remedy the various -inconveniences which we encountered; their enumeration here is meant -to aid the experience of future adventurers. Though our arrangements -were far from complete or perfect, we had never to complain of the -discomforts which previous expeditions, even the second German expedition -to Greenland, had to endure from the excessive condensation of moisture. -Against this enemy we protected ourselves by the snow wall which we -raised round the ship, by covering in the deck windows of the cabin, by -lining our quarters with vulcanized india-rubber, by sheds built over the -cabin stairs, all acting as condensers. Before, however, I enter on the -unavoidable inconveniences to which we were exposed by the formation of -ice, or by damp and the sudden change of temperature, I would preface my -remarks by observing, that all these discomforts and inconveniences are -to be endured far more easily than would seem possible to the reader, -and that life on board a ship of a North Pole expedition, under normal -circumstances, is free from annoyances worthy of mention. - -[Illustration: THE “TEGETTHOFF” IN THE FULL MOON.] - -3. It is a matter of the last importance to keep the air pure and -wholesome, and to maintain an equable warmth in the quarters of -the officers and crew. The accumulation of moisture and consequent -congelation in them is an inconvenience which requires incessant -watchfulness to avert.[18] The destruction of the snow wall which -surrounded the ship increased the condensation; for that snow covering -was nothing but a greatcoat for the ship and those on board. In the -beginning of November 1872 the frost on the bulk-heads of the berths, -and on those parts of the cabins which were impervious to warmer air, -was very perceptible. The bed-clothes were frozen at night to the -sides of the ship, the iron knees of the beams—not, alas! covered with -felt—gleamed like stalactites, small glaciers were formed under the -berths, and even in October the skylight was frozen, inches thick. Every -rise in the temperature caused this formation of ice to fall down like a -“douche,” and with the opening of a door a white vapour, even in October, -streamed along the deck. We prevented the increase of moisture by cutting -the openings in the deck, over which we placed two chimneys, each a foot -high and covered with a thin metal cap. We boarded up the skylight, -leaving a lid by which to air the cabin. But in spite of all this the -variations of temperature within our quarters were extraordinary. If -the heat of the air in the middle of the cabin and on a level with our -heads rose from -2° F. to 76° F.—our usual mean temperature—it amounted -on the floor to a little above 34° F., and fell during the night not -unfrequently below freezing-point. - -4. But the greatest inconvenience perhaps with which we had to contend, -arose from the removal of the protection of the tent roof, which was -stretched over the after-part of the ship. The want of this prevented -our walking on the deck in bad weather, and it also hindered perfect -ventilation, which could only be secured, with the constant heat which -was maintained below, by keeping the deck windows open. Warming the air -from underneath the floor of the cabin would possibly be preferable -to the best stove. We had the stove of Meidingen of Carlsruhe, the -excellence of which had been tested on the _Germania_. This stove -consumed only 20 lbs. of coals daily, with a thermometer at -13° F., -and after the adoption of certain arrangements to save the fuel, its -consumption amounted to only 12 lbs. Even in the coldest period of the -winter we never consumed more than 4½ cwt. in a month. The lighting of -the messroom and quarters of the men was effected by petroleum, the daily -consumption of which amounted to about 2⅔ lbs. Altogether there were in -the ship two large and two small lamps, besides the deck-lantern, which -were burning day and night. The berths were lighted with train-oil; for -special purposes, such as drawing, candles were used. - -5. The stove had one troublesome enemy in the shape of a hole, as big as -a man’s head, in the door of the mess-room, through which a cold stream -of air poured itself; and as the ship dipped forward considerably, and -the hearth was only about a foot above the floor of the mess-room, this -stream filled the whole space with a lake of cold air from three to four -feet deep. Hence, while in the berth close by the stove there was a -temperature ranging between 100° F. and 131° F., in the other, there was -one which would have sufficed for the North Pole itself. In the former -a hippopotamus would have felt himself quite comfortable, and Orel, the -unhappy occupant of it, was often compelled to rush on deck, when the -ice-pressures alarmed us, experiencing in passing from his berth to -the deck a difference of temperature amounting to 189° F. In the other -berth of the mess-room, water, lemon-juice, and vinegar froze on the -floor. Those who occupied it, as they lay in beds, or those who sat at -the table to read, were in a cold bath reaching up to their neck. But -the hole was an indispensable necessity, for it was better to endure -the discomfort even of such a draught than to impede ventilation. Other -causes, too, disturbed the equilibrium of temperature. At night the stove -was sometimes, from sanitary considerations, not lighted, and then all -had to sleep in that cold bath. With the increase of cold and wind, our -inconveniences often assumed somewhat ludicrous forms. Some passages from -my journal will make this clear:—“When any come below the temperature -falls. If the door be opened there rolls in a mass of white vapour; if -any one opens a book which he has brought with him, it smokes as if it -were on fire. A cloud surrounds those that enter, and if a drop of water -falls on their clothes, it is at once converted into ice, even at the -stove. Frequently the upper stratum of air in the mess-room becomes so -heated, that the deck light has to be opened, and then it rises up, like -smoke out of a chimney, to blend itself with the cold air without.” - -6. The arrangements of the officers’ mess-room are simple and in harmony -with its purpose. Here stands a large table, used for study and for -meals; the smaller berths, where the officers sleep, are round the sides -of the mess-room—just large enough to enable a man to breathe in. There, -in a recess between two pillars, an untold resource, the library (of -about 400 volumes, chiefly scientific); close beside it the chronometers; -and lastly, the inevitable evils, the medical stores, ranged round the -mast. By the side of scientific works stand Petermann’s _Mittheilungen_; -and between Milton’s _Paradise Lost_ and Shakespeare’s immortal works, -a whole tribe of romances, which were read with never-tiring delight. -Our instruments, too, frosted with ice, are here, and a chest containing -our journals. Once a month a cask, filled with wine—the chemical -wine—concocted of snow, alcohol, tannin, sugar, and glycerine, was placed -there. Dr. Kepes was not only our physician, but our wine brewer. One -thing more we have to mention, which, alas! incommoded us much too -little—wine; that is, wine made in Austria, from grapes. As we have -already mentioned, the want of room in the cabin prevented our laying in -a large stock, and the supplies we had were frozen in a cellar below the -mess-room, about the middle of December, for the temperature of even this -place was about 16° F. or 14° F. Each, however, had a bottle of rum as an -allowance for eighteen days. But quite inexhaustible was the supply of -our common drink—melted snow—a great jar of which, filled to the brim, -stood always on the table. Under the cabin were our supplies of alcohol -and petroleum, accessible only by well-fitting pipes, but possible -volcanoes as far as our safety was concerned. From the accumulation of -so many combustible materials, together with 20,000 cartridges, and with -several lamps constantly burning, it is clear that the danger of fire was -great. But once only had we an alarm from this source—when Carlsen caused -us much trepidation by accidentally discharging a rifle in the cartridge -magazine. - -7. Let us now turn to the persons who occupied this mess-room. Marola, -the steward, lights the lamp, and kindles the fire, and awakens those -who were not already awoke by the smoke from the stove, with the cry, -“Signori, le sette e tre quarti, prego d’alzarsi;” and after a pause of -a quarter of an hour, during which the sleepers seem carefully to deny -their existence, he startles this silence of indifference by the second -call: “Colazion’ in tavola.” Out of every berth now comes forth its -occupant, each in picturesque costume; costumes teach us how superficial -after all is civilization in man! - -8. The day’s work begins. The watch, as ever, walks the deck, lest -the ice should slip away from the world unobserved; in the mess-room -meanwhile calculations or drawing or writing are in full operation. Our -daily meals consist of a breakfast of cocoa, biscuit, and butter; of a -dinner of soup, boiled beef, preserved vegetables, and _café noir_, and -of tea in the evening, with hard biscuit, butter, cheese, and ham. I -would recommend _potage_ instead of _tea_ for the evening meal to all -future expeditions. Many of the articles of food must be thawed before -the process of cooking begins, the greater part of the provisions -being frozen as hard as iron. The tins with preserved meat stand for -hours in boiling water, and the things for supper on the cabin stove, -in order to be thawed. A plate of cheese that steams, butter as hard -as a stone, which has thrown off the salt it contained in great lumps -from the action of frost, a ham as hard as the never-thawed ground of -the Tundra of Siberia, form an icy repast, specially if we use knives, -which are so cold that they often break with the least exertion of -force. I will here notice the sanitary importance—insisted on by Parry -and Ross—of fresh bread, which the cook in an Arctic ship should be able -to bake about twice a week. On board the _Tegetthoff_ we used at first -Liebig’s “baking-powder,” but this from being kept too long gave such -a disagreeable taste to the bread, that we gave it up and contented -ourselves with a defective leaven. - -[Illustration: DIVINE SERVICE ON DECK.] - -9. Every Sunday at noon we celebrated Divine Service. Under the shelter -of the deck-tent, the Gospel was read to the little band of Christians -gathered together by the sound of the ship’s bell, in all that grave -simplicity which marked the worship of the early Christian Church. The -Service over, we then sat down to the Sunday dinner, which was graced by -a glass of wine and cake. Carlsen and Lusina were our guests by turns. -Carlsen always appeared in his wig, trimmed with extra care, and on the -high festivals of the Church decorated also with the cross of the order -of St. Olaf. Lusina, our excellent-boatswain, was ready to talk with -enthusiasm on any subject whatever, prefacing his stream of words with -some sententious remark or with some far-fetched introduction. During -our meals the conversation turned on our plans for the future; we talked -of Polar bears; we discussed the question of the existence of Gillis’ -Land and the possibility of our reaching Siberia; but very seldom did -we venture to speak of what filled the minds of all—our captivity in -the ice. Political combinations formed a favourite theme; and as we had -some old numbers of the _Neue Frei Presse_ on board, they furnished an -inexhaustible source of topics for conversation. The events of the year -1870 were related as the latest news, and we thought anxiously of the -issue of the war between Germany and France, and feared lest Austria -should be compelled to take part in it. - -10. After dinner came the hour for contemplation; in our lonely berths -and by the side of our beds we sat down to brood—to listen to our -watches beating seconds. The English Arctic expeditions, during the long -period of their enforced leisure, found a great source of amusement and -distraction in theatricals. But the ships of these expeditions had far -larger crews than the _Tegetthoff_, and the men could be more easily -spared for these recreations. But there were other reasons why we could -not think of following the example of the English. Our situation during -the first winter was far too serious for such things, and no other place -for the theatre was at our disposal except the barricaded deck; and we -should have had to sit there with a thermometer marking from 25° to 37° -of cold, on the centigrade scale, and see how the actors and the audience -suddenly rubbed their frost-bitten feet with snow! There was one other -potent reason for this renunciation—our performances must have been in -four different languages. - -11. Monotonous beyond all monotony is life in the long night of a Polar -winter, and exile can never on earth be so entire as here under the -dreadful triumvirate—darkness, cold, and solitude. In such a life, the -man who surrenders himself to idleness, or even to sleeping during the -day, must necessarily be utterly demoralized. In fact, nothing can be -more destructive to an expedition wintering in the Arctic regions than -the indulgence of mental or bodily lassitude. The real ground of the -failure of the attempts made in earlier times to winter in Jan Mayen and -other places in the far North was probably the utter want of discipline. -There is, however, a widely spread, though mistaken view, that the long -day of Polar lands is oppressive to man. Nothing is more untrue; for -not continual light, but constant darkness, is distressing. Continual -daylight heightens the energies and vital powers; and yet, in our own -first winter, it was less the darkness which wore us than the perpetual -anxiety; when our greatest consolation was found in the Arabic proverb, -“_In niz beguzared_” (_This too will pass away_), inscribed on our cabin -wall. - -12. After supper, before going to bed, we smoked our cigars in the shed -over the cabin steps, with a thermometer from 25° to 37° below zero C., -and talked pleasantly over bygone days, though our thoughts were not -unmixed with gloomy forebodings, as we heard ever and anon the ominous -sounds that issued from the moving ice. Existence on board a straining -and groaning ship resembles life over a volcano. It was only after we had -been some time in this ice-covered wooden grotto that the temperature -rose, through our own heat, a few degrees, and it was certainly some -testimony to the excellence of my down-quilted clothes that I could wear -them in the cabin without being distressed by the heat, and yet I was -able to sit the whole evening in this freezing hole without suffering -from cold. A train-oil lamp sends out almost more smoke than light, -and when the snow drifted, we had to contend with the importunities of -the dogs, who seemed to regard the deck shed as a great dog-kennel. -With a sudden rise of the outer temperature this shed became utterly -uninhabitable, for its coating of ice then melted and fell down like -rain. - -13. The effect of the long winter night is even greater on the body than -on the mind, because of the insufficient opportunities for exercise. -Middendorf contrasting the influence of climate on men remarks:—“I -consider travels in cold regions, even in the most unfavourable -conditions of climate, to be far less dangerous to life than travels -under the tropics. The former certainly are unutterably more miserable, -but as certainly less deadly. I say this notwithstanding the danger which -threatens ships when they penetrate far within the realms of ice. We -are never secure from sudden and deadly attacks of illness in tropical -countries, but the longer we remain in them the less is the danger; -whereas the high North deteriorates the constitution of the blood, and -after three winters, very few can stand a fourth.” To the influences of -Polar life detrimental to health must be added the constant hindrance to -perspiration from wearing an extra quantity of woollen clothing—more or -less hurtful as it is more or less waterproof—the want of fresh animal -and vegetable food, and last, but not least, the periodic departure of -light and warmth. - -14. Our sanitary condition during the two winters we spent on board the -_Tegetthoff_ was not altogether satisfactory. Scorbutic affections of -the mouth and diseases of the lungs appeared sometimes in distressing -shapes, and scarcely a day passed in which we had not one or two on the -sick-list. I believe, however, that our trying situation had far more to -do with these evils than the southern blood and breeding of our people. -The incessant watchfulness and care of Dr. Kepes left nothing undone -which would counteract the evil influences to which we were exposed. The -berths of the crew were changed in rotation, and those which were exposed -to the greatest accumulation of ice were dried by warm air conveyed -through movable pipes. Want of exercise, constant change of temperature, -depression of mind, the periodic scarcity of fresh meat, were the -causes of the scurvy. In our first winter it appeared only in the more -crowded quarters of the crew. It was then also that the first symptoms -of lung-disease appeared in Krisch, the engineer, which he probably -contracted from “catching cold.” From that time he liked to sit by the -stove and always complained of cold. Our supplies of preservatives -against, and remedies for scurvy were rather limited, although we had -at our disposal several hundred tins of preserved vegetables, a cask of -cloud-berries (_Rubus chamæmorus_), which we had brought from Tromsoe, -and above a hundred bottles of lime-juice. Wine also is an important -preservative; we therefore served out to the crew, notwithstanding our -small supply, twice a week, not Kepes’ artificial, but real wine—at the -rate of two bottles for eighteen men. No doubt scorbutic symptoms would -have been far more general and severe, had we not been fortunate enough -to shoot no less than sixty-seven Polar bears, a larger number than -had fallen to any previous expedition. It was more a sign of our good -intentions to leave nothing undone or untried in our efforts against -this malady, than any actual service it was to us, that we sowed cress -and cabbage—radishes did not succeed—in a bed which we suspended over -the stove. It was interesting, however, to observe how the little plants -of cress, with every change of position, always turned to the light of -the lamp, growing to the height of three inches, and in spite of their -brimstone colour retaining the true cress flavour. - -15. The use of the bath tends greatly to promote health, for without -it the skin of the body has no other stimulant; but the insecurity of -our position rendered bathing sometimes a somewhat doubtful enjoyment. -I remember many cases, when some of us, while bathing in the cold dark -washing place in lukewarm water an inch deep, were alarmed by a sudden -pressure of ice. Ultimately we gave up this practice, finding that it -produced a troublesome amount of damp. - -16. To a stranger, who should have visited us during this winter, nothing -in the ship would have been so surprising and interesting as a visit to -the quarters of the crew. Except for an hour, from five to six o’clock -in the evening, when they were encouraged to take exercise in the open -air, the rest of their time was spent in school, or in the duties of -the watch, or in the work of the ship. Our supply of Slavonic books was -unfortunately not very ample, and besides, not all the crew were able -to read; the greater therefore was their tendency, like men of southern -climes, to harmless noise, and I believe that some of our people, during -the whole expedition, never ceased to speak. Here I beg to insert some -passages from my journal:—“Passing by the steaming kitchen, we enter -their messroom. Here in a narrow space we find the toilers of the sea -and the mountains—eighteen in number. A little band of Dalmatians who -for the first time encounter darkness and cold, the horrors of which are -increased tenfold to men born and bred in the sunny South. Truly it could -be no little thing to such men to be torn from sleep almost every night -by the movement of the ice, to sit day after day in the long night of -winter without any real intellectual occupation, and yet not to become -demoralized, but remain calm and composed, and ever ready to obey and -oblige. Can anything higher be said in their praise? Those men slept, -each by himself, in a double row of berths; only Lusina the boatswain, -and Carlsen the harpooner, who had circumnavigated Spitzbergen and -Novaya Zemlya, occupied a separate partition. The clatter of the tongues -of so many vehement Southerners was like the sound made by the smaller -wheels of a machine, while the naive simplicity of the grave Tyrolese -came in between times, like the steady beat of a great cog-wheel. It was -a miniature reproduction of the confusion of tongues of Babel. Lusina -speaks Italian to the occupants of the officers’ cabin, English with -Carlsen, French with Dr. Kepes, and Slavonic with the crew. Carlsen -had adopted for the ‘Slavonians,’ as he called our people, a kind of -speech compounded of Norwegian, English, German, Italian, and Slavonic. -The crew, with the exception of the two Italians, speak Slavonic among -themselves. The head of the little German colony is the cook, a Styrian; -his heart is better than his culinary skill, for only too readily he -leaves his work to be done by the stove. There is also among them a -Moravian, Pospischill, the Vulcan of the ship; but we must return to the -predominant race—the Slavonic. There is Lukinovich, a very Harpagon, -always collecting, finding treasures in nails, empty bottles, lamp wicks, -and searching even under the snow for articles wherewith to fill his -sack—the sack which he was one day to leave behind him, much against the -grain, when we abandoned the ship. There is Marola, the steward, and -Fallesich, who had worked at the Suez Canal; these are our great singers. -Then Palmich with his lance, the man whose zeal never bated, and whose -very glance transfixed everything; Vecerina, the Job of the party, and -the merry Titans, Sussich and Catarinich; Latkovich and Lettis, ‘the -philosophers;’ Stiglich, the immovable confessor of passive obedience -and the unlawfulness of resistance; Zaninovich, the ‘pearl;’ Haller the -herdsman and Klotz the prophet. Five of these men had run away from their -wives. Klotz the prophet was under all circumstances, not indeed the -most useful, but the most interesting person of this little community. A -lofty calm worthy of an Evangelist graced his outer man; of still greater -stature than Andreas Höfer, he wore, like him, a large black beard. As -a hunter, a guide, a collector of stones, and a lonely enthusiast, he -had moved about the mountains of his home, leading a life of visions. At -home he was regarded as an incomparably bold mountaineer, and the ropes -of the ship were to him so many convenient foot-paths. His reputation as -a physician in his native land was great, and on board ship he failed -not with his good offices. Haller, his fellow-countryman, shared with -Klotz the office of armourer, and the duties of hunter and driver of the -sledge-dogs; and when we began our sledge journeys, both of them were -ready to relieve others in dragging. Both had served in the army, Klotz -on the Tonale, Haller on the Stelvio, and in 1868 the latter had been -my useful companion when I was engaged in the survey of the Ortler and -Adamello Alps. ‘The philosophers’ of our party, Latkovich and Lettis, had -drawn a fine distinction between the different layers of ice, according -as they contained a greater or less amount of saline matter: _Ghiaccio -della prima_ and _Ghiaccio della seconda qualità_.” - -17. To obviate as far as possible the evils of too much leisure among -the men, a school was instituted at the beginning of the January of -the second year; Lieutenant Weyprecht, Brosch, and Orel undertook the -Italians and Slavonians, and I the Tyrolese. To avoid all confusion I -retired with my smaller body of pupils to the shed on deck. Here, with -the thermometer at 25° to 37° below zero C., the seed of wisdom was sown -in the hearts of these sons of nature; but alas! the climate was not -favourable to its growth. After many painful disillusions, the Pole was -ascertained to be the intersection of lines in a point, of which nothing -was to be seen in reality. If in this little lecture-room an exercise had -to be examined, and the scholars were obliged to hold in their breath, -in order that the teacher, who spoke out of a cloud, might be able to -see the slate; or when the pupils engaged in a division sum had suddenly -to stop to rub their hands with snow, was it a matter of wonder if the -school did not flourish exceedingly? - -18. The food of the crew consisted principally of preserved meats, -different kinds of pulse, and the products of the chase, amounting on -an average to two bears a week. Bear-flesh, roasted, was liked by all; -the seal was at first despised, till necessity corrected taste. Besides -artificial wine, water was their strongest drink. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ICE-PRESSURES. - - -1. When compared with the tortures we endured from the thought that -we were captives in the ice, little to us seemed the dangers which -threatened our existence, though these assumed the appalling form of -ice-pressures. Daily almost the ship had to sustain the attacks of our -old enemy, and when the ice seemed to repose, threatening indications -were not wanting to warn us how short that repose might be. My journal -records a long series of commotions in the ice on almost every day -of January 1873, and even during the pauses the timbers of the ship -continually shook and trembled and creaked. The pressures accompanied by -a low grumbling noise were very great on the 3rd, and lasted till the -oldest ice was shattered, during which our hatchways were displaced. On -the 4th the pressures continued without intermission during the whole -day. But on the 22nd they exceeded all we had hitherto experienced. When -we awoke in the morning, the crashing of the masses of ice was dreadful. -In the messroom we heard a deep, grumbling, rumbling noise—the ship -trembled like a steam-vessel under very high pressure. When we hastened -on deck we were greeted by the long howls which issued from the ice, and -we were soon convinced of the exceedingly formidable character of this -special onset! Ten paces astern of the ship, the ice had been heaved -up in a moment into mountains. With the greatest difficulty, amid the -profound darkness that prevailed, the boats were got on board, and many -stores re-shipped, though some of our coals had to be sacrificed. A tent -formed of sails was engulfed, and our water-hole utterly displaced -by the pressures; it was only after many attempts that we succeeded -in finding a thinner ice-table, which we pierced till we found water. -January 26, again tremendous pressures roused us from sleep. In half an -hour every preparation was made to leave the ship, and I believe that -many of us, while waiting the issue amid the fearful din heard from the -deck, longed that the ship might be crushed, in order to escape from the -torture of continually preparing to depart. - -[Illustration: ICE-PRESSURE IN THE POLAR NIGHT.] - -2. I will not, however, fatigue the reader with the monotonous rehearsal -of our ever-recurring daily dangers, but will here insert a few passages -from my journal of that date, which will suffice to explain our position:— - -“Scarcely asleep after the exhaustion and cares of the day, the timbers -of the ship begin to moan and groan close by our ear, and we awake and -lie listening to the onset of the ice. We hear the step of the watch -on deck crackling on the ice as he paces to and fro; as long as it -is measured and steady we know there is nothing to be feared. Again -that uncanny creaking in the timbers, and the watch comes to announce -to those below that the terrible movement in the ice has begun, and -once more we all spring from our beds, put on our fur clothes, seize -our ready-filled bags, and amid the darkness stand ready on deck, and -listen to the war between the ice and the elements. In autumn, when the -ice-fields were not nearly so large as in the winter, their collision was -accompanied by a deep dull sound; but now, rendered hard and brittle by -the extreme cold, a sound as of a howl of rage[19] was emitted as they -crashed together. Ever nearer come the rushing, rattling sounds, as if -a thousand heavy waggons were driving over a plain. Close under us the -ice begins to tremble, to moan and wail in every key;—as the fury of the -conflict increases, the grumbling becomes deeper and deeper, concentric -fissures open themselves round the ship, and the shattered portions -of the floes are rolled up into heaps. The intermitting howls become -fearfully rapid, announcing the acme of the conflict, and anxiously we -listen to the sound which we know too well. Then follows a crash and -crack, and many dark lines wander over the ice: these are for a moment -narrow fissures, the next moment they yawn asunder like abysses. Often -with such a crash the force of the pressure seems broken; the piles of -ice collapse, like the undermined walls of a fortress, and calm is again -restored. But to-day this was but the commencement, and with renewed -violence a second assault of the ice begins,—then a third, yea a fourth. -Tables of ice broken off from the floes around us rise perpendicularly -from the sea; some are bent under the enormous pressure, and their curved -shapes attest the elasticity of ice. Like a giant in the conflict, a -veteran floe, many winters old, crushes in its rotations its feeble -neighbours, and in turn succumbs to the mighty iceberg—the leviathan of -all ice-forms, which forces its way through a phalanx of opposing masses, -crushing them to pieces as it advances. And in this wild and fearful -tumult a ship—squeezed, pressed, all but crushed, by the ice; her crew -on deck, ready to leave her at a moment’s notice. Boats and sledges, -tents, provisions, arms and ammunition, everything prepared, if the ship -should at last be destroyed—but for what?—for an escape? No one really -thought this possible, though all were ready for the attempt. But again -the conflict ceases, and once more we breathe freely, and can contemplate -the wonderful change that has come on everything round us. A few minutes -have sufficed to create a maze of mountain chains from a plain of ice. -The flat surfaces covered with snow, which we saw yesterday, are gone. -Ice ruins are visible on every side. Abysses gape between the shattered -masses, and show the dark sea beneath. Gradually a calm has crept -over all; equilibrium is reinstated in the desolate realm of ice; new -‘leads’ and ‘ice-holes’ have been opened up, but for the _Tegetthoff_ no -liberation.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE WANE OF THE LONG POLAR NIGHT. - - -1. Although the sun was mounting higher, there was no essential change -in the gloom and darkness which surrounded us. In fact we were drifting -during the whole of January towards the north, and were wintering nearer -the Pole than any who had ever preceded us.[20] On gloomy days, noon was -not distinguishable. We were now four hundred miles within the Frozen -Ocean, and had been for five months the sport and play of winds and -currents, and nothing indicated any change in our situation. Yet, in -spite of our desperate position, the first, ever so faint, indications of -the return of light filled us with joy. With a clear atmosphere, January -10, we observed for the first time at noon a decided brightness, and on -the 19th a brilliant carmine was seen in the sky, an hour before noon -on the southern horizon. After a long obscuration from cloudy weather, -the morning twilight increased gradually, and by the end of the month it -was discernible in the forenoon. As the light increased, the signs of -the convulsions were more distinctly seen. Round us there rose piles of -craggy ice, which, hurled up, as from a crater, by the ice-pressure of -the 22nd, kept us in a state of constant fear, lest the ice-walls would -break up and fall in upon us. At a little distance off, nothing was to -be seen of the ship but the tops of its masts: the rest of it was hidden -behind a lofty wall of ice. The ship itself, raised seven feet above the -level of the sea, rested on a protuberance of ice, and, removed from its -natural element, looked a truly miserable object. This ice protuberance -had been formed from a floe which had been often rent asunder and frozen -again, and had been rounded in a singular manner from the under-driving -of the ice and the lateral pressure in its recent movements. In other -respects, also, our environment had been completely changed. Before the -movement in the ice on the 22nd, a narrow strip of level ice wound like -a river through a maze of hummocks, and throughout the winter this had -been diligently used for exercising the dogs. Of this nothing was now to -be seen: walls of ice rose, where a fortnight before our coal-house had -stood: fissures gaped on every side. In every respect the weather during -this month was capricious and unaccountable. In the first two weeks, the -temperature fell several times below -35° F., and on January 8, 13 and -14, quicksilver, exposed to the cold, froze to a solid mass; gin also -froze, and alcohol only maintained its fluid state. Yet, notwithstanding -this low temperature, the snow was always soft; and it continued to be -so, amid all the variations of temperature and the high winds of this -month. January 22 and 23, the temperature rose for a short time to -26° F.; everything in the ship then began to thaw, and a disagreeable -moisture penetrated both our clothes and our quarters. The mean -temperature of this month, in consequence of these abnormal variations, -did not exceed -8° F., and was therefore about ten degrees higher than -might have been expected. - -2. The bears had in these last weeks kept at a regrettable distance from -us. On the 12th, however, a very large fellow ventured to come within -ten paces of the rope-ladder on the starboard side. We fired at him with -explosive balls and he fell; but his strength was so great, that even -after these terrible wounds he was able to get up and run. Explosive -bullets, however, are to be recommended for encounters with bears, though -their flight is rather uncertain. A bear-hunt, on the 29th and 30th, had -a somewhat tragical result. About ten o’clock at night, when it was quite -dark, a bear approached the ship, and with the agility of a tiger fell -on Sumbu, who got away very cleverly, and by his loud barking summoned -Krisch, who was then on watch, to his aid. When he was not more than -ten feet from the deck Krisch fired at him and wounded him. The noise -brought some of us at once, and though it was exceedingly dark and the -snow very deep, a useless chase, in which I joined, forthwith began. The -pursuit through the midst of driving snow became weaker; until at last I -found myself alone with Palmich. We could see nothing; and heard only an -occasional howl of pain. We hastened our steps through the whirling snow, -till we saw, by the dim light of our lantern, Matoschkin lying howling -on the ground, and the bear a few steps from him, vigorously assailed -by Sumbu, who seized him by the foot whenever he began to retreat. As -Matoschkin incautiously approached too near, the bear turned, seized -him, and carried him off. To fire with effect was impossible; we were -too far off to take aim with our rifles. The bear continued to drag -the dog along, and at last a puff of wind put out our lantern, and we -soon discovered our inability to keep up with our enemy. Bitterly as we -lamented the fate of the poor dog, whose howls were brought to our ears -by the wind, we had nothing for it but to return to the ship. About noon -next day when it was sufficiently clear, Brosch, the two Tyrolese, and I -set out to ascertain the fate of the dog. The snow was drifting heavily, -and we constantly sank into it as we advanced. After a toilsome walk we -came on traces of blood, which Sumbu followed up, while Gillis timidly -stuck to us. At last, after we had gone on for the third of a mile, -Sumbu came back in a great state of excitement, and then ran on before -us till he stopped at an ice-hummock, where he renewed his angry barks. -We advanced with quickened steps and with our rifles cocked, and when we -were about twenty paces from it the bear came out from behind, apparently -in great astonishment. After several shots the bear fell, but again -gathering himself up he dragged himself along like a walrus, in spite -of his broken spine, with extraordinary activity towards an “ice-hole” -covered with young ice. Two other shots with explosive bullets terminated -his career, and Matoschkin, whose body we afterwards found behind the -ice-hillock, was avenged. - -[Illustration: FRUITLESS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE MATOSCHKIN.] - -3. The cold set in with great intensity with the month of February and -maintained itself throughout it: the mean monthly temperature being --31° F. Repeatedly the quicksilver froze, and in the last eight days -it remained solid. Even the petroleum was frozen on the 17th at -49° -F. in the globe of the lamp, though it was throwing out a considerable -heat. The lowest temperature we experienced was on the last day of the -month, -51° F. Notwithstanding the extreme cold, the light had increased -so much that a thermometer, in which the degrees were strongly marked, -could be read off, even on the 3rd of the month, at ten o’clock in the -forenoon without the aid of lamplight; and on the 20th we were able to -carry on our meteorological observations, without any artificial light -at six o’clock in the evening. The ruddiness we observed at noon in the -south grew more and more decided. On clear days we could discern, about -seven o’clock in the morning, a faint twilight, and at noon of February -14 the near approach of the sun was distinctly to be traced by a bright -cloud that was resting over it, though it was still below the horizon. -About the middle of the month there was light enough to cause the -different forms and groups of ice to cast shadows. In spite of the low -temperature, we remained for hours in the open air, though previously to -this period we had ventured on deck for a few minutes only at a time—the -watch of course excepted. But as the daylight increased, we saw also what -a dark, gloomy grave had been our abode for so long a period. All our -thoughts and conversations were concentrated on the returning light of -the sun. The movements of the ice ceased to be a source of dread, though -for several days during the month they had been exceedingly formidable. -In the course of our drifting we had penetrated into a region where never -ship had been before. The following table exhibits the course of the -_Tegetthoff_, as she drifted from August 21, 1872, to February 27, 1873:— - - +--------------------+-------+-------+ - | Time. | N. | E. | - | | Lat. | Lon. | - +--------------------+-------+-------+ - | | | | - | Aug. 21 1872, day | | | - | when the ship was | ° ′ | ° ′ | - | beset | 76·22 | 62·3 | - | Sept. 1 1872 | 76·25 | 62·50 | - | ” 4 ” | 76·23 | 62·49 | - | ” 11 ” | 76·35 | 60·18 | - | ” 14 ” | 76·37 | 60·50 | - | ” 21 ” | 76·28 | 63·9 | - | ” 26 ” | 76·36 | 64·8 | - | ” 27 ” | 76·38 | 64·4 | - | ” 28 ” | 76·37 | 64·10 | - | Oct. 1 ” | 76·50 | 65·22 | - | ” 2 ” | 76·59 | 65·48 | - | ” 3 ” | 77·4 | 66·1 | - | ” 17 ” | 77·50 | 69·22 | - | ” 18 ” | 77·48 | 69·8 | - | ” 22 ” | 77·46 | 69·26 | - | ” 31 ” | 77·53 | 69·12 | - | Nov. 5 ” | 77·53 | 69·30 | - | ” 9 ” | 78·15 | 69·42 | - | ” 14 ” | 78·8 | 71·16 | - | ” 18 ” | 78·10 | 70·31 | - | ” 28 ” | 78·13 | 69·48 | - | Dec. 4 ” | 78·19 | 69·1 | - | ” 8 ” | 78·21 | 69·2 | - | ” 12 ” | 78·25 | 68·57 | - | ” 16 ” | 78·22 | 67·42 | - | ” 19 ” | 78·13 | 67·11 | - | ” 26 ” | 78·10 | 68·19 | - | Jan. 2 1873 | 78·37 | 66·56 | - | ” 19 ” | 78·43 | 69·32 | - | ” 26 ” | 78·50 | 71·47 | - | Feb. 2 ” | 78·45 | 73·7 | - | ” 14 ” | 78·12 | 72·20 | - | ” 19 ” | 78·15 | 71·38 | - | ” 23 ” | 79·11 | | - | ” 27 ” | 79·12 | | - +--------------------+-------+-------+ - -4. The inspection of this table shows that the movement of the ship was -retarded as the increasing cold closed the open places of the sea, and -when we fell under the influence of the Siberian ice-drift from east to -west. It may be remarked, too, that we drifted generally straight before -the wind, and that we and our floe during the first four months turned -only one degree in azimuth. By the end of January all the open places of -the sea were closed; and the masses of ice were thus driven one over the -other from their mutual pressure, and pile thus rose upon pile. It seems -probable, also, that wind was the main cause of our drifting, while sea -currents were only of secondary moment. From the beginning of the month -of February we drifted constantly toward the north-west, and from this -deviation in our course we indulged in the hope that we were approaching -the mysterious Gillis’ Land. But at this time the liberation of the ship -in the summer was the sum of our expectations and desires. In fact, there -was not one of us who doubted this eventuality. Fully convinced, as we -were, that our floes, firmly attached to each other, would ultimately -break up and drift southwards, we determined to make them the bearers of -the record of what had befallen us. Hence we threw out, February 14th, -round the ship a number of bottles, inclosing a narrative of the main -events of the expedition from the departure of Count Wilczek up to that -date. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE RETURN OF LIGHT.—THE SPRING OF 1873. - - -1. Though the sun did not return to our latitude (78° 15′, 71° 38′ E. -long.) till the 19th of February, we were able to greet his beams three -days previous to that date, owing to the strong refraction of 1° 40′, -which accompanied a temperature of -35 (F.). To the Polar navigator the -return of the sun is an event of indescribable joy and magnificence. In -those dreadful wastes he feels the force of the superstitions of past -ages, and becomes almost a worshipper of the eternal luminary. As of old -the worshippers of Belus watched its approach on the luxuriant shores of -the Euphrates, we, too, standing on mountains of ice or perched on the -masts of the ship, waited to hail the advent of the source of light. At -last it came! A wave of light rolled through the vast expanse of heaven, -and then—up rose the sun-god, surrounded with purple clouds, and poured -his beams over the world of ice. No one spoke for a time. Who indeed -could have found words to embody the feelings of relief which beamed on -the faces of all, and which found a kind of expression in the scarcely -audible exclamation of one of the simplest and least cultured of the -crew, “Benedetto giorno!” The sun had risen with but half his disk, as if -reluctant to shine on a world unworthy of his beams. A rosy hue suffused -the whole scene, and the cold Memnon pillars of ice gave forth mysterious -whispers in the flood of heat and light. Now indeed with the sun had a -new year begun—what was it to bring forth for us and our prospects? But -alas, his stay was short—he remained above the horizon for a few minutes -only; again his light was quenched, and a hazy violet colour lay over -distant objects, and the twinkling stars shone in the heavens. - -[Illustration: SUN-RISE (1873).] - -2. While we watched the sun’s return, we had also an opportunity of -looking on each other. How shocked and surprised were we with the change -which had been wrought on us in the long Polar night! Our sunken cheeks -were overspread with pallor; we had all the signs of convalescence after -a long illness—the sharp-pointed nose, the sunken eye. The eyes of all -had suffered from the light of lamps which had burnt for months; those -especially who had used them for hard work. But all these consequences -were of short duration under the beneficent influence of the daylight and -the spring sun, which soon brought colour into our faces. Cheerfulness -gradually returned to all on board the _Tegetthoff_, as we revelled in -the warm beams of the sun. We built a house without a roof, and open to -the south, and thither the healthy and the sick on calm fine days used to -repair from the dreary ship, and sun themselves like lizards. But within -the ship it was still night. - -3. The visits of bears again became numerous. February 17th one of about -five feet long was shot very close to the ship, and two days afterwards -a second came near us, but was scared away by the awkwardness of the -hunters. The dogs however pursued him, and we were compelled from fears -for their safety to follow up the chase. The temperature of -33° F., -and a pretty strong wind against which we had to run in the pursuit, -brought on in some of our party palpitation of the heart and spitting of -blood, and our return to the ship was a matter of some difficulty. On -the morning of the 20th another bear came close to the ship, was fired -at, but missed, and got away. Palmich, Haller, and Klotz immediately -gave chase, though the temperature was -40° F., and the wind high. -After a short time Palmich returned with his face frost-bitten, and the -Tyrolese after several hours, without any success, but with their feet -so frost-bitten that they had lost all feeling in them. The second stage -of the malady had begun, which renders amputation almost a necessity. -For several hours their feet had to be rubbed with snow till sensation -returned, and with returning sensation much suffering; large swellings -as big as a man’s fist rose on their feet, which were reduced only after -the application of ice for several days. Again, in the grey of the -morning of February 22nd a bear came within eighty paces of the ship, -which Sussich, the watch on deck, after several shots, which the animal -seemed not in the least to regard, at last hit and killed. By a wound on -his right forepaw we recognised our friend whom we had hotly chased a -few days before. He was six feet in length, and in his stomach there was -nothing but a small piece of the skin of a seal. Sussich was overjoyed -with his success, and for the whole day tried to drag everyone outside -the ship to show the result of his prowess, “Se mi non era, il copava -tutti,” he added, with a look of contempt on those who had not been so -successful as himself. - -[Illustration: THE CARNIVAL ON THE ICE.] - -4. Although at the end of February the sun rose with a carmine light -which imparted an indescribable charm to the fields of snow and ice, we -were doomed to disappointment in our expectation of bright and clear -weather in the after-part of the day. Soon after sun-rise, white frosty -mists gathered over the ice-fields, making the sun as he shone through -them a mere ball of light, or completely concealing him. On February -24th we enjoyed the peculiar spectacle of seeing the sun appear, the -temperature being -44° F., distorted by refraction, through the thick -mists on the horizon, as if he were quite flat, beamless, and of a -coppery red. The end of February reminded us of the carnival time of the -land of the South, and the crew appeared in such masques as they could -command; but their masquerading formed a sad and mocking contrast with -the gravity of our position. The men bestowed all their art on “Sumbu,” -who was dressed up as the demon “Lindwurm,” and deported himself in a -manner highly becoming his costume. - -5. With the month of March the spring had, in name at least, begun; but -in our sense of the word no spring as yet appeared. Instead of the joyous -gleams of early vegetation, a blinding white waste environed us; instead -of the perfumed breath of flowers and the soft air of spring, there rose -driving clouds of ice-needles; and parhelia of almost daily occurrence -shone in a heavy sleepy fashion through white frosty mists. The -atmosphere was filled with snow; to be convinced of this we had only to -look at the sun when the weather seemed clear and bright. This continual -fall of snow as fine as dust was the cause of the retardation of the -evaporation of the ice. The influence of the sun was so great, that on -March 3 the black-bulb thermometer indicated the unusual temperature of -45° F., and a layer of snow on the bows of the vessel showed evident -signs of diminution. The thermometer, in the sun, rose eight degrees -March 6, and nine degrees two days after. The weather was calm and clear, -and the increasing influence of the sun was a most joyful sensation. A -cube of ice freely suspended showed during the second half of March a -daily diminution of 1/100 of its weight from evaporation; while in the -sea itself its behaviour was the very opposite; the cube of ice, which -was submerged to a depth of ten feet from February 19th to March 5th, -showed at the latter date an increase of its mass, amounting to ¾ of an -inch round its surface. In the beginning and end of March the cold was -so severe, that the thermometer every day for three weeks marked -35° -F. Calms and clear weather, however, characterized this period of the -spring, and snow-drifting and a clouded sky were rare. On the 13th of -March the full moon again appeared in the azure twilight of the western -heavens, and its soft light fringed with silver the dark ranges of ice. -The days became longer, and the shadows cast by the masses of ice were -shorter and more marked, and every one who remained long in the open air -was forced to use snow-spectacles. Small avalanches began to fall from -the rigging, and the masts, spars, and ropes lost their white frosted -aspect. On the 22nd the fore-part of the ship’s hull facing the south was -completely free from snow and its dark colour was visible. On the 29th -the temperature in the sun exceeded the temperature at 9.30 A.M. by 34° -F.; and on the 30th we could for the first time observe the melting of -the snow on the seams of the timber of the ship’s hull. The enumeration -of these events, insignificant as they may appear, will serve to show -with what attention the Polar navigator notes the minutest occurrence due -to the influence of the sun. - -6. Welcome, though illusive, harbingers of the returning summer were the -first birds, whose arrival we greeted on the 19th. These were little -divers, which flew over the ship to the open spaces of water amid the -ice, there to seek their food in the countless crustaceæ which abound -in them. Magnificent auroras continued to illuminate our nights; and -although the duration of their intensity was much too brief to serve as a -source of light, there was a charm in these phenomena which their daily -recurrence could not weaken. - -7. While under these various influences the health of all on board the -_Tegetthoff_ greatly improved, we were threatened with the serious -calamity of losing our excellent physician, Dr. Kepes, who fell ill on -the 13th of the month. For two weeks we were kept in a state of anxious -fear for him; and our anxieties were increased as we had to treat his -malady without the necessary knowledge and experience. To our great joy, -however, he was spared to us; and our supply of fresh bear’s-flesh was -henceforth reserved for him. - -8. For some time the bears had observed a very distressing reserve and -shyness in their visits, On the 15th one came near us, and as Pekel had -for some time announced his approach, he found a long front of rifles -drawn up behind some masses of ice to give him a warm reception. He, as -usual, came on under the wind, showing considerable interest in our -edifices. He then ascended a small ice-crag, and, after balancing himself -carefully, sat down on the top of it, with his snout uplifted, snuffing -all round. This seemed so ludicrous to some of our party that they burst -out into a laugh so loud, that the bear came down from his pinnacle in -evident astonishment, and with much circumspection drew nearer and nearer -till at a short distance from us he fell mortally wounded. He was, alas! -a very small animal, about 5½ feet long, and his stomach was absolutely -empty. On the 30th of March another came close to the ship; the watch on -shore fired at, but missed him, whereupon both the watch and the bear -took to flight. - -[Illustration: THE “TEGETTHOFF” DRIFTING IN PACK-ICE.—MARCH 1873.] - -9. April at last arrived, and with it the time of icicles, which hung -down from every yard of the ship, and from every rope of the rigging, -from every icy ridge and crag. The melting and decaying of the ice, -though always a source of satisfaction when the question of its breaking -up is discussed, went on, to our impatient desires, with intolerable -slowness. What was it to us that we were able to read even at midnight -on the 2nd of April; that the number of divers and sea-gulls constantly -increased; that on the 6th the difference of temperature between sun and -shade was 18°; that the black-bulb thermometer on the 20th showed 43° F.; -that the sun on the 11th rose about two o’clock in the morning, and from -the 16th remained constantly in the heavens? What did all this matter? -The constant light notwithstanding, we were still environed with the -signs of deepest winter, and the forms and masses of ice collapsed with -a slow deliberation that tortured us. We were no longer to be satisfied -and amused with the spectacle of parhelia, even though the phenomenon -should appear, as it did on the 1st of April, with eight suns. Months -of weary waiting still lay before us; daily we had to arm ourselves -with patience, as, when we came on deck, we discovered the apparently -unchangeable character of our environment, with all its forms, which had -become familiar to us down to the smallest details. Reluctantly condemned -to almost total idleness, we filled up our time with such occupations -as fancy suggested. Some of our people built a tower of ice on a level -part of our floe; others tried their rifles—tried often enough before—at -empty bottles as targets. Along with the Tyrolese I constructed a road -through hills of ice, over passes and ridges, going up and down in -serpentine paths, making a circuit of about three miles round the ship. -The labour of weeks with picks and shovels was expended in making and -preserving it; after each downfall of snow this road had to be dug out -afresh. Our passing and repassing along it through a maze of ice not -only beneficially exercised our bodies, but furnished opportunities for -training our dogs to drag heavy-laden sledges. I continued also to fill -my portfolio with studies of scenery in the ice, and I accustomed myself, -whenever there was no wind, whatever might be the temperature, to draw -for hours together with no other protection to my hands than light gloves. - -10. April had begun with a temperature of -38° F.; as the month advanced -it steadily increased. At the end of the month the extreme of cold was -but -20° F. But the weather had now lost the clearness of the early -spring; and constant calms, together with the frequent falls of snow, -undid the work of the few hours of the day on which the sun shone. -The ice was covered with deep snow; on the level we sank ankle deep, -while among the hummocks it was up to our knees. Sledging would have -been impracticable. Among the changes produced by the softening of the -weather, none was greater or more agreeable than the return of daylight -to the cabin, when we took off the covering of the skylight and removed -the tent-roof from the fore-part of the ship. Once more to be able to -read without the dull glimmer of artificial light was an extraordinary -event in our monotonous life. For five months our lamps had been burning -in our mess-room, so that the walls were black with smoke, and it was a -work of no small labour to make them clean and pleasant. The unloading of -the ship’s hold was, however, a far heavier, though necessary task; the -thick crusts of ice which had accumulated on its sides must be removed, -lest the provisions should be damaged by their thawing; and there was no -time to lose, for the temperature in the hold was only 1° below zero. The -provisions, which had been left out on the ice, were again stowed in the -ship, the cessation of the ice-pressures rendering this precautionary -measure useless. - -11. Round a ship which has wintered in the ice there is gradually -accumulated a mass of rubbish of all kinds, of which cinders form a -considerable constituent. These, when thrown out in small quantities, -sink at once into the snow, while larger quantities act as a -non-conducting layer. Hence we were surrounded by a maze of holes, big -and little, alternating with plateaus, under which winter still continued -to linger. When thaw-water made its appearance, all this was transformed -into a succession of lakes and islands, which we bridged over by planks. - -12. Meantime we began our labours of digging out the ship. We removed -the wall of snow, which had served as an outer garment and protection -during the winter, and the hard-trodden layer which covered the deck -a foot thick. In clearing away from the after-part of the ship, we -discovered that the machinery protecting the screw had been torn away by -the ice-pressures. The mischief done, however, was not considerable; and -as the ship made no water, we consoled ourselves with the thought, that -she had sustained no material injury, though she had lain so long out of -water perched on the floe. - -13. The continued cessation of movements in the ice induced Weyprecht -to erect a tent at no great distance from the ship, to carry on in it -observations of the magnetic constants, which were taken on certain -appointed days. On the night of one of such days, Orel, who conducted -these observations, was surprised by the visit of a bear. His shouts -for help brought us on deck, but before we could actually reach him, -the seaman on the watch had killed the bear with an explosive bullet. -Hitherto these animals had shown little courage in the neighbourhood of -the ship, and to shoot them from the deck exposed no one to any danger; -but this incident showed us that we could not count securely on their -actions. Soon after this we had another surprise. Stiglich, the seaman -on watch on shore, suddenly found himself confronted with a bear about -eight paces off. Throwing his cap to the bear, he made a rush for the -rope-ladders of the ship, but fell in his hurry and confusion. Carlsen, -hearing his cries for help, hastened to the rescue, and dexterously shot -the pursuer. A glorious event for Carlsen! who used to tell us strange -stories of his encounters with bears: how he had scared them away with -the glance of his eye; and how once in Novaya Zemlya he had frightened -away a whole pack of them by the magic of his glance. All doubts in -the prowess of his eye were silenced to-day by the more unquestionable -prowess of his rifle. On the 28th of May a bear clambering over the wall -of ice close astern of the ship was shot dead with an explosive bullet. -His stomach was empty, but notwithstanding his leanness, he furnished -more meat than many others, for he was fully seven feet long. - -14. At the end of April the force of the winds so loosened the -compactness of the ice, that dark strips hanging above the horizon in -all directions announced the existence of numerous fissures, although -they were invisible even from the masts of the ship. We counted on these -signs with such unshaken confidence, that when on the 2nd of May we heard -in the distance the now familiar sound of the ice-pressures, we heard -them not only without dismay, but as the voice of a joyous message. -Three-quarters of a year had passed away since we were first caught in -the ice—a time laden to us with bitter disappointments to our hopes, and -great dangers to our lives. The hour of our long and ardently desired -liberation seemed at hand. If once we got free, it lay within the bounds -of possibility that we might reach, if not the somewhat mythical Gillis’ -Land, then at least the uninhabited Arctic coasts of Siberia. Siberia -had, in fact, become the rosiest of our hopes. Some, indeed, still -indulged in extravagant expectations and counted on the discovery of new -lands, even while they drifted with the ice. But our wishes for the most -part had become so subdued, that the discovery of the smallest cliff -would have satisfied our ambition as discoverers. - -15. But Nature’s laws held their own course, undisturbed by our desires. -Snow continued to fall in abundance, and spread its mantle over the ice. -The constant round of downfalls and evaporation was a sad bar to our -hopes. In the beginning of May the snow began to thaw on the surface, -and became soft and sticky. Even in the depth of winter it was never -hard, but like the fine dry grains of driving sand. This change in the -snow, which occurs a fortnight earlier than in Greenland, compelled us to -substitute our black leather boots for those of sailcloth, which we had -hitherto worn. On the 2nd of May the temperature fell to -8° F., but it -now began to rise gradually, so that it sometimes reached the freezing -point about the end of the month, and on the 29th rose five degrees above -it. The mean temperature of the month, however, was not above 16° F. But -the difference of temperature in the sun and the shade became greater and -greater. The thermometer marked -18° F. at 6 P.M. of the 1st of May, and -on the 11th the black-bulb thermometer showed 90° F. at 3 P.M., while -the common instrument gave only 14° F. In the middle of the month, after -the heavy winds fell, we were enveloped with dark fog banks; stray beams -of the sun broke through the warm misty atmosphere, and dark skies were -succeeded by masses of white vapour illuminated by the sun. Just as in -our happier clime, the Arctic April has her alternations of cloud and -sunshine. - -16. Hitherto the only birds which had visited us were divers and gulls. -Once only a snow-bunting flew among us, and fearlessly settled on the -ship. On the 24th of May the auks made their appearance, and from that -date we were constantly entertained by the whirring sounds of their -flight. As they keep one direction in their flight, we could shoot those -only which passed over the ship; they were a useful addition to our -table, though they had to be steeped in vinegar to make them palatable. -The majestic Burgomaster Gull appeared somewhat later, and later still -the “Ice-birds” frequented the shores of the lakes around us, and hovered -round the remains of the bears we had shot. These birds settled with the -greatest boldness in the immediate neighbourhood of the ship, and day and -night filled the air with their wild shrill cries. - -17. By the middle of March, Krisch, the engineer, had put the steam -machinery in working order, but another month elapsed before the -screw-propeller, which had been frozen fast, was set free; our fears lest -it should refuse to act proved to be groundless. As, however, there was -no prospect of our being able to use steam for some time, it was thought -advisable to dig out and raise the rudder in order to secure it. - -18. On the 26th of May a partial eclipse of the sun was visible in our -latitude; but from an error in our calculations we had ante-dated the -commencement of the observation by about two hours and a half. Everyone -on board who had an instrument at his command stood ready to observe the -passage of the moon over the sun’s disk. After waiting for some time in -vain, we discovered the error we had committed as to the time of the -beginning of the eclipse, but in order that the dignity of astronomical -observation might not be degraded in the eye of the crew, we still held -our ground with the telescopes in our hands. Two hours of such suspense -enabled us to feel that there could be no more perfect fulfilment of -the punishment of Sisyphus than being condemned to wait for an eclipse -of the sun which would not come off! At last the eclipse took place, -but not until great disgust had been excited in the minds of men who -were too much inclined to regard the whole thing as a piece of humbug. -At the height of the eclipse about one-third only of the sun’s disk was -obscured, and the sun was so covered with mist that we could look at it -without the use of coloured glasses. The whole duration of the eclipse -was one hour and fifty-six minutes. - -19. From the 1st of the month the number of living creatures belonging -to the expedition had been increased by the birth of four Newfoundland -puppies, who passed the earliest days of their youth in a tent erected -on the ice, and artificially heated to the temperature of a European -May. But all our care in rearing this litter was frustrated by one of -these little Polar wretches, who, after sucking his mother till he was -as round as a drum, lay on his brothers as they slept, and stifled them. -This little criminal received the name of Torossy, and soon became the -pet of the crew, and a favourite with all the other dogs. The fame which -he afterwards gained made him an important member of the expedition. All -the dogs had become so hardy during the past winter, that they now slept -outside their kennels, finding the inside too warm for them. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE SUMMER OF 1873. - - -1. The time crept away with indescribable monotony. The crew performed -their heavy labours, but of events there were none. The only change in -our position was the constant decay of the buttresses and walls of ice, -until the frozen sea lay like a snowy chaos before us. Pure sharp-edged -ice was nowhere to be seen; the edges were no longer transparent; -evaporation had transformed the surface into a kind of glacier-snow. -June 1, we had the greatest degree of cold of the month, the thermometer -marking 13° F.; but on the last day it rose to 32·2° F.; the mean -temperature being 31·1° F. Every week brought us promises of summer. On -the 1st the black-bulb thermometer reached 98° F.; on the 14th rain fell -for the first time; on the 16th the temperature at 9 o’clock A.M., was -41·5° F., on the 26th 46·4° F., and on the 29th even 50·2° F. On these -days the air seemed to have the pleasant mildness of southern climes, and -when there was no wind we felt an oppressive sultriness. Wreaths of mist -moved along the icy wastes which glowed with sunlight, while the long -dark lines of ice-wall lay in deep shadow. The air was filled with flocks -of birds; day and night we heard the shrill cries of the Robber-gulls, -ever and anon mingled with the barking of the dogs in full pursuit of -them. Flocks of rotges congregated without fear in the narrow basins of -distant “leads;” and the “great gulls,” shunning companionship, sat for -hours on the top of an ice-cliff, or in the middle of a floe. - -2. No one who has not actually seen it, can imagine the blaze of light -in the Arctic regions on clear days, or the glow which floats sometimes -over the cold white ice-floes, with their outlines in constant vibration, -while refraction transforms the icebergs into a variety of shapes. The -sun’s power is sometimes so great as to blister the skin in a few hours, -and the glare from snow and ice produces snow-blindness, if the eyes be -not carefully protected. At a little distance the sea appears to be of a -deep black colour, though it still preserves its ultramarine hues in the -narrow “leads;” even the pure blue of the heavens may be called almost -black when compared with the dazzling sheen of the ice. In the middle -of June there was an incessant dripping and oozing in the ice-world, -and streams of thaw-water flowed into the open fissures. By the end of -the month the surface of the ice resembled snow; and even at some depth -it was viscous, instead of brittle and hard as glass, as it is during -the colder season. Streams of thaw-water ran through the softened and -saturated snow. Small lakes were formed on the levels, and swamps of -snow, wearing a traitorous exterior, surrounded their borders. In the -summer of 1873 we observed a vertical decrease of five or six feet in -the thickness of the ice; but this diminution in thickness was from -the surface downwards, while in the sea itself there was little or no -thawing, because the temperature of its surface was still below zero. The -moisture, from which there was no escape, became exceedingly troublesome. -In spite of our stout leather boots we had never the comfort of dry -feet during the whole of the summer, and this we felt the more, as our -labours to free the ship, which we had commenced at the beginning of May, -necessitated our being constantly amid the snow and ice. - -3. At the end of May the ship began slowly to settle, and the water rose -between the ice and the hull on the fore-part of the ship. But we soon -discovered that these small changes would not suffice to free us from our -prison-house, but that we must ourselves endeavour to loosen the fetters -which held us fast, if it were only to banish gloomy thoughts of the -future by action of some kind or other. Hence constant digging, sawing, -and blasting on our floe, through May, June, July, and August—labours -in which the whole crew of the ship, with the exception of the sick -and of the cook, took part; labours, alas! which admonished us of the -impotence of man when he contends against the power of Nature. Only on -the port side of the ship were our efforts to dig through the floe at -all successful; on the starboard side the floe had been so enormously -increased by the tables of ice forced upon one another, that we had not -pierced through the ice after sinking a shaft eighteen feet deep; and at -last the water, forcing itself through the pores of the ice, compelled -us to desist from the labour of sinking deeper. The process of sawing -was possible only where we had broken through the ice—that is, on the -port side; yet even there the great thickness of the floe necessitated -the construction of longer instruments, for which the iron casing of -the engine-room had to furnish the material. The difficulty of sawing -increases with the thickness of the ice in an almost incredible manner. -It is easy enough to cut through a floe, four or five feet thick, but to -break up one, eight or ten feet thick, is a matter of great difficulty. -Our saws too, even when they were lengthened, permitted a play of only -a foot; and their twisting, as they cut deep, proved a great hindrance. -Besides, when we had cut to the depth of a fathom, the saws were always -frozen fast, and when we attempted to free them by blasting they were -very often broken in pieces. But even the sections, made with so much -difficulty, often proved to be quite useless, as they were frozen -together again by broken ice left in the cut. Blasting with gunpowder -proved as ineffectual as in the previous year; in fact, the process was -only applicable to ice-blocks which had been loosened by sawing, and -which could not be broken up by the crow-bar alone. - -4. By the middle of June we were at last convinced that the thickness -of the ice rendered it impossible to join together, by sawing, the -two-and-twenty holes which we had dug out round the ship. Henceforward -our labours were confined to the formation of a basin at the fore-part of -the ship. Although we saw the impossibility of liberating the vessel, as -long as she rested on a mountain of ice, we hoped that the basin would -help to break up the floe, and that the _Tegetthoff_ would of itself -return to its normal position. The gliding down of the ship, raised as it -was, to its natural water-line might indeed easily end in a catastrophe, -but we braved this peril when we thought of the vain attempts we had -made to free her. Though the ship sunk so much in the course of the -summer, that its height above the water-line was a little more than two -feet in the fore-part of the ship, and three feet in the after-part, -this circumstance in our favour was outweighed by the disadvantage of -the rapid melting away of the ice at its sides. The ship, freed from its -covering of ice, stood so high above it, that in order to guard against -the danger of its overturning we were obliged, in the second half of -the summer, to shore it up by strong timbers fastened to its masts. It -looked no longer like a ship, but like a building ready to fall in! In -the middle of July Lieutenant Weyprecht ordered Krisch, the engineer, to -construct heavy chisels and borers to ascertain the thickness of the ice. -After long and hard labour, we found that after boring through several -ice-tables, to a depth of twenty-seven feet, we still struck on ice! -Every attempt, therefore, to break through this accumulation had to be -given up, and we contented ourselves with leading the basin we had formed -on the fore-part round the larboard side of the ship. On the 27th of the -month, twenty tons of coal were removed to the ice, in order to lighten -the ship as much as possible, and every day we had to look to the props -which steadied the ship, as the melting of the ice rendered them unsafe. -In the following weeks, the bows continued to sink into the water, while -the after-part as a natural consequence was raised up. - -5. Even in the month of July, the weather was generally gloomy and -unsettled. We had several times two or three inches of snow, and the -showers were mingled with mist, rain, and snow, as had been the case in -June. The winds were generally from the west; the mean temperature of the -month was 34·7° F.; on the 8th of July, the black-bulb thermometer marked -108° F., and the temperature in the shade at the same date amounted to -34° F. But neither wind nor temperature made any change in our position. -The sun on which our liberation depended was seldom visible; and the -winds on which we had counted failed to blow. For weeks we watched for -the formation of fissures round the ship. Fissures indeed were formed, -but at such a distance that they were utterly useless to us. On the 16th -of June, one opened towards the south-east; but it was at least two miles -distant, and in the middle of July it was only half a mile nearer to us. -Nothing, absolutely nothing, was to be seen from the deck but ice, and -Klotz, coming down one day from the top-sail yard, described our position -with a melancholy laconic brevity: “Nix als Eisch, und nix als Eisch, -und nit a bisserl a Wosser. (_Nothing but ice, ice everywhere, and not a -patch of water._)” Amid such impressions all hope gradually left us. The -drifting of the ice ceased to animate our hopes. Even the approach of a -fissure on the 29th of July to the distance of three-quarters of a mile, -in consequence of heavy gales from the south and west, ended in miserable -disappointment. A movement in the ice which began a little way off on the -6th of August resulted only in the diminishing of our floe. There was no -essential change in the remainder of this month, except that the monthly -mean temperature fell to 32·7° F. We had the greatest extreme of heat on -the 4th of August, 41·9° F.; but on the last day of the month we had 5·7 -degrees of cold. - -6. For some time we had been surprised by the appearance of a dark -mass of ice, the distance of which prevented us from making a closer -acquaintance with it. Our life on the narrow space of our floe had quite -assumed the character of that of mere insects, who dwell on the leaf of -a tree and care not to know its edges. Excursions of one or two miles -were regarded as displaying an extraordinary amount of the spirit of -enterprise and discovery. On the 14th some of us pushed on for about four -miles to the group of ice just mentioned, and discovered it to be a very -large iceberg. Two moraines lay on its broad back. These were the first -stones and pieces of rock we had seen for a long time, and so great was -our joy at these messengers of land, that we rummaged about among the -heaps of rubbish, with as much zeal as if we had found ourselves among -the treasures of India. Some of the party found what they fancied to be -gold (pyrites), and gravely considered whether they would be able to take -a quantity of it back to Dalmatia. Although the glaciers of Novaya Zemlya -could not shed icebergs of such magnitude as that on which we now stood, -we all held it for certain that it had come from thence. Not one of us -had the least presentiment that it could belong to new lands, to which -at that time we were near. Even the other icebergs which we discovered -in increasing numbers on the following days, did not as yet speak to us -the language of a message to fill us with hope and ardour. Our walk to -the “dirt iceberg” was an event in our monotonous life, and was often -repeated. These expeditions enabled us also to form some conception of -the size of our floe, the diameter of which could not be less than six or -seven miles. - -7. August 18—the birthday of his Majesty our Emperor,—the ship was -dressed with flags, the only form left to us of expressing our loyalty. -Our dinner was as sumptuous as the circumstances permitted, though -fasting would have been more appropriate, as the third day after this was -the anniversary of that sad and gloomy day on which we were inclosed in -the ice. In order to visit an iceberg which lay to the north-west of us, -we ventured beyond our floe for the first time, and passed over a fissure -to some drifting ice-floes which lay in the way. A seal lying on the ice -was immediately attacked by our dogs, but succeeded after many efforts -in reaching its hole. From the top of the iceberg, which was about sixty -feet high, we discovered that the few openings in the ice were not -navigable “leads,” but isolated holes utterly unconnected, and therefore -useless for navigation. - -8. We had continually drifted, since the beginning of February, first to -the north-west and then to the north, with few modifications; at that -date, we had reached our greatest East Longitude, and winds appeared as -before to be the main cause of this drifting. At the end of that month -there was a succession of calms, and we lay almost motionless in latitude -79°, and longitude 71°. The subjoined table shows our change of place in -the following months. - - +------------------+-----------+------------+ - | Time. | Latitude. | Longitude. | - | | ° ′ | ° ′ | - +------------------+-----------+------------+ - | March 3 1873 | 79 13 | 69 32 | - | ” 9 ” | 79 19 | 68 28 | - | ” 14 ” | 79 20 | 68 28 | - | ” 20 ” | 79 33 | 68 52 | - | ” 25 ” | 79 23 | 67 17 | - | ” 27 ” | 79 15 | 67 29 | - | ” 29 ” | 79 14 | 67 35 | - | April 2 ” | 79 5 | 66 49 | - | ” 3 ” | 79 5 | 66 42 | - | ” 7 ” | 79 4 | — | - | ” 10 ” | 79 12 | 68 1 | - | ” 12 ” | 79 19 | 67 43 | - | ” 13 ” | 79 20 | 67 40 | - | ” 15 ” | 79 14 | 67 0 | - | ” 19 ” | 79 18 | 65 51 | - | ” 20 ” | 79 19 | 65 37 | - | ” 27 ” | 79 13·5 | 64 37·0 | - | ” 28 ” | 79 12·2 | 64 41·8 | - | May 1 ” | 79 15·8 | 64 58·8 | - | ” 2 ” | 79 17·1 | 65 3·9 | - | ” 6 ” | 79 16·0 | 65 0·5 | - | ” 10 ” | 79 20·4 | 65 41·9 | - | ” 11 ” | 79 20·2 | 65 32·4 | - | ” 13 ” | 79 19·7 | 65 15·8 | - | ” 14 ” | 79 19·8 | 64 45·6 | - | ” 16 ” | 79 15·5 | 63 39·0 | - | ” 17 ” | 79 13·1 | 63 21·7 | - | ” 22 ” | 79 9·2 | 62 3·5 | - | ” 29 ” | 79 2·4 | 62 55·5 | - | ” 30 ” | 79 2·5 | 62 54·2 | - | ” 31 ” | 79 2·5 | 62 53·9 | - | June 1 ” | 79 2·4 | 62 43·2 | - | ” 3 ” | 79 0·4 | 62 29·7 | - | ” 5 ” | 79 1·3 | 62 24·8 | - | ” 6 ” | 79 1·1 | 62 20·2 | - | ” 9 ” | 79 5·4 | 61 31·4 | - | ” 10 ” | 79 5·3 | 61 23·6 | - | ” 11 ” | 79 4·3 | 61 21·3 | - | ” 18 ” | 79 6·6 | 61 5·2 | - | ” 20 ” | 79 8·6 | 61 2·8 | - | ” 22 ” | 79 9·2 | 60 54·9 | - | ” 24 ” | 79 8·4 | 60 31·8 | - | ” 25 ” | 79 11·2 | 60 14·6 | - | ” 26 ” | 79 13·3 | 59 55·3 | - | ” 27 ” | 79 13·7 | 59 46·0 | - | ” 28 ” | 79 15·5 | 59 35·4 | - | July 3 ” | 79 15·2 | 59 14·8 | - | ” 4 ” | 79 14·8 | 59 13·3 | - | ” 8 ” | 79 15·2 | 59 5·8 | - | ” 10 ” | 79 13·2 | 59 9·0 | - | ” 15 ” | 79 9·8 | 59 52·6 | - | ” 18 ” | 79 7·3 | 59 50·4 | - | ” 19 ” | 79 7·6 | 59 35·1 | - | ” 20 ” | 79 8·7 | 59 33·6 | - | ” 21 ” | 79 9·2 | 59 33·1 | - | ” 22 ” | 79 9·0 | 59 34·1 | - | ” 23 ” | 79 6·6 | 59 34·2 | - | ” 24 ” | 79 7·1 | 59 29·5 | - | ” 25 ” | 79 6·6 | 59 27·3 | - | ” 31 ” | 78 58·5 | 60 25·5 | - | August 1 ” | 78 56·9 | 60 40·6 | - | ” 4 ” | 79 0·4 | 61 6·2 | - | ” 13 ” | 79 25·4 | 61 6·6 | - | ” 14 ” | 79 24·5 | 61 16·3 | - | ” 16 ” | 79 27·8 | 61 7·6 | - | ” 19 ” | 79 29·1 | 61 31·0 | - | ” 21 ” | 79 31·3 | 61 44·8 | - | ” 30 ” | 79 43·0 | 60 23·7 | - | ” 31 ” | 79 42·5 | 60 5·6 | - | Sept. 2 ” | 79 40·2 | 60 32·9 | - | ” 5 ” | 79 41·3 | 60 12·5 | - | ” 8 ” | 79 34·2 | 59 47·3 | - | ” 9 ” | 79 33·6 | 59 45·9 | - | ” 10 ” | 79 32·2 | 59 53·1 | - | ” 16 ” | 79 45·6 | 61 30·5 | - | ” 23 ” | 79 49·6 | 61 58·1 | - | ” 30 ” | 79 58·3 | 60 41·1 | - | Oct. 16 ” | 79 54·6 | 60 34·7 | - | ” 19 ” | 79 53·9 | 60 40·6 | - | ” 23 ” | 79 44·5 | 60 7·9 | - | ” 26 ” | 79 44·3 | 59 17·1 | - | ” 27 ” | 79 44·0 | 59 14·1 | - | ” 28 ” | 79 43·8 | 59 6·6 | - | ” 29 ” | 79 44·8 | 59 9·8 | - | ” 30 ” | 79 49·0 | 58 59·9 | - | ” 31 ” | 79 50·6 | 58 53·7 | - | Ship in Land ice | 79 51·1 | 58 56·0 | - +------------------+-----------+------------+ - -9. The meteorological observations of the expedition, and the course -of the _Tegetthoff_ have been ably analysed by Vice-Admiral Baron von -Wüllersdorf-Urbair in the _Mittheilungen_ of the Imperial Academy of -Sciences of Vienna, and while I refer the curious reader to these reports -for a fuller discussion of these questions, I subjoin the most important -paragraphs of the Admiral’s report which concern the course of the -_Tegetthoff_:— - -“Under ordinary circumstances a ship drifts on with the floe; is -imprisoned, and necessarily obeys the force of the wind and the -sea-currents. Its course, consequently, corresponds to the combined -effect of these forces. But, inasmuch as the _Tegetthoff_ was not in the -free sea, but was driven along for the greater part of the time in close -pack-ice, the ship not only obeyed the general movement of the ice, which -was dependent on the direction of the winds and currents of the sea, -but was also influenced by its vicinity to coasts and by the greater or -lesser accumulation of ice. - -“In so far as the _Tegetthoff_ with her hull and masts presented a -greater surface to the wind, the floe, on which it was imprisoned, would -necessarily receive an excess of movement in the direction of the wind. -If this excess formed an angle with the direction of the movement of the -ice, the ship’s floe would deviate to the side of the least resistance, -and drift according to the resultant between wind and resistance. Thus -it might be that the ship’s course deviated from the wind, even in a -direction opposed to it. But these anomalies certainly were not great, -and could not well be estimated, because the deviations which thus arose -depended on the direction of the wind, on the density and mass of the -ice, on causes, in fact, which could not be exhibited under numerical -relations. - -“If we compare the statements, as given in the _Meteorological -Journal_,[21] concerning the ice-drift and ice-pressures, it is seen that -the maximum of both occurred in those parts of the sea in which the ship -was within the action of the ice coming from the Sea of Kara, and that -the greatest deviations in the ship’s course necessarily happened there. - -“With respect to another abnormal deviation in the ship’s course, it -cannot be doubted that this depended on the vicinity of Franz-Josef Land, -towards which the masses of ice drifted under the action of continuous -south-west winds; and were again driven back, thus forming a circle -in their movement. It would seem natural to assume the existence of a -sea-current in order to explain this peculiarity; but the configuration -of that land and its coasts, or the greater or lesser amount of -immovable ice, or, lastly, the prevailing winds in those regions, -may have influenced the direction of the movement of the ice, and -consequently of the ship’s course. - -“If we consider the prevalence of winds, as furnished by Weyprecht’s -observations for more than two years, we find south-west winds prevailing -in the southern part of the seas that were navigated, and north-east -winds in the northern part of those seas. - -“If the sea to the east of Franz-Josef Land should not be broken by -larger groups of islands, or by masses of land, but be a vast range of -ocean, the winds would be free from the influence of land, and blow in -a north-easterly direction, and exhibit, so to speak, the phenomenon of -a Polar north-east trade wind. If it should be the case that north-east -winds prevail to the north of the 78th or 79th degree of north latitude, -and, at the same time, south-west winds to the south of that same degree, -the notion of a sea-current must be dismissed, and a revolving movement -in the ice assumed, in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock. -The observations of Weyprecht on these winds establish their circulatory -character. The curve of deviation in the course of the _Tegetthoff_ seems -to be in harmony with this assumption. But these suppositions cannot be -accepted, until observations be made on the winds to the south of 79° N. -L. at the same season of the year with those which were so successfully -made by Weyprecht to the north of this degree. - -“The following arguments, however, would seem to favour the supposition -of the existence of a sea-current. The curve at the commencement of its -deviation corresponds pretty nearly with the direction which the Gulf -Stream would take after passing round Norway, and in its further course -with that current, which comes out of the Sea of Kara between Novaya -Zemlya and Cape Taimyr, and which undoubtedly exists, though its course -has to be more accurately determined. - -“However small may be the value we assign to the winds in explanation of -the deviation in the _Tegetthoff’s_ course, it is at any rate impossible -to ascribe those phenomena to the influence of the coast formation. We -must, therefore, assume either, that the different directions of the wind -produce a constant circulation of the ice in the sea to the north of -79°; or that currents known to exist in this and contiguous seas cannot -be excluded from the small part of the ocean lying between Novaya Zemlya -and Franz-Josef Land.” - -From these and other grounds the Vice-Admiral Baron von Wüllersdorf draws -the following conclusions:— - -“It is probable that there exists a sea-current in the seas between -Novaya Zemlya and Franz-Josef Land; that at any rate, its existence -cannot positively be denied, although the prevailing winds may produce -similar phenomena. - -“That there is a great probability that the Ocean stretches far to the -north and east beyond the eastern end of Novaya Zemlya.” - -[Illustration: SOUNDING IN THE FROZEN OCEAN.] - -10. During the summer Orel took soundings of the depth of the sea, -which he was prevented from continuing in the winter by the frost. -These show its shallowness on the north of Novaya Zemlya, especially -towards Franz-Josef Land. A bank, over which we drifted in the summer of -1873, and which we explored with a drag-net, was the principal source -of the collection of marine fauna, which we shall speak of in a later -chapter. These soundings also enabled Orel to prove the small increase -of the temperature of the sea at any considerable depth. He used in his -experiments the maximum and minimum thermometer of Casella. The specimens -we collected showed, that the bottom of the sea consists of layers of -mud and shells. The soundings are exhibited in the following table:— - - +----------------+-------+ - | Time. |Metres.| - +----------------+-------+ - | July 20 1872 | 400 | - | ” 28 ” | 115 | - | ” 31 ” | 250 | - | Aug. 3 ” | 130 | - | ” 4 ” | 80 | - | ” 22 ” | 36 | - | ” 30 ” | 170 | - | Sept. 16 ” | 100 | - | ” 25 ” | 90 | - | ” 29 ” | 85 | - | ” 30 ” | 190 | - | Oct. 2 ” | 170 | - | ” 9 ” | 450 | - | Nov. 14 ” | 345 | - | Jan. 28 1873 | 510 | - | Mar. 27 ” | 450 | - | April 28 ” | 350 | - | May 17 ” | 230 | - | ” 18 ” | 187 | - | ” 19 ” | 172 | - | ” 20 ” | 163 | - | ” 21 ” | 138 | - | ” 22 ” | 186 | - | ” 23 ” | 162 | - | ” 25 ” | 177 | - | ” 25 ” | 182 | - | ” 26 ” | 186 | - | ” 27 ” | 249 | - | ” 28 ” | 251 | - | ” 29 ” | 254 | - | ” 30 ” | 253 | - | ” 31 ” | 256 | - | June 1 ” | 238 | - | ” 2 ” | 210 | - | ” 3 ” | 183 | - | ” 4 ” | 207 | - | ” 5 ” | 200 | - | ” 6 ” | 198 | - | ” 7 ” | 190 | - | ” 8 ” | 215 | - | ” 9 ” | 231 | - | ” 10 ” | 203 | - | ” 11 ” | 240 | - | ” 12 ” | 218 | - | ” 13 ” | 211 | - | ” 14 ” | 235 | - | ” 15 ” | 161 | - | ” 16 ” | 184 | - | ” 17 ” | 222 | - | ” 18 ” | 200 | - | ” 19 ” | 186 | - | ” 20 ” | 220 | - | ” 21 ” | 195 | - | ” 22 ” | 200 | - | ” 23 ” | 169 | - | ” 24 ” | 178 | - | ” 25 ” | 195 | - | ” 26 ” | 220 | - | ” 27 ” | 227 | - | ” 28 ” | 233 | - | ” 29 ” | 240 | - | ” 30 ” | 240 | - | July 1 ” | 240 | - | ” 3 ” | 245 | - | ” 4 ” | 250 | - | ” 5 ” | 235 | - | ” 6 ” | 235 | - | ” 7 ” | 274 | - | ” 8 ” | 266 | - | ” 9 ” | 250 | - | ” 10 ” | 250 | - | ” 11 ” | 236 | - | ” 12 ” | 265 | - | ” 13 ” | 247 | - | ” 14 ” | 215 | - | ” 15 ” | 195 | - | ” 16 ” | 184 | - | ” 17 ” | 200 | - | ” 18 ” | 240 | - | ” 19 ” | 232 | - | ” 20 ” | 231 | - | ” 21 ” | 231 | - | ” 22 ” | 226 | - | ” 23 ” | 198 | - | ” 24 ” | 205 | - | ” 25 ” | 216 | - | ” 26 ” | 218 | - | ” 27 ” | 218 | - | ” 28 ” | 236 | - | ” 29 ” | 260 | - | ” 30 ” | 236 | - | ” 31 ” | 234 | - | Aug. 1 ” | 225 | - | ” 2 ” | 219 | - | ” 3 ” | 173 | - | ” 4 ” | 188 | - | ” 5 ” | 210 | - | ” 6 ” | 107 | - | ” 7 ” | 216 | - | ” 8 ” | 184 | - | ” 9 ” | 244 | - | ” 10 ” | 225 | - | ” 11 ” | 209 | - | ” 12 ” | 214 | - | ” 13 ” | 189 | - | ” 14 ” | 177 | - | ” 15 ” | 170 | - | ” 16 ” | 170 | - | ” 17 ” | 174 | - | ” 18 ” | 148 | - | ” 19 ” | 152 | - | ” 20 ” | 138 | - | ” 21 ” | 130 | - | ” 22 ” | 131 | - | ” 23 ” | 128 | - | ” 24 ” | 145 | - | ” 25 ” | 140 | - | ” 26 ” | 185 | - | ” 27 ” | 219 | - | ” 28 ” | 180 | - | ” 29 ” | 132 | - | ” 30 ” | 211 | - | ” 31 ” | 197 | - | Sept. 1 ” | 260 | - | ” 2 ” | 142 | - | ” 3 ” | 212 | - | ” 4 ” | 215 | - | ” 5 ” | 178 | - | ” 6 ” | 188 | - | ” 7 ” | 204 | - | ” 8 ” | 250 | - | ” 9 ” | 240 | - | ” 10 ” | 218 | - | ” 11 ” | 168 | - | ” 12 ” | 127 | - | ” 13 ” | 132 | - | ” 14 ” | 137 | - | ” 15 ” | 111 | - | ” 16 ” | 134 | - | ” 17 ” | 178 | - | ” 18 ” | 175 | - | ” 19 ” | 275 | - | ” 20 ” | 300 | - | ” 21 ” | 220 | - | ” 22 ” | 188 | - | ” 24 ” | 237 | - | ” 25 ” | 325 | - | Oct. 28 ” | 165 | - | ” 31 ” | 210 | - +----------------+-------+ - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -NEW LANDS. - - -1. We Spent the latter half of August in seal-hunting, for it was only by -the use of fresh meat that we were able to contend with, if not prevent, -cases of scurvy. Day after day lines of hunters lay in wait before the -fissures at the edge of our floe, and in the evening our dogs generally -had to drag in the sledges several seals to the ship. Many of these -creatures which we wounded sank and disappeared. All these seals belonged -to the class Phoca Grœnlandica. Walruses were never to be seen, and once -only in an “ice-hole” we came across a shoal of white whales, which -however seemed to be moving on. In the capture of seals we sometimes used -a light boat, made of water-proof sailcloth, which two men could easily -drag out of the water. Some of our people too had learnt the use of the -harpoon. By the end of September we had killed in one way or another some -forty seals, and as we shot many of the birds which flew round us, and on -an average one bear a week, we were seldom without fresh meat. With the -exception of Krisch, the engineer, who suffered from lung disease, and of -the carpenter, who had become lame from a scorbutic contraction of the -joints, all on the sick list recovered under the influence of work in the -open air and of the improved diet. - -2. The covering of deep soft snow, which had been so troublesome, almost -disappeared at the beginning of autumn, and the surface of the ice had -been transformed by evaporation into a firm mass like the congealed -snow of a glacier, so that we were able to walk on its hard surface -without sinking; only the numerous small ice-lakes, on the floes, -impeded our excursions. In all these signs, we were reminded of the near -approach of winter, and it seemed that, drifting as we were constantly -towards the north, we should spend it nearer to the Pole than any other -expedition had ever done. On the 25th the sun set at midnight. The period -intervening between this and the time when the sun ceases to reappear may -be regarded as the autumn of the Arctic region. For some time the light -had so diminished, that our quarters again became dark at night, and -from the 19th of July we were obliged to use a light in order to read at -midnight. On the 29th of August, after falls of rain and snow succeeded -by north winds, the ship was stiffened in a coating of ice. The rigging -was covered with an incrustation of ice of an inch thick, and pieces of -ice of a pound weight sometimes fell on the deck, rendering walking on -it neither comfortable nor safe. After a succession of frosts and thaws, -complete congelation at last set in, and when the moon was up, the masts -and rigging shone like burnished silver. - -3. The second summer was gone. It had come in with the hope and promise -of liberation, and patiently had we awaited this result. With sad -resignation we now looked forward to another winter. But once more it was -to be seen, in our case, how great is the power of men to endure dangers -and hardships, when these come upon them not suddenly but gradually. -A few months ago, the thought that we should be prisoners on the ice, -bound to our floe, for a second winter, would have been unendurable. But -now that the intolerable thought had become a stern fact, we accepted -and endured it. But often as we went on deck and cast our eyes over the -wastes, from which there was no escape, the despairing thought recurred, -that next year we should have to return home—without having achieved -anything, or at most with a narrative of a long drift on the ice. Not -a man among us believed in the possibility of discoveries, though -discoveries beyond our utmost hopes lay immediately before us. - -4. A memorable day was the 30th August 1873, in 79° 43′ Lat. and 59° 33′ -E. Long. That day brought a surprise, such as only the awakening to a -new life can produce. About midday, as we were leaning on the bulwarks -of the ship and scanning the gliding mists, through which the rays of -the sun broke ever and anon, a wall of mist, lifting itself up suddenly, -revealed to us, afar off in the north-west, the outlines of bold rocks, -which in a few minutes seemed to grow into a radiant Alpine land! At -first we all stood transfixed and hardly believing what we saw. Then, -carried away by the reality of our good fortune, we burst forth into -shouts of joy—“Land, Land, Land at last!” There was now not a sick man on -board the _Tegetthoff_. The news of the discovery spread in an instant. -Every one rushed on deck, to convince himself with his own eyes, that the -expedition was not after all a failure—there before us lay the prize that -could not be snatched from us. Yet not by our own action, but through -the happy caprice of our floe and as in a dream had we won it, but when -we thought of the floe, drifting without intermission, we felt with -redoubled pain, that we were at the mercy of its movements. As yet we had -secured no winter harbour, from which the exploration of the strange land -could be successfully undertaken. For the present, too, it was not within -the verge of possibility to reach and visit it. If we had left our floe, -we should have been cut off and lost. It was only under the influence of -the first excitement that we made a rush over our ice-field, although we -knew that numberless fissures made it impossible to reach the land. But, -difficulties notwithstanding, when we ran to the edge of our floe, we -beheld from a ridge of ice the mountains and glaciers of the mysterious -land. Its valleys seemed to our fond imagination clothed with green -pastures, over which herds of reindeer roamed in undisturbed enjoyment of -their liberty, and far from all foes. - -5. For thousands of years this land had lain buried from the knowledge -of men, and now its discovery had fallen into the lap of a small band, -themselves almost lost to the world, who far from their home remembered -the homage due to their sovereign, and gave to the newly-discovered -territory the name - - KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF’S LAND. - -With loud hurrahs we drank to the health of our Emperor in grog hastily -made on deck in an iron coffee-pot, and then dressed the _Tegetthoff_ -with flags. All cares, for the present at least, disappeared, and with -them the passive monotony of our lives. There was not a day, there -was hardly an hour, in which this mysterious land did not henceforth -occupy our thoughts and attention. We discussed whether this or that -elevation in the grey and misty distance were a mountain, or an island, -or a glacier. All our attempts to solve the question of the extent of -the land lying before us were of course still more fruitless. From the -headland which we had first seen (Cape Tegetthoff), to its hazy outline, -in the north-east, it seemed to extend nearly a degree; but as even its -southernmost parts were at a great distance from us, it was impossible -to arrive at anything more definite than a mere approximation to its -configuration. The size and number of the icebergs which we had recently -fallen in with were now amply explained,—they were indisputable witnesses -of its great extent and its vast glaciation. - -6. At the end of August and the beginning of September north winds -drove us somewhat towards the south, so that the outlines of the land -were still more faintly defined. But at the end of September we were -again driven towards the north-west and reached 79° 58′, the highest -degree of latitude to which the _Tegetthoff_ and its floe drifted. We -now saw an island at some distance off—afterwards called Hochstetter -island—lying before us. Its rocky outlines were distinctly visible, and -the opportunity of _reaching the land by a forced march_ seemed more -favourable than any which had been presented. It might also be the last -chance offered to us, for our fears lest we might drift out of sight of -this land were well founded. Six of her crew now left the _Tegetthoff_ -and committed themselves to the destiny which the movement of the ice -had in store for them. The east winds, which had prevailed during the -last days, had forced the ice landward, and the pressures had crushed in -the edges of our floe, and greatly diminished its size. We rushed over -the grinding, groaning, broken walls of drifting ice, and so great was -our ardour, that we took no notice when some one or other of the party -tripped and fell. Each panted to reach the land. We had already gone half -way, the ship having long disappeared from our eyes, when there arose a -mist which enveloped everything, so that the masses of ice looked like -high mountains through the hazy atmosphere. Of the land itself we could -see nothing, and no choice was left to us but to return to the ship -through the mist. The compass was little help, and within the barriers of -recently broken ice the traces of our steps were lost. We took at last -a wrong direction and were following it up, in spite of Jubinal’s loud -barks to divert us. As he ran backwards and forwards, magnified in the -mist he ran many risks of being mistaken for a bear. What the sagacity of -six men could not do, this the instinct of the animal effected. Exhausted -by our own exertions, we yielded ourselves to his guidance, and he -actually brought us into the right track—and back to the ship. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE AUTUMN OF 1873.—THE STRANGE LAND VISITED. - - -1. The autumn was unusually mild, though stormy and gloomy. The -thermometer up to the 20th of September fell daily some degrees below -zero (C.), and occasionally we had rain. At the end of the month the -minimum temperature ranged from 14° to 5° F., and the mean temperature of -the month was as low as 24·5° F. The mildness of the season was, perhaps, -connected with the unusual recession of the ice-barrier in the south; -though it might have been a consequence of the open water which had been -formed under the land during the drifting of the floes. The land itself -was but seldom visible, and heavy masses of dark-blue clouds, which are -peculiar to southern latitudes, generally hung over it. Frequent falls of -snow again covered everything around us. Parhelia were sometimes visible, -and these were generally the precursors of driving snow, which reared -deep drifts round the ship. The numerous little lakes on the ice-floes -were frozen over in the night even in the earlier part of August, and -at the end of the month these bore us during the day. The clear mirror -of their surface cracked whenever the temperature fell suddenly some -degrees, while the effect of contraction in the ship was followed by the -noises which we called “Schüsse.” The “ice-holes” were overspread with -a viscous ropy ice, which was strong enough to bear us at their edges. -The ship now stood out from the ice; her hull was about fourteen feet -above the surrounding surface of snow. To facilitate egress and ingress, -we constructed steps of ice on each side of the vessel. After the 7th of -September our efforts to free the ship were given up. The little basin -at the fore-part of the ship—the result of the toil of many months—was -completely frozen over, and afforded us the recreation of skating as a -reward for our labours. - -2. The experience of the past greatly strengthened all the grounds and -motives which so readily presented themselves to abandon our helpless -vessel in the following summer and attempt the return to Europe by -means of sledges and boats. If there had been no other reason for this -resolution, regard for our health would have dictated the step. Our -supply of lemon-juice was so reduced, as to leave scarcely a doubt as -to the necessity of attempting to return. But amid these prudential -considerations, we were filled with fear lest we should be unable to -explore the mysterious land we had discovered. - -3. The daylight now began to fail. On the 9th of September the sun set at -8.30 and the stars were visible at night. About the middle of the month -lamps were kept burning all the night through in our quarters below, and -our environment, never very animated, again wore the aspect of the dark -realm of ice. The visits of birds became rarer, although they did not -quite leave us as long as there was any open water near. The divers and -auks had already disappeared. They flew in long lines southward, and as -they whizzed past us through the rigging of the ship, we acknowledged -the superiority of these little creatures to us and to our ship, which -was never to hoist its sails again. The ice-birds, and the robber-gulls -still remained with us. We once shot a rose-coloured gull (Ross’s gull), -said to belong only to North America and Iceland. On the 28th we saw the -last snow-bunting. The first aurora was seen on the 22nd, and during the -winter its light fell not merely on the Frozen Ocean but on the distant -Franz-Josef’s Land, showing us that we were not drifting away from it. By -the end of the month we had drifted to the eightieth degree of latitude, -nearly; and every cliff of the land, even the most insignificant, -emerging at a distance from the ice, had charms enough to call us all on -deck. - -4. In the second half of October, winds from the north and north-east -had driven us towards the south and south-west, and as we neared the -land we saw that the ice-fields were broken up by their contact with its -immovable barrier. Our own floe had been greatly diminished from the -general pressure of the ice. On the 1st of October we were driven so -near the land that we found ourselves in the midst of the destruction -going on in the ice. Our ice-floe was shattered and broken, and so -rapidly had it diminished in size, that the distance of the ship from -the edge of the floe, which was 1,300 paces on the 1st, amounted to only -875 two days afterwards. On the 6th it had diminished to 200 paces, so -that it was reduced to a mere fragment of its former size. The shocks -it now received caused the ship to quiver and shake, and we heard the -cracking and straining in its timbers, which kept us on the tenter-hook -of expectation lest the ice should suddenly break up. It seemed as if we -were doomed to a repetition of the trials and dangers of the preceding -winter. The bags of necessaries to be taken with us if we should be -forced to leave the ship, were kept in readiness for immediate use. As -we watched the advancing wall of ice, and heard the too well known howl -it sent forth, and saw how fissures were formed at the edge of the floe, -the days of the ice-pressures were painfully recalled, and the thought -constantly returned—what will be the end of all this? The Land we had so -longed to visit lay indeed before us, but the very sight of it had become -a torment; it seemed to be as unattainable as before; and, if our ship -should reach it, it appeared too likely that it would be as a wreck on -its inhospitable shore. Many were the plans we formed and debated, but -all were alike impracticable, and all owed their existence to the wish -to escape from the destruction that stared us in the face. Such were our -out-looks when on the 31st of October we were driven close to a headland -of no great height, about three miles distant from the ship, and found -ourselves in the midst of icebergs, several of which were of considerable -magnitude. Towards this, the bergs, or we ourselves, or both, were -rapidly drifting, as the soundings showed. If the icebergs drifted they -would of course crush all the ice-fields which stood in their way. We -were now in 79° 51′ N. Lat. and 58° 56′E. Long. Here exactly in the -longitude of Admiralty peninsula of Novaya Zemlya, and with the ship -lying north and south, we were to pass the winter—but harbourless. - -5. On the forenoon of the 1st of November, the land lay to the north-west -of us in the twilight. The lines of rocks were so clearly and distinctly -seen, that we were convinced that it could be reached without endangering -our return to the ship. There was no room for hesitation; full of energy -and wild excitement, we clambered over the ice-walls lying to the -northward, which consisted of barriers, fifty feet high, of huge pieces -of ice recently forced up amid the pressure. These passed, we came on a -broad surface of young ice, which showed that there had been open water -there a short time before. Over the surface of this young ice we now ran -towards the land. We crossed the ice-foot and actually stepped on it. -Snow and rocks and broken ice surrounded us on every side; a land more -desolate could not be found on earth than the island we walked on; all -this we saw not. To us it was a paradise; and this paradise we called -Wilczek Island. - -6. So great was our joy at having reached the Land at last, that we -bestowed on all we saw an attention which, in itself it in no way -merited. We looked into every rent in the rocks, we touched every block, -we were ravished with the varied forms and outlines which each crevice -presented. We talked in grand style of the frozen slopes of its hollows -as glaciers! Nothing was of greater moment in these first hours than the -question of its geological character, and great was our surprise to find -here the same rocks, with which we had become acquainted at the Pendulum -Islands during the second German North Polar Expedition. The columnar -conformation of these Dolerite rocks singularly resembled those of Griper -Roads and Shannon Island. The vegetation was indescribably meagre and -miserable, consisting merely of a few lichens. The drift-wood we expected -to find was no where to be seen. We looked for traces of the reindeer and -the fox, but our search was utterly fruitless. The land appeared to be -without a single living creature. We then ascended a rocky height on the -southern margin of the island, whence we had a view of the frozen ocean -extending some miles beyond the ship. There was something sublime to the -imagination in the utter loneliness of a land never before visited; felt -all the more from the extraordinary character of our position. We had -become exceedingly sensitive to new impressions, and a golden mist which -rose on the southern horizon of an invisible ice-hole, and which spread -itself, like an undulating curtain, before the glow of the noontide -heavens, had to us the charm of a landscape in Ceylon. - -7. How vexatious was it to feel, that if we had reached this Land some -weeks earlier, we might have explored it without the risk of being cut -off from the ship. For some days the sun had sunk below the horizon, and -the twilight of noon admitted of only a few short excursions from the -ship, quite insufficient to satisfy our earnest desire to learn more of -its structure and configuration; and we much feared lest the constant -north winds should cause us to drift out of sight of it. Southwards -stretched a flat surface of bluish-grey ice, and beyond the distant ship, -a large “ice-hole” from whose yellow mirror there arose undulating mists. -Beyond this again stretched dark lines of floes running parallel to the -horizon, over which, in the south, hung the sky in deep carmine. We -scrambled over a rugged slope covered with ice as smooth as glass, which -ran into the interior of the little island, in order to get a clear view -northward; but we were compelled to return without achieving our purpose, -for we feared to absent ourselves longer from the ship. We accordingly -went back, but returned next day to explore. But these barren days and -small events made a profound impression on our minds, and even Carlsen, -the old and tried navigator of the frozen deep, wore on his breast, -beneath his fur coat, the star of the order of St. Olaf, to do due honour -to the dignity of discovery. We built a pyramid of stones six feet high -on the island, and fixed in it one of our flags attached to a pole. - -8. On the 3rd of November a party of us started about eight o’clock -in the morning, when it was quite dark, to attempt to reach a glacier -which we had seen, on the north of the island and on the other side of a -frozen inlet of the sea. We took with us a small sledge drawn by three -dogs, and, in constant fear of being cut off from the ship, we pressed -on over a level surface of snow towards some objects suffused with a dim -rosy light, which seemed to float over them. As we neared them we found -them to be icebergs, which sparkled like jewels, and which we took to -be the terminal precipice of the glacier we were in search of. It was -only, however, after some hours that we came actually in sight of it; the -ship having meanwhile disappeared from our view. Suddenly there emerged -before us, in the east, a white band, which proved to be the terminal -front of the glacier, which, as we approached it, we were surprised to -find had an inclination of only two or three degrees. Its highest point, -therefore, must have been at a very great distance. On its left side -there was a moraine of great depth. When we began our return to the ship, -the rosy evening light had disappeared from the higher clouds, while it -became clearer behind the gigantic mass of the glacier, so that its dark -outline stood out strongly marked on the heavens. It was quite dark when -we again drew near the ship, but the brave Carlsen, armed with rifle and -walrus-lance for any emergency, came out to meet us. - -[Illustration: APPROACHING THE LAND BY MOONLIGHT.] - -9. In an excursion on the 6th of November we reached a point on the -north-west of Wilczek Island—passing for the first time during this -expedition beyond the eightieth degree of north latitude—whence we could -see the mainland of the new country stretching before us under the -silver light of the moon. An indescribable loneliness lay on its snowy -mountains, faintly illuminated by the span of twilight in the south and -by the light of the moon. If the ice on the shore, as it was moved by the -ebb and flow of the tide, had not sent forth shrill notes, and had not -the wind sighed as it passed over the edges of the rocks, the stillness -of death would have lain on the pale and spectral landscape. We hear of -the solemn silence of the forest or of the desert, or of a city buried -in sleep during the night; but what is this silence to the silence of a -land with its cold glacier mountains losing themselves in snows and mists -which can never be explored, and the very existence of which had remained -unknown from creation till this moment? - -10. On the 7th another short expedition towards the south-west of Wilczek -Island was carried out; but notwithstanding all our exertions we were -unable to determine its configuration, even of the parts immediately -contiguous to us. Until the spring of the following year, the whole -island, except perhaps a portion of its southern side, remained a mystery -to us. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -OUR SECOND WINTER IN THE ICE. - - -1. The Land had meantime been thickly enveloped in its pure white mantle, -and wreaths of snow-drifts lay over the rocks scattered over its surface. -The light became fainter. Sometimes the precipitous faces of the glaciers -seemed to glow in subdued rose-colour through the leaden grey of the -atmosphere. When new “ice-holes” appeared, a frosty vapour rose and -spread over the surface of the ice; the ship and surrounding objects were -covered as if with down; even the dogs were frosted white. We used to -stand on deck and gaze on the sun as it sank, surrounded by the evening -clouds, behind the jagged edges of the hummocks. Raised by refraction, -he appeared for the last time on the 22nd of October with half his disc -above the horizon, and the whole southern sky was for a time like a sea -of fire over the cold, stiff forms and lines of ice. At length the disc -disappeared, and masses of dark clouds moved up and obscured the light -still lingering in the sky. The long reign of night began, and the wastes -around us relapsed into the stern sway of winter. A pale twilight still -lingered for some time, but its faint arc became smaller and feebler. -No shadows accompanied the forms of those who strayed over the ice. The -wind moaned in the frozen desert. The darkness and the cold continually -increased, till the dome of night vaulted the lonely spot which had -become our home. - -2. But the hope and expectation of successes to be achieved, and the -feeling that our safety was not immediately threatened, rendered this -second winter a happy contrast to the preceding one. We had now leisure -and calmness for intellectual occupations, which were, indeed, the -only means of relieving the monotony of the long period of darkness. We -lived like hermits in our little cabins in the after-part of the ship, -and learned that mental activity without any other joy suffices to make -men happy and contented. The oppressive feeling of having to return -ingloriously home, which had always been disagreeably present to our -minds during the first winter, was no longer felt. We had now a hope, the -charms of which grew day by day, that in the spring we should be able -to leave the ship and start on expeditions to explore the land we had -discovered. Happy in this expectation, we could enjoy the indescribable -pleasures of good books, all the more that we were far from the busy -haunts of men, and that the presence of danger clears and sharpens the -understanding. Nowhere can a book be so valued as in such an isolated -position as ours was. Great, therefore, was the advantage we possessed in -a good library, consisting of books of science, and of the classics of -literature. In fact, freed from the constantly recurring perils, which -had been our portion in the first long Arctic night, this second winter -was, to all who actively employed their minds, comparatively a state -of happiness, undisturbed by cares. With regard to the crew, they were -kept in good humour by the increase of their comforts. As we had not the -prospect of a third winter in the ice—which would have rendered a greater -economy of our provisions imperative—we were enabled to provide them with -a more generous diet. - -3. In the last three weeks of November we had complete darkness, the sky -clouded over and the weather bad. So dark was it, that our environment, -though it was overspread with countless hummocks and ice-cliffs, looked -like one black unbroken level. On the 31st of October most of the stars -were visible about 3 o’clock in the afternoon; by 4 o’clock actual night -prevailed. On the 16th of November large print was barely legible even at -noon. On the 18th of the month we were able to read the larger letters on -the title-page of Vogt’s _Geology_ at the distance of a foot. At noon, on -the 13th of December, not a letter of this same title-page was legible, -even in clear weather. On the 5th of November there was a total eclipse -of the moon, which then sank below the horizon and did not return till -the 29th of that month. Its beams then fell on a large ice-hole, which -had formed itself twenty miles to the south of the ship, which made us -apprehensive lest our floe should be driven by the north winds in a -southerly direction. On the 4th of December the moon reached its highest -declination, but, as it waned, it was constantly obscured by bad weather. -I had reckoned on the return of moonlight to make an excursion of some -days to the mainland. But the fickleness of the weather at the beginning -of December compelled me to confine my wanderings to Wilczek Island, -which I frequently visited, although with a thermometer at -35° F. I -was exposed to frost-bites in the face and hands, whenever I attempted -to draw by the light of a lamp, and with only the protection of light -woollen gloves.[22] - -[Illustration: DEPARTURE OF THE SUN IN THE SECOND WINTER.] - -4. We observed during this winter, that, on the clearest nights, snow of -the finest texture continued to fall, so that we saw the heavenly bodies, -as it were, through a veil of fine gauze. In the moonlight this fine -snow sparkled faintly, and its presence could only be discovered by a -prickling on the skin. The constancy of these downfalls added of course -to the depth of the snow under which the _Tegetthoff_ was almost buried; -indeed at the beginning of the spring she no longer stood out from the -covering of snow, although her fore-part was eleven-and-three-quarter -feet, and her after-part four-and-a-half feet, above the ice on which -she rested. The air was also often filled with an indescribable quantity -of driving snow; and when the wind dropped and permitted it to fall, we -were struck with the profound stillness of our environment. The cold -constantly increased and penetrated all the parts of the interior of the -ship which were not artificially heated,[23] and almost all the fluids, -which were not specially protected, were frozen. The various kinds of -spirits on board were exposed on the 23rd of November to the cold at -26° -F.; at the end of an hour-and-a-half they still remained fluid. When the -temperature fell to -31° F., hollands, common gin and maraschino were -congealed in two-hours-and-a-half, but rum and brandy remained unchanged. -On another occasion a mixture of two parts of pure alcohol to one part -of water froze at -47° F., cognac at -53° F. This low temperature had -so increased the thickness of the ice, that the basin of open water, -which had been sawed through in the previous summer, was covered on -the 3rd of January with ice three-and-a-half, and on the 20th with ice -six-and-a-half feet thick. - -[Illustration: NOON ON DECEMBER 21, 1873.] - -5. On the 21st of December, the middle of the second long Polar -night—which lasted in all 125 days—was reached; and although we knew -where the south lay, every trace of twilight had disappeared, and for six -weeks we were enveloped in unbroken darkness. The figure of a man could -not be discerned at a very short distance. In order to be able to sketch -the ship, I had to illuminate it by torches. Those who made expeditions -afoot were struck, as it were, with blindness. If they approached what -seemed to be a lofty chain of mountains, over the ridge of which the -planet Jupiter hung like a glowing point, they came at once on a dark -wall of ice; and when they ascended the apparently far distant ridge, the -planet stood almost in the zenith. There was something approaching to -twilight only when the crescent moon shone in her first quarter. On the -7th of December the sun was 12°, and on the 21st 14½°, below the horizon. -We should not have seen the sun, could we have ascended the pinnacle of -the Alps, which Pliny imagined to be 120,000 feet high, or even from that -summit of the Caucasus which Aristotle reckoned at 230,000 feet. - -6. Distrusting the quiescent state of the ice, we had again stretched -a tent over one-half of the ship’s deck, while the other portion was -covered with snow trodden down as hard as a skating-rink. The space -for free movement was narrowed still further by the long-boat placed -between the two masts, by the stores of provisions kept in readiness for -the possible disaster which might compel us to leave the ship, by the -stand of rifles, by dog-kennels, and other inevitable impediments. In -bad weather the dogs sheltered themselves under the tent, and sometimes -showed ill-temper if their feet were trod on. There were places on deck -where only their particular friends were safe from being bitten; Sumbu -especially had a bad habit of lying behind a cask and springing out -on every one that passed by. Here under its friendly shelter the men -waited the summons to their meals. Hither came Carlsen to enjoy the -opportunity of talking Norwegian with some one or other. The deck light -shone feebly on all this, shedding its rays on the fine snow which fell -through the tent-roof. In the second half of the winter, when the deck -was less frequented, the lantern became, like the crew—more sleepy; and -its dull light fell on hard-frozen sailcloth, boards covered with snow, -and on empty tin cases. Here, too, walked, of course, the deck-watch, -enveloped in clothes from head to foot, with only their eyes uncovered, -looking more like moving figures than men. The deck-watch had also to -keep open the water-hole in the ice, to look out for bears, and to assist -in reading off the thermometers exposed on the ice. They were on duty for -two hours, and the moment they were relieved, they shot down into their -quarters, as quickly as a harpooned whale dives under the waves. He, too, -whose duty it was to fetch the snow to be converted into water was often -to be seen on deck. Although the store of snow in which we lived was -inexhaustible, yet, in order to be exempt from this duty in bad weather, -it was the practice of those who were told off for this service to lay -up a supply of blocks of frozen snow under the tent. Some of the crew -showed the scrupulosity of chemists in their work. Before they proceeded -to build up their pile, they brought specimens to the cook, in order to -learn his opinion as to the residuum of salt in the ice. - -7. With December a new era began for the dogs. A large snow house was -built for them outside the ship, in which were placed their kennels, -well filled with straw. The name of each dog was written on his house. -And here let me remark, that the winter quarters of the dogs should -always be on the ice. To keep them under the deck-tent is unhealthy and -inconvenient, and would be an impossibility if their numbers were great. -Every morning Haller opened the door of the snow house, and out rushed -the dogs, with their tails in the air, to begin forthwith a general -fight. No shouts, no blows, not even the discharge of a rifle could -separate the combatants. Pouring water over them at a temperature of -35° -F., though a somewhat barbarous way of producing peace, was successful -only with the younger dogs. When the fight was over, the next object -was to find out their special patron, and the instant they recognised -him they rushed upon him, tugged at his clothes, and thrust their noses -inquiringly into his pockets. Each then made his morning round, visiting -the places where he had hid in the snow a piece of bread or covered up -a bit of seal. When they had satisfied their appetite, it was curious -to observe how they would make it smooth over the hole in which they -deposited their treasure, all the time cunningly turning their eyes right -and left to see whether they were observed. - -[Illustration: PEKEL, SUMBU, AND JUBINAL.] - -8. Their violence and eagerness having somewhat abated, we may observe -the members of our pack one by one. The red giant there, who offers his -paw as huge as a bear’s, is named after a god of the heathen days of -Lapland, “Jubinal;” and not a few legends surrounded the accounts of his -early life. A Siberian Israelite, so it was said, brought him from the -north of Asia over the Ural. He was the victor in all fights, the leader -of the sledge team, and could drag four men on a hard level path without -any effort. The day before we sailed from Bremerhaven he tore a sheep to -pieces. Every summer when he changed his coat, the sailors clad him in -a canvas dress. Bop was his inferior in strength, but his superior in -wisdom; Matoschkin surpassed him in gravity. The latter used to sit for -hours in a moody manner on a pile of chests looking at the ice world. -Bop and Matoschkin were Newfoundlands; the first died of cold in our -first winter, the latter, as our readers may remember, was carried off -by a bear and torn to pieces. We had also two Newfoundland bitches, who -were called respectively “Novaya” and “Zemlya;” the former died in the -first year, the latter, though she was of little use in sledging from -her laziness, may claim indisputably the merit of being the mother of -her hopeful son, “Torossy,” who grew to a considerable size, and was -the pride of the whole crew. He knew no other world than the frozen -ocean, and no other destiny than to draw a sledge; and to this work he -had devoted himself zealously since the commencement of winter. In the -happy courage of ignorance he wagged his tail all day on deck; wagged -his tail as he followed us on the ice; wagged it, even when Sumbu stole -his dinner; wagged it, even before the jaws of a bear. Gillis, the fifth -Newfoundland, was incessantly quarrelling, and was the irreconcilable -enemy of Jubinal; he was a favourite with no one, chiefly because he had -killed the two cats which we brought from Tromsoe as pets for the dogs. -His body was covered with scars, and half his time was spent under the -medical treatment of the Tyrolese. He was not wanting in docility, but he -was essentially an eye-pleaser; all his efforts in the sledge were mere -sham. Pekel, the Lapp, was the smallest of all the dogs. In his early -days he had tended the reindeer at the North Cape and on the plains of -Tana Elf, and his ways did not fit him for life amid the ice, but for the -brown herd which roamed at the foot of Kilpis. Hence he was quarrelsome, -and showed special enmity to Sumbu, the mere sight of whom was enough to -stir up the most hostile feelings. He was therefore banished with his -house to a high ice-cliff, but the thaw destroying its supports, house -and dog fell plump into an ice-lake. Among all the dogs there was no such -desperate hypocrite as Sumbu, the most demonstrative in his friendship, -but withal the most greedy and dissatisfied. He was the first to slink -away with tail between his legs and find out the most secluded nook, -when he saw the other dogs being harnessed in the sledges; and, when -pulled out and put in a team, at once laid himself down on the sledge, -not to draw, but to be drawn. When at last he was set in motion, he was -no longer the same dog. He was then full of action, unsurpassed in speed -and agility, and his sportiveness was as great as his cunning. From the -carpenter he would carry off a hoop, or a bag of nails from the stoker, -or he lay flat on his belly and thrust out his long nose in the snow. His -agility stood him in good stead, for it enabled him to catch all the mice -that ventured on deck. Neither the stores of provisions for the dogs nor -the depôt of food for the crew were safe from his depredations. He hated -bears so fiercely, that he began to howl like a wolf when we turned out -to hunt them. Boldly he followed up their trail, even when at a distance -from the hunters and close to the heels of the bear. The dogs were fed -once a day with bear’s flesh or blubber, or dried horse-flesh, as long as -it lasted.[24] They well knew the hour of feeding, and gathered together -before it arrived. At night they were shut up in their house, and when -the snow drifted they all lay huddled in a heap before the door. The -dog-house was about eight feet high, but after a few weeks we could -scarcely discern it from the accumulation of snow-drifts. For some time -we kept up communication with it by means of a shaft dug in the snow; but -one day in February a fissure in the ice was formed right across where -the house stood, which compelled us to remove it. - -9. The end of December came, and with it the season of those festivals -which animate the Christian world—Christmas-tide and the New Year. In -order to celebrate them in common, we built a snow house, decorated its -interior with flags, and placed in it a Christmas tree, which, however, -more resembled a wooden hedgehog or a _cheval de frise_. About six -o’clock in the evening all our preparations were made, and the ship’s -bell, sounding mournfully in the dark and misty atmosphere, summoned -us to our snow house on the ice. Here lots were drawn, and cigars, -watches, knives, pipes or rum fell to the fortunate drawers. For all -these presents we had to thank friends in Vienna, or Pola, or Hamburg. -Then came the Christmas dinner, but no one’s heart was in the matter. Our -bodies, indeed, were present, but our thoughts were far away with those -we loved at home. New Year’s Eve passed off somewhat more cheerfully. -Better grounded seemed our expectations that 1874 would at last bring us -our long-desired activity and a not inglorious return to Europe. Scarcely -had the new year begun than the crew knocked at our cabin doors with -their congratulations, and such salutations continued to be the order of -the day. On the whole this second winter both before and after the new -year (1874), passed away without the fearful events of the preceding. -Although floes lay close to us on every side, and we had no harbour in -which to pass the winter with comfort—like a bear in its winter sleep—the -quiescent state of the ice allowed us to hope that our floe would remain -in the position it had hitherto maintained. This hope, indeed, lay at the -mercy of the winds; for if north winds should set in, it was extremely -probable that the ice would break up and drift asunder. - -10. The life we now led below in the ship had ceased to be in any -way disagreeable, and cheerful and entertaining reading seemed to be -healthier than bodily exercise. We did not suffer from any want of the -necessaries of life; the temperature of our living-rooms generally -admitted of our sitting for hours even without our overcoats. The long -night of this Polar winter was gloomy and oppressive only to those who -had time and leisure to weigh the burden of the hours. There were, -of course, even in this second winter, some of those discomforts and -dangers of which the reader has heard enough, and which lead him when -he reads of life in the frozen regions to think of ice-floes rather -than of a room in which comfort is quite possible. We had, indeed, the -usual inconveniences. As early as the middle of October the skylight was -so covered with frost that we could scarcely read even at noon. On the -20th of that month we were obliged to keep the lamps constantly burning, -and to close in the skylight, which brought night into the mess-room -before the night of Nature had arrived. By the middle of November the -condensation of moisture was perceptible, and our bed-clothes were -frequently frozen to the wall, and had to be torn from it before we -could go to rest. Yet what signified all this? We all slept soundly -notwithstanding, and during the day had to complain rather of warmth -than of cold. The condition of the crew, however, was not so happy. We -could not follow the example set by Hayes and others of removing the -contents of the hold to the land, and so transforming it into quarters -for the men. On board the _Tegetthoff_ we suffered some of the evils of -over-population, and the moisture was so much increased from it, that -some of the berths were completely saturated. The employment of hammocks -would perhaps avert this evil. - -[Illustration: IN THE MESS-ROOM.] - -11. The number of those afflicted with scurvy decreased with the approach -of spring. Their gums recovered their fresh and natural appearance, and -the general weakness, the pains in the joints, the leaden weight of the -feet, the depression of spirits—symptoms of this terrible malady—abated, -and the scorbutic marks disappeared from their bodies. Pachtusow, when he -wintered in Novaya Zemlya, so abundant in supplies of drift-wood, caused -his people to use the bath once a week in a log house constructed on the -land, as a preservative against scurvy, and had their inner clothing -washed twice a week, but even these steps were insufficient to avert the -malady. In our case baths so added to the moisture that we were obliged -to put a stop to them, and our under-garments could be changed only as -our stock of them permitted. Hence we could hope to prevent the spread -of scurvy only by the improvement of our diet. Several hundred-weight of -potatoes and a large supply of preserved meat had been kept in store for -the second winter. These now came into use, and were the more welcome -as our supply of lemon-juice—the most important preservative against -scurvy—was diminishing. By the advice of our physician, Dr. Kepes, we -departed from the maxim, so generally adhered to in Arctic expeditions, -of avoiding spirituous liquors. From the beginning of October our men -daily received rations of brandy. When I compare the sanitary condition -of the crew of the _Tegetthoff_ with the better state of that of the -_Germania_, I attribute this to the lesser power of resistance to -disease in some of our people on board the _Tegetthoff_ and to the moral -depression so easily explained by our disasters in this ship. - -12. The Arctic voyager is exposed to no disease so much as to scurvy. -Its appearance among a crew exercises a most untoward influence. Its -causes are still but little known; the means, however, of combating it -are numerous. It is no longer the scourge it was in the days of Barentz, -when he and all his men were attacked with it on the short summer -excursion of 1595, or when in Munk’s expedition of 1619 all died but two. -In Behring’s expedition of 1741, out of seventy-six men, forty-two were -attacked and thirty died. In Tschirikoff’s summer expedition during that -same year (1741), out of seventy men, twenty died. Rossmyslow, who passed -the winter of 1768-69 in “Matoschkin-Schar,” lost seven out of thirteen -men. When the disease gains the mastery, the utter incapacity of the -expedition for further exploration follows as a necessary consequence. -Lassinius, who was sent out to explore Novaya Zemlya in 1819, had to -return in the height of summer, all his men having fallen down with the -scurvy. This disease has been a frightful enemy to expeditions which have -wintered in that region, and carried off numerous victims. All these, it -is true, were miserably equipped, and depended on the medicinal virtues -of the “Löffel-kraut” of that country for remedies against the disease. -In 1832-33 Pachtusow, wintering in the south of the island, out of ten -men lost three; in 1834-35, two more died of the same disease. In the -expedition of Ziwolka and Mojsejew, 1838-39, the scurvy gained such -mastery that at the end of February half of the crew were attacked, and -Ziwolka himself with eight men died. Parry regarded damp, especially -damp bedding, as the principal cause of the malady. During his wintering -at Melville Island he found sorrel an effective remedy or palliative. -He attributed the greatest anti-scorbutic effect to beer; and according -to him and to most of the English expeditions, beer and wine take the -place of brandy. The disease generally has a fatal issue when there has -been excessive loss of blood, or when dropsy supervenes. Most of Ross’s -second expedition suffered more or less from it, and the experience of -that expedition showed that vegetable nourishment alone was not competent -to make head against it. Ross regarded the addition of fish or seals to -the ordinary diet as an effective preservative, and did not disdain the -use of blubber for the same purpose. Lemon-juice, uncooked potatoes, -fruit with much acidity, fresh vegetables and fresh meat, wine and yeast, -exercise in the open air, and cheerfulness, have always proved sufficient -to prevent its appearance, or at any rate to render it improbable. But -however valuable these may be as preventives, they almost cease to have -any effect when the disease has once broken out. The lime-juice must be -fresh, and, like vinegar, be taken in as concentrated a form as possible. -It is decomposed and useless by being kept too long, and also by the -action of frost. This was the case with the lemon-juice which Sir John -Ross found among the stores of the _Fury_. An anti-scorbutic effect has -been attributed also—and with justice—to the chewing of tobacco. It -appears that liability to scurvy is very different among different races, -and that neither vegetable nor animal food is an absolute preservative. -The Eskimos, and even the Lapps, who seldom or never use vegetables, -are almost exempt from it, and McClure’s men fell down with it in their -second winter, although they had fresh meat three times a week. Steller -relates that in Kamschatka scurvy attacks strangers only, but not the -natives, who live largely on vegetables; he states also, that the scurvy -when it does appear among strangers and visitors there, is cured by a -diet of the fresh fish of spring. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -SUNRISE OF 1874. - - -1. An unbroken sleep for the whole winter would, undoubtedly, be a -blessing to the Arctic navigator, and the most energetic among us -resigned himself to slumber for a few hours in the afternoon—the profane -time of the day for all zones of the earth—especially after the coming -in of the New Year, when the long unbroken night is intensely felt. The -darkness diminished very gradually, and as the weather was frequently -cloudy and dull, it was little lessened by the full moon, which we had at -the beginning of January and February. December 26, we were able to read -only the title of _New Free Press_, at the distance of a few inches, but -not a word of Vogt’s _Geology_. January 11, the word Geology on the title -of that book was discernible in clear weather, but only when the book was -held up to the light of the midday twilight. On the following day it was -as dark at nine o’clock in the morning as at noon on December 1st. The -moon returned again on the 24th of January, and after it was four days -old we could distinguish the common print of the “Press” by its light, -and for the first time read off the degrees of the thermometer without -artificial means. During the whole of the month we had alternations -of high temperatures and snow-drifting, and at the end of it the wind -dropped and the cold became exceedingly great, causing the ice to break -up to the south of our position. It would be difficult to give in an -illustration any notion of the wonderful forms produced by the twilight, -and its glowing colour-effects, and quite impossible to describe the -blaze of the meridian heavens, while deep shadows still lay over the -ice-plains and a dark ridge fringed and closed the horizon. - -2. At noon on the 23rd of February the rolling mists glowed with a red -light, announcing the reappearance of the sun. The next day the sun -himself, raised and distorted into an oval shape, appeared above the -horizon about 10 A.M. Again there was spread over the snow that magical -rosy hue, those bright azure shadows, which impart a poetical character -even to the landscape of the frozen north. The return of the sun was -this year the deliverance from our long night of 125 days.[25] Anxiously -had we waited his return, and joyously we greeted it, but not with the -frenzied feelings of the previous year. Then the reappearance of the sun -was tantamount almost to a deliverance from hell itself; but now the sun -was nothing to us but as a means to an end: would it enable us to begin -our sledge-journeys to explore the Kaiser Franz-Josef Land? The mere -thought of the possibility of making new discoveries threw us into a -feverish impatience, and our fears became intense lest the ship with its -floe should drift away and frustrate the execution of our plans just as -they seemed feasible. - -3. On that same day Lieutenant Weyprecht and I resolved to abandon the -ship after the termination of our projected sledge-journeys of discovery, -and to attempt to return to Europe by means of the boats and sledges. No -arguments were needed to convince every one of the ship’s company of the -absolute necessity of this resolution. Our ship lay on its icy elevation, -beyond the power of man to liberate her, and the provisions would not -be sufficient to sustain us for another year. But fear lest the state -of our health should greatly deteriorate in a third winter spoke more -forcibly than anything else in favour of our decision. When we looked at -our medical stores, once so ample, now so reduced, at the few bottles of -lemon-juice we could count on, all saw the impossibility of our remaining -longer in these latitudes. The melancholy issue of Franklin’s expedition -forced itself on our mind as an instructive example and warning. In all -likelihood that ill-fated expedition had delayed its return a year longer -than it should have done, and began it in so weakened a condition, that -it was next to an impossibility that they should have succeeded in their -purpose. We began to be pinched also in many of our stores, in spite -of the greatest economy in their use. To add to our perils, the doctor -drew a sad picture of the sanitary condition of our crew. Of nineteen -men, several had fallen sick: Krisch still suffered from scurvy and -consumption; Marola from the first scorbutic symptoms; Fallesich from -its consequences; Vecerina from the utter inability to move his lower -extremities produced by the same malady; Palmich from a constant tendency -to it and the contraction of his lower extremities; Pospischill from lung -disease; and Haller from a rheumatic affection of his extremities which -almost incapacitated him for any exertion. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE AURORA. - - -1. The Northern lights had shone for these two winters with incomparable -splendour, not, indeed, with the quiet diverging beams, sometimes -observed in our northern latitudes, and different also from the phenomena -which have been seen and noted in recent years, even in Central Europe; -they resembled rather those we saw in East Greenland, save that the -brilliancy and intensity of their colours were far greater. - -2. It is very difficult to characterize the forms of this phenomenon, not -only because they are manifold, but because they are constantly changing. -Sometimes the Aurora appears like flaming arches with glowing balls of -light; sometimes in irregular meridians painted on the heavens, sometimes -in brilliant bands and patches of light on the sky. Each of these forms -was frequently developed from a different one, but towards morning the -last-named appearance was the most general. - -3. The movement of the waves of light gave the impression that they -were the sport of winds, and their sudden and rapid rise resembled the -uprising of whirling vapours, such as the Geysers might send forth, -which generally assumed the form of enormous flames, except that they -were transparent and mist-like. In many cases the Aurora much resembled -a flash of summer lightning conceived as permanent. It appeared almost -always in the south, and was visible from September till March, during -which period it was to us the only external excitement which we had. The -illuminating power of the Aurora, when its colours were most brilliant -and intense, was inferior to the illuminating power of the full moon. -Some rare cases excepted, this was either so small or so transitory, -that it had no influence on the darkness of our long winter nights. -Like a stream, or in brilliant convolutions, the light rushed over the -firmament, as well from east to west as from west to east. The formation -of the corona (or the convergence of the streamers in the direction -of the inclination needle) was sudden, and short in its duration, -and frequently happened more than once in the course of a night. Its -greatest intensity was from eight till ten o’clock at night. It was never -accompanied with sound.[26] The sketch we have given represents one of -its most characteristic forms. The inner parts of the flames are usually -whitish green, and their edge on the upper side red, on the lower green. - -4. Brilliant auroras were generally succeeded by bad weather. Those on -the other hand which did not rise to any great height in the sky, or -which did not show any special mobility, were regarded as the precursors -of calms. None of the theories which have been ventilated are in exact -accordance with all the manifestations of these northern lights. The -undulating motion of their waves of light, their rolling forth like -pillars of smoke driven by winds, has hitherto remained unexplained. -Although electrical processes, still unknown, seem to be the main causes -of the Aurora, atmospheric vapours may, however, have a considerable part -in producing the phenomenon; and nothing so much favours this supposition -as the indefinite form in which it often appears. Its occurrence during -the day, _i.e._ light clouds with its characteristic movement, has been -rather imagined than actually observed. The transition of white clouds -into auroral forms at night has never at least been satisfactorily -proved. Falling stars pass through the northern lights without producing -any perceptible effect, or undergoing any change. A dirty sulphur yellow -was characteristic of all auroras when the sky was overcast with mists or -when they were seen by moonlight. In clear weather they were colourless. - -[Illustration: THE AURORA DURING THE ICE PRESSURE.] - -5. Their influence on the magnetic needle was very variable. While -the quiescent and regular arches had little or no effect, the quicker -and more fitful streamers, especially when accompanied with prismatic -colours, produced great disturbance in it. Sir John Ross remarked, that -the aurora when tinged with deep red colour had a great effect on it, -although he completely stultifies his observation by his supposition, -that the phenomenon was produced by rays of the sun reflected on the vast -fields of snow and ice surrounding the Pole. Parry in 1820 could discover -no effect from it either on the magnetic needle or on the electrometer. -During the winter of 1872-3, the character of the northern lights was -much altered, though their colour remained constant. At first they -consisted chiefly of bands of light, running from the south-northwards. -At a later period of that winter they assumed for the most part the -appearance of coronæ, and then their direction was from the north -southwards. During the voyage of the _Tegetthoff_ the observations of the -behaviour of these lights and of the magnetic constants were taken by -Weyprecht, Brosch, and Orel by means of a magnetic theodolite, a dipping -needle, and three variation instruments. The extraordinary disturbances -of the needle rendered the determination of exact mean values for the -magnetic constants impossible. The diminution of their intensity was -considerable during the continuance of auroras. In 79° 51′ N. Lat. and -58° 56′ E. Long. the declination amounted to 19½° E. and the inclination -to 82° 22′. The ice-pressures which occurred in December, 1873 together -with the tedious preliminaries in fixing the magnetic instruments, -prevented these officers from carrying out their labours regularly -till the next month. The following are the principal results of these -observations: (1) The magnetic disturbances were of extraordinary -magnitude and frequency. (2) They were closely connected with the aurora; -and they were greater as the motion of the rays was more rapid and -fitful, and the prismatic colours more intense. Quiescent and regular -arches, without changing rays or streamers, exercise almost no influence -on the needle. (3) In all the disturbances the declination needle moved -towards the east, and the horizontal intensity decreased while the -inclination increased. - -6. In spite of the extreme difficulty of describing the appearances -of those fitful and changing lights, I believe that the following -description of Lieutenant Weyprecht will be found equally faithful and -effective:— - -“There in the south, low on the horizon, stands a faint arch of light. It -looks as it were the upper limit of a dark segment of a circle; but the -stars which shine through it in undiminished brilliancy convince us that -the darkness of the segment is a delusion produced by contrast. Gradually -the arch of light grows in intensity and rises to the zenith. It is -perfectly regular; its two ends almost touch the horizon and advance to -the east and west in proportion as the arch rises. No beams are to be -discovered in it, but the whole consists of an almost uniform light of a -delicious tender colour. It is transparent white with a shade of light -green, not unlike the pale green of a young plant which germinates in -the dark. The light of the moon appears yellow, contrasted with this -tender colour so pleasing to the eye, and so indescribable in words, a -colour which nature appears to have given only to the Polar regions by -way of compensation. The arch is broad, thrice the breadth, perhaps, of -the rainbow, and its distinctly marked edges are strongly defined on -the profound darkness of the Arctic heavens. The stars shine through it -with undiminished brilliancy. The arch mounts higher and higher. An air -of repose seems spread over the whole phenomenon; here and there only -a wave of light rolls slowly from one side to the other. It begins to -grow clear over the ice; some of its groups are discernible. The arch is -still distant from the zenith; a second detaches itself from the dark -segment, and this is gradually succeeded by others. All now rise towards -the zenith; the first passes beyond it, then sinks slowly towards the -northern horizon and as it sinks loses its intensity. Arches of light are -now stretched over the whole heavens; seven are apparent at the same time -on the sky, though of inferior intensity. The lower they sink towards the -north, the paler they grow, till at last they utterly fade away. Often -they all return over the zenith, and become extinct, just as they came. - -“It is seldom, however, that an aurora runs a course so calm and so -regular. The typical dark segment which we see in treatises on the -subject, in most cases does not exist. A thin bank of clouds lies on -the horizon. The upper edge is illuminated; out of it is developed a -band of light, which expands, increases in intensity of colour, and -rises to the zenith. The colour is the same as in the arch, but the -intensity of the colour is stronger. The colours of the band change in -a never-ceasing play, but place and form remain unaltered. The band is -broad and its intense pale green stands out with wonderful beauty on the -dark background. Now the band is twisted into many convolutions, but -the innermost folds are still to be seen distinctly through the others. -Waves of light continually undulate rapidly through its whole extent, -sometimes from right to left, sometimes from left to right. Then again -it rolls itself up in graceful folds. It seems almost as if breezes high -in the air played and sported with the broad flaming streamers, the ends -of which are lost far off on the horizon. The light grows in intensity, -the waves of light follow each other more rapidly, prismatic colours -appear on the upper and lower edge of the band, the brilliant white of -the centre is inclosed between narrow stripes of red and green. Out of -one band have now grown two. The upper continually approaches the zenith, -rays begin to shoot forth from it towards a point near the zenith, to -which the south pole of the magnetic needle, freely suspended, points. -The band has nearly reached it, and now begins a brilliant play of rays -lasting for a short time, the central point of which is the magnetic -pole—a sign of the intimate connection of the whole phenomenon with -the magnetic forces of the earth. Round the magnetic pole short rays -flash and flare on all sides; prismatic colours are discernible on all -their edges; longer and shorter rays alternate with each other; waves -of light roll round it as a centre. What we see is the auroral corona; -and it is almost always seen when a band passes over the magnetic pole. -This peculiar phenomenon lasts but a short time—the band now lies on -the northern side of the firmament; gradually it sinks, and pales as it -sinks; it returns again to the south to change and play as before. So -it goes on for hours; the aurora incessantly changes place, form, and -intensity. It often entirely disappears for a short time only to appear -again suddenly, without the observers clearly perceiving how it came and -where it went: simply—it is there. - -“But the band is often seen in a perfectly different form. Frequently -it consists of single rays, which, standing close together, point in an -almost parallel direction towards the magnetic pole. These become more -intensely bright with each successive wave of light; hence each ray -appears to flash and dart continually, and their green and red edges -dance up and down as the waves of light run through them. Often again the -rays extend through the whole length of the band and reach almost up to -the magnetic pole. These are sharply marked but lighter in colour than -the band itself, and in this particular form they are at some distance -from each other. Their colour is yellow, and it seems as if thousands of -slender threads of gold were stretched across the firmament. A glorious -veil of transparent light is spread over the starry heavens; the threads -of light with which this veil is woven are distinctly marked on the -dark background; its lower border is a broad, intensely white band, -edged with green and red, which twists and turns in constant motion. A -violet-coloured auroral vapour is often seen simultaneously on different -parts of the sky. - -“Or again, there has been tempestuous weather, and it is now—let us -suppose—passing away. Below on the ice the wind has fallen, but the -clouds are still driving rapidly across the sky, so that in the upper -regions its force is not yet laid. Over the ice it becomes somewhat -clear; behind the clouds appears an aurora amid the darkness of the -night. Stars twinkle here and there; through the openings of the clouds -we see the dark firmament and the rays of the aurora chasing one another -towards the zenith. The heavy clouds disperse; mist-like masses drive -on before the wind. Fragments of the northern lights are strewn on -every side; it seems, as if the storm had torn the aurora bands to -tatters and was driving them hither and thither across the sky. These -threads change form and place with incredible rapidity. Here is one! -lo, it is gone! scarcely has it vanished before it appears again in -another place. Through these fragments drive the waves of light; one -moment they are scarcely visible, in the next they shine with intense -brilliancy. But their light is no longer that glorious pale green, it -is a dull yellow. It is often difficult to distinguish what is aurora -and what is vapour—the illuminated mists as they fly past are scarcely -distinguishable from the auroral vapour which comes and goes on every -side. - -“But, again another form. Bands of every possible form and intensity -have been driving over the heavens. It is now eight o’clock at night, -the hour of the greatest intensity of the northern lights. For a moment -some bundles of rays only are to be seen in the sky. In the south, a -faint scarcely-observable band lies close to the horizon. All at once -it rises rapidly and spreads east and west. The waves of light begin to -dart and shoot; some rays mount towards the zenith. For a short time it -remains stationary, then suddenly springs to life. The waves of light -drive violently from east to west; the edges assume a deep red and green -colour, and dance up and down. The rays shoot up more rapidly; they -become shorter; all rise together and approach nearer and nearer to the -magnetic pole. It looks as if there were a race among the rays, and that -each aspired to reach the pole first. And now the point is reached, and -they shoot out on every side, to the north and the south, to the east and -the west. Do the rays shoot from above downwards, or from below upwards? -Who can distinguish? From the centre issues a sea of flames; is that sea -red, white, or green? Who can say?—it is all three colours at the same -moment! The rays reach almost to the horizon; the whole sky is in flames. -Nature displays before us such an exhibition of fireworks as transcends -the powers of imagination to conceive. Involuntarily we listen; such -a spectacle must, we think, be accompanied with sound. But unbroken -stillness prevails, not the least sound strikes on the ear. Once more -it becomes clear over the ice, and the whole phenomenon has disappeared -with the same inconceivable rapidity with which it came, and gloomy night -has again stretched her dark veil over everything. This was the aurora -of the coming storm—the aurora in its fullest splendour. No pencil can -draw it, no colours can paint it, and no words can describe it in all its -magnificence. And here below stand we poor men, and speak of knowledge -and progress, and pride ourselves on the understanding with which we -extort from Nature her mysteries. We stand and gaze on the mystery which -Nature has written for us in flaming letters on the dark vault of night, -and ultimately we can only wonder and confess that, in truth, we know -nothing of it.” - - - - -THE EXPLORATION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND. - -_THE SLEDGE JOURNEYS._ - - - - -[Illustration: ORIGINAL MAP of the KAISER FRANZ JOSEF LAND _surveyed by_ -JULIUS PAYER.] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE EXPLORATION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND RESOLVED ON. - - -1. The necessity of returning home admitted of no question; but the -exploration of the Land of which we had seen hardly anything, beyond -the cliffs that lay in our immediate neighbourhood, was also felt to -be a necessity. That land, which we were all predisposed to imagine as -stretching far beyond this wall of rocks,—of what did it consist? Was it -an island or a group of islands? And those white masses lying on these -lofty ranges, were they glaciers? To these questions no one as yet could -give an answer. But of this there could be neither doubt nor question, -that we could not count on our floe for a moment, and that those were -lost who were not on board the ship if the floe with the ship began to -drift. On the 1st of March the Tyrolese announced, that a fissure had -appeared half-way between the ship and the shore, and the danger of -being cut off became the chief subject of talk, both in the cabin of the -officers and in the quarters of the men. When, however, we considered the -importance of the venture, all hesitation disappeared, and there was not -a man in the ship who would not have made his apprehensions subordinate -to the necessity of exploration. - -2. As the commander of the expedition on shore, I explained to the -council we held on the 24th of February, my plan for the projected -sledge-journeys, namely: that the sledge-parties count on the means of -escape being left behind to supplement those they may have at their -command, and that the depositing of these means be completed before the -sledge-parties start; that the expeditions shall begin between the -10th and 20th of March, be continued for six or seven weeks, and take, -if possible, the following directions:—one along the coast towards the -North, a second towards the West, and a third into the interior, and -each to be concluded by the ascent of a dominating height; that in -the event of the sledge-parties not finding the ship on their return, -they should attempt to go back at once to Europe, and only under the -most urgent circumstances pass a third winter in the ice, though the -superfluous stores, which were to be transported to the land, would to a -certain extent enable them to do this. I engaged also not to extend these -journeys to a date which would prevent the men recruiting their strength -before the return of the whole expedition to Europe. - -3. The exploration of the strange land having been resolved on, the -greatest activity reigned in the ship. There was not a man on board the -_Tegetthoff_ who was not eager to prepare for the sledge-journeys, though -all knew that besides the two Tyrolese only four men were to accompany -me. Every one longed to take part in the exploration of the unknown land, -and the monotony of our life was now exchanged for a state of great -excitement; a great venture had been resolved on, and expectations rose -with the possibility of discoveries. The comparatively short period for -which our stores had now to last enabled us to indulge in what, under -the circumstances, might be called luxury. We could thus dispose of more -than two hundred bottles of wine, which had been reserved for the sick -in the event of a third winter being passed in the ice. Three-and-twenty -men now in three months drank two hundred bottles of wine and smoked -like chimneys the superfluous stores of cigars and tobacco. Potatoes, -preserved vegetables and fruit, were daily on our table. Our allowance -of rum was increased; lights were freely burnt in every corner, and the -novel sensation of luxury was universal. - -4. While we were all living as if the oppressive load under which we had -lain so long had suddenly been removed, in these days of general hilarity -and amid the excitement of new plans, our comrade Krisch drew toward his -sad and melancholy end. From the beginning of February his malady had -made great progress. His body was covered with scorbutic spots; but in -spite of all this the hope of speedy recovery constantly animated our -afflicted companion, who set us a lofty example of the fulfilment of -duty by his zealous activity. In the summer, though already under the -influence of his mortal disease, he had been busy in the construction -of new ice-saws and borers, in order that he might contribute something -to the liberation of the ship, and when he heard of the projected -expeditions to Franz-Josef Land, he gathered sufficient strength to -extort from me the assurance that I would take him with me. But his end -was surely though slowly drawing on; his nights were sleepless, and -pain left him neither day nor night. At the beginning of March a state -of unconsciousness supervened, and the action of his diseased lungs was -now to be heard in an uninterrupted rattling in his throat. Moments of -mental clearness became more infrequent in his delirium; help had become -impossible; all the care of our physician and of the watchers, who never -left him, was now directed merely to the alleviation of his sufferings. -He lingered till we returned from our first sledge expedition on the 16th -of March. - -[Illustration: KRISCH, THE ENGINEER.] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -OF SLEDGE TRAVELLING IN GENERAL. - - -1. The sledge is pre-eminently the means of geographical exploration in -high latitudes, and as discovery now forms the main purpose of Polar -expeditions, it may be important to describe clearly and precisely the -system we followed, that others may either adopt or improve on our -methods. Thus I will enter into many details, not in order to dwell on -the inconveniences incident to this mode of travelling, but to show -how the greatest amount of safety and protection may be secured to the -sledge-party. - -2. Sledge-journeys presuppose that the ship is safe and secure in a -winter harbour. A ship which has not yet completed its summer voyage -should avoid them as exceedingly hazardous; and as a principle such -expeditions are to be absolutely declined by a ship which is beset in the -ice; the success which may have attended some must by no means stimulate -others to imitate them. Their object is the exploration of lands still -unknown or imperfectly known. They presuppose also the existence of ice, -closely adhering to a coast, on which the journeys are performed, and -this coast-line must run in a northerly direction, if the North Pole -be the goal of discovery. Though sledge-parties follow the coast-line -they actually travel on the frozen sea; for it is never safe to abandon -that line and make for pack-ice at a distance from it. The crossing of -glaciers, however small may be their inclination, is always attended with -danger; and if the route be stopped by a stretch of land whose extent -forbids dragging, it is of course impossible to proceed. The roughness -of the land and its insufficient covering of snow even in winter -sufficiently explain this. A sledge cannot, for any considerable length -of time, be dragged up an inclination exceeding two or three degrees. - -3. The season of the year for sledging must depend on the climate of -particular Arctic localities, and the capacity of the men to endure low -temperatures during the night-camping, and driving snow during the march. -It is advisable, when more than one year is to be spent in the ice, to -begin the more extended sledge-journeys in the first year, because the -capacities of Europeans to endure cold rather decrease than increase. -Sir John Ross, for example, says that his people at the beginning of a -third winter were incapable of bearing hardships, especially those of -travelling on the ice. The best season for sledging must always be that -time of the year when snow-storms are infrequent, for even a healthy and -seasoned party will more easily confront a very low temperature than -driving snow-storms. As a rule, these conditions are found most perfectly -in autumn; and I do not understand the objection which Hayes makes to -this season as being the most damp; whereas as a matter of fact it is the -least so. Autumn journeys are preferable to those in spring, both with -respect to climate and the state of the road; only they must be commenced -early, on account of the rapidly decreasing length of the days.[27] The -darkness of winter puts an end to all sledging, and the excessive cold of -spring renders it difficult. Summer makes it impossible by breaking up -the land-ice, or impedes it by transforming the snow into thaw-water and -sludge. Next to autumn, therefore, the latter part of March, all April, -and a part of May, are most adapted for this purpose. It must at the same -time be remarked, that Captain Lyon (1822) and Dr. Kane regarded March as -peculiarly dangerous on account of the prevalence of storms. - -4. Next to the season, the state of the snow road, depending on the -hardening action of wind and cold, has to be considered. The cold -should not vary more than from -2° to -24° F., because greater frost -transforms the smooth evaporating surface of snow into a rough plain, -bestrewed with sharp pointed crystals, so that the sledge instead of -gliding along encounters the friction, as if of a sandstone surface, -and stops at the least obstacle. Snow of an ivory-like smoothness rarely -occurs; on the contrary, we find the snow in deep layers as fine as -powder, into which we sink knee-deep, or among barriers of hummocks, -miles in extent, which impose enormous détours in the transport of the -baggage. During the journey from 2° to 13° below zero F. constitutes -the pleasantest temperature, and even the nights, under this condition, -are passed without inconvenience by a party inured to exposure. -Snow-storms, however, in their mildest form—snow-drifting—are, at this -moderate temperature, distressing and dangerous. In fact, among all the -contingencies which may occur during a Polar expedition, there is no -severer test of enduring perseverance than dragging a sledge in the face -of drifting snow at a temperature from 13° to 35° below zero F. - -5. The ship in its winter harbour is the only place of refuge, in all -cases where a meeting with Eskimos cannot be counted on. Except for -the accidents of hunting, on which no dependence should be placed, the -country itself affords no kind of means of subsistence; hence all the -necessaries of life must be carried in the sledges. The heavily laden -sledge becomes in truth a ship of the icy wastes, and its loss involves -the destruction of the whole party. In order to lighten its load and yet -prolong the journey as much as possible, supplies of provisions are often -deposited along the routes to be traversed. This may be done, either by -previous shorter journeys, or by leaving behind a part of the provisions -which have been taken from the ship, or by burying the product of the -chase in the manner adopted by fur-hunters and Indians. The danger to -such stores from the inroads of bears or the breaking up of the ice must -be guarded against by a careful selection of localities; and the place -being chosen, the provisions should either be buried four feet deep in -snow between steep rocks, somewhat above the level of the sea, or the -bags containing them should be suspended on the inaccessible faces of -the rocks. The choice of an elevated point is some security against -visits from bears. But it is never advisable to build confidently on -finding the depôt, or to make the possibility of return dependent on -this contingency. A small stock of the necessaries of life should always -be kept in reserve, as a prudent precaution in case the depôt should -be destroyed. If however the depôts remain untouched and uninjured, and -their numbers be considerable, the duration of the journey, which can -be prolonged for thirty or forty days only where provisions are carried -in the sledges, may thus be doubled in extent. The depôts for journeys -in the spring are often formed in the preceding autumn, though their -preservation is of course exposed to great risk. - -6. Sledges are dragged sometimes by men and dogs conjointly, sometimes by -men without dogs, or by dogs alone. Reindeer are found to be unfit for -sledge dragging; although Parry in former days, and Nordenskjöld more -recently, frequently attempted to employ them in this service. Though -a reindeer is able to make with a sledge as many as 120 miles in three -days, it cannot continue such efforts without long periods of repose, -nor drag the heavy loads which are requisite in longer journeys. Besides -this, he who has had any experience in this mode of travelling, knows the -unaccountable capriciousness of these animals, their stubbornness, and -the difficulty of feeding them. Natives alone are able to manage them, -while to strangers they refuse subjection. When the sledges are dragged -by men alone, unexpected contingencies are less to be apprehended, but -at the same time their rate of progress is diminished. In an expedition -calculated to last a month, ten miles constitute the average day’s march, -when circumstances are favourable. If the length of the journey be -prolonged, this average will be considerably diminished. The combination -of men and dogs in the work of dragging accelerates the speed. With -regard to the men employed in this work, it is advisable to engage -experienced mountaineers[28] of great bodily strength, such men being -able to do work for which, it is admitted, sailors have neither training -nor inclination. - -7. No form of sledge travelling, when measured by results, can be -compared with sledging by the help of dogs alone; for this method -enables us to compass the greatest possible distance, and diminishes -the dead-weight of the load in the sledge. Besides this, dogs are not -only active but tractable; they show no fear; they can endure hunger -longer than men, even while making great exertions; they neither drink -nor smoke; neither fuel for the stove to liquefy the snow, nor tent, -nor sleeping bag, need be taken for them; none, in fact, of those many -little things which are indispensable for men. In extreme necessity -they may be even used for food. And since a strong dog is able to drag, -even for a long journey, double of what he needs for his own support, -the surplus falls to the share of the man who accompanies him, and -who is able, therefore, to prolong his absence from the ship. Without -considering the forced marches which Englishmen, Americans, and Russians -have frequently made on the ice with a number of dogs, the employment -of a few dogs in sledge expeditions has such conspicuous advantage over -teams of men, that I would earnestly recommend the following method of -procedure: two teams of dogs, each of two or four strong Newfoundlands, -should be employed, one to be driven by the leader of the expedition and -the other by one of the most experienced and trustworthy of the party. -Each sledge should carry at starting, a weight of from 4 to 7 cwt., i.e. -provisions for thirty to fifty days, only needing a slight supplement -from the products of the chase. Sixteen miles a day, on an average, may -easily be thus accomplished, especially if the rest of the party attached -to each sledge walk on before their respective teams. Distances varying -from 500 to 800 miles may thus be reached, while 300 or at the most 500 -miles are all that men alone in the same time can perform. Journeys of -this kind require much experience, so that those men only are serviceable -who have much practical acquaintance with life in the Arctic wastes, -and not merely with life as it is in the ship, but who are inured to -fatigues and skilled in the use of those precautions which distance from -the ship imperatively demands during the prevalence of extreme cold. With -regard to the route itself, whenever the object is the reaching of higher -latitudes and the exploration of a still unknown country, it is advisable -to choose one from four to eight miles distant from the land. The search -for a route is greatly facilitated whenever we can ascend dominating -heights to enable us to determine our position. Such a course not only -saves us from the necessity of making détours, but affords the only -possibility of being able to touch the land at desirable points and of -ascertaining the character of the intervening districts. A survey may be -made either by triangulation, the base being measured by those who remain -behind in the ship and the summits of the mountains serving as the points -of the triangles, or by the determination of the geographical latitude -and longitude of the different spots. The combination of both methods is -of course most desirable. - -8. The following instruments may be employed in sledge journeys, -according to the degree of exactness which is required: a small universal -instrument, a sextant with an artificial horizon, a pocket chronometer, -an azimuth compass, a boat compass of simple construction, an alcohol and -mercurial thermometer, and two small aneroids. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE EQUIPMENT OF A SLEDGE EXPEDITION. - - -1. The equipment of a sledge expedition on a large scale demands an -amount of circumspection and precision which experience alone can give, -and its safety and success may be endangered by the neglect of apparently -trifling precautions. At a distance from the ship the most formidable -dangers may arise, from allowing the matches to become damp, from the -leaking or the loss of a vessel containing spirit, from the setting fire -to a tent, which only too probably may happen from the carelessness of -the cook, to say nothing of those yet greater perils,—the inability of -some of the party to march, the destruction of depôts of provisions by -bears, or the breaking in of the sea. The first principle in fitting out -such an expedition should be the rejection of everything not absolutely -necessary for the support of life, the instruments only excepted; and -the second, that the whole of the travelling gear should be of the most -perfect and convenient form. The departure from these rules contributed, -among other things, to the melancholy issue of the Franklin expedition. -McClintock speaks most emphatically of the evils of over-loading with -things not absolutely necessary. The success of an undertaking may -be defeated by the neglect even of things apparently insignificant. -Mojsejew’s sledge expedition along the coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1839 -was a proof and illustration of this. It was wrecked within a few days -by the snow-blindness of the entire party, caused by their want of -snow-spectacles. If we except the journeys of the Russian explorers of -the Siberian coast, carried out, however, at the sacrifice of the whole -nomad population, and of all the dogs and reindeer of North Asia—from -which to this day the exhausted country has not recovered—the merit of -the organization of sledge expeditions belongs pre-eminently to the -English. It was by Parry and James Ross that those experiments with -sledges were begun, which have since been brought nearly to perfection -by McClintock.[29] The method thus perfected serves to this day as a -pattern to be imitated, as it enables a party of men, inured to hardships -and fatigues, to pass many weeks without the help of those resources -which only a ship in such icy wastes can afford. I will now endeavour -to describe with sufficient detail the equipment of our sledges in the -journeys we carried out. - -2. The changeableness of the weather during the season for sledging, -and the character of our expeditions, required the employment of three -sledges of different sizes. The smallest of these was a dog-sledge, -and the two others were larger and intended to be drawn by men. The -runners were respectively 6, 8 and 11 feet long, and 1½, 2 and 2¾ inches -broad[30]—gently curved at each end—and about one foot high, so as to -raise the lading above the snow. The sledges were constructed of the best -ash, and carried loads amounting to 7, 12, and 20 cwts. respectively. -The two runners were fastened together by two strong front boards, and -by four cross-pieces of wood firmly lashed to the upright standards of -the sledge, which were themselves dovetailed into the runners. Screws -were sparingly used, and chiefly in the fittings of the two horns of the -sledge, and of the rail on which the rifles were suspended, and which -also was used to push and guide the sledge. The rail was, therefore, of -considerable strength, in order to withstand the pressure of a man’s -force. The runners were shod with steel carefully riveted on. The -accompanying sketch shows the manner in which a sledge is drawn by a -team of men and dogs combined. Those who take the longest steps in the -march should precede, and the less active should be placed in the middle, -so that any slackness may be easily detected; for in a sledge journey it -is disgraceful to draw a weight less than the weight of what we can eat. -The centre trace should never be grasped, as this diminishes the force of -the pull. - -[Illustration: TEAM OF SEVEN MEN AND THREE DOGS.] - -[Illustration: THE COOKING APPARATUS.] - -3. The proper construction of the cooking apparatus is of the greatest -importance, the great principle being to develop heat and prevent its -escape as much as possible. The accompanying woodcut represents an -apparatus which excellently well fulfils this condition. A, is the -inner compartment; B, the holder containing about a bottle of spirit, -with seven wicks; C, the covered pan for cooking; D, the outer case; -and E, a pan filled with snow and fitted with a moveable handle, which, -being placed over an opening in the outer case, utilizes the ascending -heat, which would otherwise escape, to liquefy the snow. The apparatus -should be made of sheet iron, each of its parts of one piece, and there -should be no soldering, in order to diminish the risk of breakage and -the setting fire to the tent by the escape of the spirit in a state -of combustion. These cooking machines should be of different sizes, -according to the number of men in the expedition. The largest of those -used by us consumed ¾lb. of spirits of wine to convert snow, with a -thermometer from 13° to 22° below zero F., into three gallons of boiling -water. On account of the smaller consumption of alcohol, it is better to -use ice than snow for the purpose of cooking. - -4. Alcohol of the greatest purity and strength is the best fuel, and is -most easily transported in vessels containing about ten gallons. Next -to alcohol, stearine is most to be recommended, on account of its great -heating powers; and then train-oil, though the smoke and dirt produced -by it in the tent are almost unbearable evils. Petroleum ought not to be -employed, on account of its dangerous character and its being prejudicial -to health. Wood and coals generate too little heat in proportion to their -bulk. Parry was the first who, in his journey of 1827, employed spirits -of wine; he still used wood and coals in 1820 and Lyon in 1822. - -5. The nights are passed either in snow huts, or in tents. If tents -be used, the climate must determine their material, whether cotton or -sailcloth. A mackintosh floor-cloth should always be spread over the -ground of the tent. It is indispensable to make the walls of the snow -huts two or three feet high, in order to allow room for movement, and -the closed side, _i.e._ the side opposite the entrance, must be made -double, as it is always exposed to the direction of the wind. The tent -entrance must be carefully closed with hooks and rings, and should not -reach to the ground. A tent formed by two poles, about eight feet long, -crossed at each end, with another to rest on these supports, is the most -simple and secure form of erection. During the journey, a small sail -may be advantageously used, whenever the wind is favourable; one of the -tent-poles may be used as a mast, and an “Alpine stock” may serve as a -yard for the sail. - -6. The sledge party passes the night in a common sleeping bag, in which -there may be, under propitious circumstances, smaller separate bags for -each. When the temperature is not below -13° F., the sleeping bag may be -made out of a warm strong quilt; but when the cold is more intense, it -must be made of buffalo-skin, and to prevent its being pulled off during -the night it should be buttoned at the top in the middle. Sheep-skins -cannot be recommended for this purpose, as they are far heavier than -buffalo-skins; and as they more easily collect moisture, so they freeze -more quickly. The sleeping bag should always be wrapped up in the tent -and packed with it on the sledge, so that it may come as little as -possible in contact with the snow. If the temperature should fall below --35° F., the travelling party suffers greatly from the frost even in -such a sleeping bag, and it would then be advisable to lay an inflated -india-rubber mattress under the bag, so that only the legs of the -sleepers should be exposed to the influence of the cold. - -7. As for arms, it is enough to have three double-barrelled Lefaucheux -rifles and one revolver; and even in districts where encounters with -bears may be daily expected, three cartridges a day are a sufficient -stock of ammunition. These should be explosive shells, with steel points. -Small shot cartridges are indispensable on sledge expeditions, as birds -are not unfrequently met with. When the cold is excessive, great caution -must be used with the cock of the lock, as the brittleness of the metal -then causes it to be easily broken; and from the same cause the hammer -will often not stand at half-cock. The guns must not be oiled, as it -sometimes happens that the hammer on full-cock will not go down where -the lock is smeared with oil. Light woollen gloves should be worn for -shooting, in order that the fingers may not be frozen in handling the -guns. - -8. A chest, fixed on the fore-part of the sledge, contains the -instruments used in surveying and in the determination of localities; -also a thermometer and an aneroid barometer, lucifer matches and -cartridges, packed in tin boxes and carefully protected from damp; a -supply of nails and screws, wind-screens for the travellers, sewing -materials, the spoons of the party, extra soles of felt for shoes, -medical stores, brushes, sketch-book, flags, and a supply of light cord. -The pocket-chronometer must be worn in close contact with the body of the -leader of the party, to guard it against the hurtful influences of the -cold. - -9. The provisions should be placed below everything, when the sledge is -loaded. The daily allowance for each man ought to be increased by half -a pound above the usual rations on board ship, so that about 2½ lbs. or -2¾ lbs. of solid food fall to the share of each man, and about an equal -weight to each dog. McClintock allowed 2½ to 3 lbs. a head for the men; -but only 1 lb. pemmican a day for the Eskimo dogs. Hayes calculates -provisions for fourteen dogs for twelve days at 300 lbs.—almost 2 lbs. a -day; and, on another occasion, for fifteen dogs for thirty-eight days, at -800 lbs; and considers 1½ lbs. for Eskimo dogs as too little, when great -demands are made on their strength and endurance. From my own experience, -I should say, that the least diminution of this quantity of nourishment -reduces the capacity to endure great cold and excessive exertions, and -produces, after even a few days, a feeling of lassitude both in the -men and the dogs, harder to endure than even the sensation of hunger. -Parry, in his sledge and boat expedition of 1827, found that 10 oz. of -biscuit and 9 oz. of pemmican were hardly sufficient to sustain a man’s -strength. “It may be useful,” he observes,[31] “to remark, as the result -of absolute experience, that our daily allowance of provisions, although -previously tried for some days on board the ship, and then considered -to be enough, proved by no means sufficient to support the strength of -men living constantly in the open air, exposed to wet and cold for at -least twelve hours a day, seldom enjoying the luxury of a warm meal, and -having to perform the kind of labour to which our people were subject. -I have before remarked, that, previously to our return to the ship, our -strength was considerably impaired, and, indeed, there is reason to -believe, very soon after entering upon the ice the physical energies of -the men were gradually diminishing, although for the first few weeks they -did not appear to labour under any specific complaint. This diminishing -of strength, which we considered to be owing to the want of sufficient -sustenance, became apparent, even after a fortnight, in the lifting of -the bread bags; and I have no doubt that, in spite of every care on the -part of the officers, some of the men, who had begun to fail before we -quitted the ice, would, in a week or two longer, have suffered very -severely, and become a serious incumbrance, instead of an assistance, to -our party; and we were of opinion, that in order to maintain the strength -of men thus employed, for several weeks together, an addition would be -requisite of at least one-third more to the provisions we daily issued.” - -10. To facilitate inspection, it is advisable to portion off the stock -of provisions for each week in separate sacks, and never to open a fresh -sack till the previous one has been emptied. The contents of the sacks -for the latter weeks should be increased a fifth-part at least above the -normal weight; because hunger with its accompanying loss of strength -generally grows in a distressing manner. The provisions should consist of -boiled beef, hard bread, extract of meat, chocolate, grits, pea-sausages, -sugar, rice, condensed milk, and coffee. Tea and the two last mentioned -articles of food have an indescribably reviving effect, especially in -the morning, and enable the party to make long forced marches, warding -off the great enemy of such expeditions—thirst. Pemmican and fatty -substances, however, when the temperature is very low, must be used in -moderation, inasmuch as they tend to promote this evil. The fact that -we require more carbon in our food in winter than in summer, and that -the colder a country is, the more of this element should be found in -its nourishment, may, indeed, be true for life in settled abodes or on -board an Arctic ship, but does not hold good of sledge journeys. As fresh -meat affords, under all circumstances, the strongest nourishment, the -business of hunting must not be left to chance. In order to diminish the -weight, all preserved foods—with the exception of milk—are turned out of -their tin cases, and kept in small bags. Wherever there is a certainty -of finding drift-wood, I would recommend, as Back does, vermicelli or -macaroni, which can then be properly prepared. Good strong tea is of -the greatest importance, though at first we set little store by it. A -small ration of rum daily is almost indispensable in sledge journeys, -especially when the temperature is very low. Franklin (1819) and John -Ross (1829) both pronounce in favour of the moderate use of this spirit, -though they were of opinion that rum, when the crews were leading an -inactive life on board ship, promoted scurvy. The provisions we have -specified do not altogether correspond with the views of earlier Polar -navigators. Pachtussow and Ziwolka provided themselves in their sledge -journeys (1835) with the following stores:—Salted meat, barley-meal, -grits, biscuit, butter, tea and sugar; and Parry’s provisions, in 1827, -consisted of pemmican, wheat-meal, sweet cocoa-powder, biscuit, and 300 -lbs. of concentrated rum.[32] Hayes preferred dried meat, beef-soup, and -potatoes to the usual pemmican. - -11. The equipment should be supplemented by the following articles:—A -small cask of strong rum, a funnel, an india-rubber bottle to measure out -the daily allowance of spirit, a snow-shovel, and a stand for surveying -purposes. The sketch given below exhibits a sledge laden and packed for a -long journey. - -[Illustration: THE SLEDGE WITH ITS LOAD. - - _a_, Spirit-can. - _f_, Axe, Thermometer. - _h_, Dog-sledge. - _i_, Cooking-machine. - _k_, Box of instruments. - _m_, Tent and sleeping-bags. - _n_ and _z_, Surveying-stand and tent-pole. - _o_, Sledge-sail - _r_, Sacks of provisions. - _s_, India-rubber bottle. - _t_, Funnel. - _u_, Shovel.] - -12. To obviate the danger of being cut off from the ship by the breaking -up of the ice, or to enable the party to push on further, boats have -frequently been taken in sledge expeditions. For such purposes, boats of -thin metal or of wood are not to be commended; those made of leather, -india-rubber, or waterproof sailcloth, are preferable. But even when -their wooden frame-work is made as light as possible, their weight is not -less than 300 or 400 lbs. The addition of this weight, and the difficulty -of lading them, are so much felt on such journeys, that the boat is -usually left behind at a little distance from the ship, as was the case -in Kane and Hayes’ journeys up Smith’s Sound. The case is different, -however, in journeys which have to be carried out partly on the ice -and partly—and, indeed, chiefly—on the sea. In such cases, boats of -sufficient size to carry both the crews and the baggage are requisite. -The whale boat of the Norwegian whalers, carrying seven or eight men, -is best adapted for this purpose; although, in long reaches of deep -snow, they have their inconveniences, as almost double the number of men -is then needed to drag them along. The boats in such expeditions are -transported over the ice when the snow road is good, or only passably -good, by means of the largest of the sledges we have described; but, if -the snow be very deep, it would be advisable to use sledges with three -runners underneath, boarded over, so as to prevent the load from sinking -into the snow.[33] - -13. As the sledge party has to endure for several weeks all the horrors -of Arctic weather, the article of clothing demands special care and -consideration. Abundance of woollen under-garments and light furs best -answer this purpose. The woollen under-garments should not fit too -closely, so as to hinder the circulation of the blood; and the fur coat -should be wide, and reach half-way down the leg. It would be a great -mistake to take the clothing of the northern nomad as our pattern. Our -powers of enduring the severities of Arctic climate are inferior to -theirs, so that we cannot attempt to imitate their hardihood; but our -own industries enable us to surpass all their resources. During the -march, a long garment of lamb’s-wool, to which a belly-band is sewn, two -stout linen shirts, one or two pairs of woollen drawers, strong cloth -trousers, a pair of common mittens, and a light hood, are sufficient for -all temperatures. Wind, especially if it be accompanied with drifting -snow, necessitates fur coats, with hoods attached, two pairs of woollen -gloves, and a band of flannel to protect the nose, buttoned on to the -hood. Wind-guards, made of strong leather serving to protect the face -against wind and frost, must not be neglected. Flannel masks, with holes -cut for nose and mouth, are of little use, as they are completely frozen -in a few hours. A shawl wrapped round the mouth is, after all, the best -protection against cold wind, and the least hindrance to respiration. As -the shortest beard is converted at once into a glacier by the freezing -of the breath, it is necessary to cut it off. The accompanying figure -exhibits the Arctic sledger prepared for the eventualities of cold. It -need scarcely, however, be remarked, that no absolutely general rules can -be laid down in the matter of clothing, which depends on the different -capacities of resistance in individuals, and also on the variations -of the weather. When the temperature is not more than 2° or 13° below -zero F., some diminution of the garments enumerated above may safely be -allowed. Knitted woollen hoods are sufficient protection for the head -in almost all cases. Gloves, not intended to be used in drawing and in -handling the instruments, should be made of lamb’s-wool, and the fingers -lined with flannel. The stockings also should be strengthened with -flannel at the heels and toes, and should be kept as dry as possible; -because wet feet are inevitably frozen when the cold is excessive. Hence, -also, the stockings must be changed at night and dried, by being laid on -the chest during sleep. - -[Illustration: THE DRESS OF THE ARCTIC SLEDGER.] - -14. In the matter of furs, no better can be selected than buffalo-skin, -or wash-leather made of bear’s hide; though no covering can surpass that -which is made from the skins of birds—Eider-ducks, for example—which -is equally good for either summer or winter, during the march, or -even during sleep, and which need be exchanged for furs only when the -temperature during a night-camping falls 35° to 58° below zero F. -Sheep-skin and wolf-skin are too heavy; and the reindeer-skin, though -so light and warm, is not suitable, as it at once loses the hair when -exposed to damp, and does not last a winter with constant use; but of -these, the best are those of the young reindeer killed in autumn. Some -Arctic travellers, in the absence of furs, have used an extra covering -of light sailcloth, as a protection against the drifting snow, which -penetrates the clothes and stiffens them. We have tried this experiment, -but were not convinced of its success. In Parry’s second expedition, his -people are said to have worn their furs next to their bodies, and to have -found this warmer than the wearing of woollens next the skin; but this I -am inclined to regard as a mistake. When furs are worn during the march, -their congelation and consequent increase of weight are diminished by -wearing the furs sometimes inside and sometimes outside. The inhabitants -of Lapland and Kamschatka constantly wear the fur outside; and some -Eskimo tribes wear double furs—one turned inside, the other outside. If -cloth clothes are worn, their surface should be smooth, so as not to -harbour the driving snow; and all buttons should be of a large size, as -frozen fingers find it easier to manage them. - -15. The covering for the feet of a sledge-party should be sailcloth -boots, lined with flannel, and soled with stout felt; and it is not -advisable to strengthen the soles by plaiting them with string, as the -boot thereby loses that perfect pliability which is indispensable to -preserve the foot from the danger of frost-bite. Hence also any covering -of india-rubber is objectionable. Leather boots must not be used in -sledging; because they become utterly unpliable at a low temperature, and -make frost-bites inevitable; and when once put on they cannot be pulled -off without being cut to pieces. All boots should be so large and their -legs so wide, that they may be put on conveniently over the trousers; -and sailcloth boots especially, because of their shrinking from frost, -should be so wide, that they can be put on easily over three pairs -of strong woollen stockings. The Eskimo, the inhabitants of Lapland, -Kamschatka, and other northern nomad tribes, wear the dried grass of -_Cyperacites_ as their foot-coverings; and this might be recommended, -if it did not also involve the use of skin-coverings for the feet, in -which no European can make long marches, without their being inflamed. -Because, in the Arctic regions, the condensation of moisture in the shape -of ice is an enemy constantly to be guarded against, all stuffs are to be -avoided which tend to harbour moisture, especially the linings of coats, -pockets, and so forth, made of cotton instead of pure wool. India-rubber -garments must never be used, as they prevent evaporation from the body. - -16. If dogs are used to draw the large sledges along with men, they -ought to be harnessed in the way which the sketch on a preceding page -represents. The dog-sledge should be laid across the hinder part of -the principal sledge, and made fast to it. If, however, dogs alone are -employed, and at walking-pace, they are harnessed in pairs, one pair -behind the other. Each dog should draw by a single trace, as we can only -thus avoid the constant entangling of the rope-traces. If more than four -dogs be employed, they cannot well go in pairs one before the other, but -must be harnessed to the sledge in a row, side by side, and the traces -must be long, so as to enable the most powerful and best-trained dogs, -which are placed in the middle, to be somewhat in advance of the others. -The dogs should be selected according to the special purpose for which -they are to be employed; for, while an Eskimo dog will run, but shirks -the effort of drawing heavy loads, a Newfoundland submits to its load, -but, goes at a foot’s-pace. In the Hudson’s Bay territory a cross between -a wolf and a dog is regarded as the best animal for draught, because it -surpasses the dog proper in strength and courage. Newfoundlands of pure -breed are, on the whole, most to be recommended, and next to them, the -Eskimo dog, which has a good deal of the character of the wolf, though he -is difficult to hold. These dogs, too, although they are indescribably, -thievish, voracious, and ill-tempered, in consequence of their harsh -treatment and bad feeding, have this further distinguishing quality, -that they will stick to a retreating bear with wonderful pertinacity -till the hunter comes up to kill it. European dogs are only to be taken -when an expedition has not the opportunity of procuring dogs of the -kinds we have mentioned; but, if they be employed, they should be strong -and hardy, with long hair and thick coat. The purity of their breed is -of less consequence than their being good-tempered, as fights between -large dogs end in the destruction of the weaker. The Ostjaks, in the -neighbourhood of Obdorsk, are the nomad tribes nearest Europe who use -dogs for sledges; and their breed of dogs is far superior to any other, -either in Lapland or Northern Russia. The dogs of Russia in Europe were -employed in the expedition (1839) of Ziwolka and Mojsejew to Novaya -Zemlya; but it does not appear that they answered the expectations which -had been formed. In sledge-expeditions the dogs are allowed to sleep in -the open air; but they must be fastened to stakes, lest the scenting -some animal should tempt them to run off. We ourselves, however, allowed -a small tent, weighing little, for the few dogs which accompanied us. -Dogs whose paws have not been early hardened by long marches on the -ice, easily hurt their feet, which do not heal during the journey; and -wounds can only be prevented from getting worse by a daily application -of collodion and brandy, and by a protection of flannel; and this is the -treatment we pursued to Jubinal in the journey we are about to describe. -Whenever a dog is exhausted by dragging, it is generally blooded in the -tail or ear after the fashion followed by the Siberian tribes. - -[Illustration: TOROSSY IN HARNESS.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY - - -1. From the preceding remarks on the equipment of a sledge, the reader -will, perhaps, have gained a pretty clear notion of the procedure -by which we are enabled to travel for weeks in Arctic wastes. This -description will have shown him the various and manifold contingencies -against which a leader has to provide, if he is to conduct an expedition -safely and successfully, especially if he commands a body of men, who are -neither so careful nor so observant as those who accompanied me in the -sledge journeys I am about to describe. - -2. I now pass to the first of these, the object of which was to determine -the position and general relations of the new Land, which still remained -a mystery to us, to reconnoitre a route for its exploration towards the -north, and to ascertain what we could of the character of the intervening -regions. I regarded the ascent of the high mountain—Cape Tegetthoff—which -we had seen before us for months, as the preliminary step towards the -attainment of these ends. Its great distance from the ship had rendered -abortive all the attempts to reach it which had been made at the end -of last autumn. With the beginning of March (1874) the sledging was -now to commence in reality. Though the sun had returned on the 24th of -February, it was seldom visible in the remaining days of that month; a -heavy water-sky overspread the southern heavens, and the only cheerful -precursors of spring were the birds which once more appeared in our -neighbourhood. The snow had been distressingly soft, but the north-east -winds which prevailed during the first days of March hardened it. When -these winds fell, the temperature also fell, and although the beginning -of March is regarded as a time little favourable for sledge travelling -on account of the excessive cold, our impatience for action overcame all -doubts and fears, and on the 9th one of our larger sledges stood ready, -laden and packed for an expedition, equipped for a week. It carried an -extra quantity of provisions, which were intended to form depôts. From -the general store we took 39 lbs. of hard bread, 5 lbs. of pemmican, 16 -lbs. of boiled beef, 6½ lbs. of lard, 1 lb. of pea-sausage, ½ lb. of -salt and pepper, 6 lbs. of rice, 2 lbs. of grits, 5 lbs. of chocolate, 5 -gallons of rum, 1 lb. of extract of meat, 2 lbs. of condensed milk, and -8 gallons of alcohol. The rest of the baggage consisted of such articles -as we have described above. We had besides 3 breech-loaders and 100 -cartridges, of which 40 were fired away. - -3. I selected for my party six men and three dogs, Gillis, Torossy and -Sumbu. As I reserved the picked men of our crew for the contemplated -longer journey towards the north, some of the above were not altogether -adequate to the work. My two Tyrolese, however, Haller and Klotz, -possessed great endurance, Lukinovich and Cattarinch in a lesser degree; -as for Pospischill and Lettis, they would have done credit to Falstaff’s -corps. As Pospischill suffered from lung disease, Lukinovich from -palpitation of the heart, Haller from chronic rheumatism, and Lettis from -a tendency to bronchial catarrh, it may be inferred how necessity alone -enabled them to do what they did, when the temperature fell lower than we -expected. - -4. On the morning of the 10th of March we left the ship, and the “Flag of -the sledge journeys,” which had hung for so long a time over my berth, -now fluttered in the fresh breeze which blew from the north-west. So -much had this “at last,” excited me, that I could not sleep a wink, and -those who were starting on the expedition as well as those who remained -behind were as much agitated, as if the conquest of Peru or Ophir were -contemplated, and not the exploration of lands buried under snow and -ice. With indescribable joy we began the mechanical drudgery of dragging -the sledge, each of us at first wearing a mask, like the members of the -“Vehmgericht,” until we became habituated to the withering effects -of the wind. As we moved along the level surface of the land ice of -the preceding autumn, after forcing our way through the hummocky ice, -which had formed itself on the north of the ship, we saw behind us some -black spots approaching at full speed. These were the dogs we had left -behind, which insisted on travelling with us, and much craft and force, -supplemented by the logic of a few shots, were needed to force them to -return to the ship. My companions interpreted the conduct of the dogs -refusing to remain with the ship as a sign foreboding the death of our -engineer. As the lading of our sledge amounted to about 6 or 7 cwts. and -the snow was favourable for sledging, we were able to advance at the -unusual rate of 100 paces in a minute, and in two hours we passed the -south-west Cape of Wilczek Island. Close to this Cape we saw an iceberg -which had fallen on the ice and crushed it all round, and sheltering -ourselves from the wind under the lee of another, we took our mid-day -rest, with the thermometer at -15° F. As the sun at noon was so little -above the horizon that we got uncertain results for the determination -of the latitude, I preferred during this journey to begin the surveying -and, at the same time, the determination of the localities of Franz-Josef -Land, by a triangulation of elevated points, to which the measurement of -a base was afterwards to be added. Hence the ascent of high mountains -formed part of our programme. - -5. We continued our march till the ship disappeared from our eyes, and -the route now lost its level character and assumed the appearance of a -very chaos of ice. In the evening we reached a high rocky promontory -of Wilczek Island, near which rose some stranded icebergs, and against -which the ice-sheet of the sea, impelled by the waves, was dashed and -broken. Close in shore the ice was in violent motion, and as we passed -over the “ice-foot,” to the amazement of all, three of our men fell into -a fissure. All through the night we heard in our tent, which we erected -on the land, the cracking and crashing sounds emitted by the ice. Next -day—March 11th—making a very early start, the thermometer at -14° F., we -saw a water-sky to the south, and, after ascending a height, close before -us lay the sea, covered with young ice. Heavy mists were ascending from -fissures, and the level surface of the young ice glowed with the colours -of the morning. Immediately under the coast of the island lay a narrow -band of piled-up ice, with traces of recent pressures, and thinking that -the interior was impassable to a laden sledge, we began our toilsome -march along its rocky coasts. - -6. We were in no mood to observe the picturesque character of our -route, for our labours in dragging the sledge over the hummocky ice -were excessive. We had frequently to unload the sledge or dig away an -obstacle which could not be evaded. The conduct of the dogs was not -quite faultless; and as for my companions, if one of them turned round, -or if a bird flew past, this was enough to make the rest pause in their -pulling, with the ready excuse of surprise at the circumstance. If -in such cases Klotz failed to exert his strength, the sledge at once -came to a standstill. We pressed on through icebergs on each side of -us, shattered by the frost, and amid a constant noise of cracking and -splitting produced by the increasing cold. At length, after several -hours, we came out on an open level and crossed the gentle slope of a -snow-covered spit of land. The rugged mountainous front of Hall Island, -and the long glacier walls of M’Clintock Island, now rose before us. Our -course lay clearly marked out: it ran in a north-westerly direction over -a snow-covered level of old ice towards Cape Tegetthoff. Soon, however, -the mist began to rise, and floated over the wide expanse of ice, and -so obscured every object that we were able to continue our journey in -the twilight only by means of the compass. We determined our course by -the aid of small hummocks of ice, which rose above the general level -surface, but so great was the difficulty of keeping a definite line in -the mist, that we were compelled to halt every four hundred paces, and -correct our route by the larger compass, which often showed that we had -deviated 20° to 40° in azimuth from the true line, and in some cases the -error amounted to even 90°. To add to all this, snow began to fall, so -that we were almost blinded, and hence it was that a bear for some time -followed our footsteps, unseen by any of the party. When we first sighted -him, though he was at a little distance off, he looked enormously large -in the mist. We quickly seized our rifles, and one of our men firing -precipitately, the bear disappeared, leaving no track of blood to show -whether it had been wounded. But bears, even when severely wounded, often -leave no such trace; hence doubtless the origin of the assertion, that a -wounded bear can dress its own wound, using its paw to apply snow to the -injured part. - -7. It was our practice in this, as well as in the following expeditions, -to rest at noon for an hour or two, and putting up the tent take a -meal of hot boiled beef. But the inferiority of an untrained to a -well-trained sledge party was seen even in such operations. Much time -was wasted; in like manner and from the same cause, the coffee-making in -the morning, the preparation for the march, the taking down of the tent, -the loading of the sledge, occupied my party for hours, and the smallest -snow-drifting sufficed to blow away all their moral force. As we left -the tent, the bear stood again before us, but disappeared as suddenly -when we seized our rifles. In the course of a few hours we passed some -icebergs shaped like huge tables, and when the wind rose and lifted up -the mist for a few moments, we saw the rocky heights of Cape Tegetthoff -towering above us at no great distance. The snow began to drive directly -in our faces, and meanwhile the bear had followed our steps, often -hidden from our sight by the vehement gusts of snow, sometimes on our -flank, sometimes in our rear, keeping at about 200 paces distance from -us. By feigning unconcern we hoped to stimulate his courage to attack -us, reckoning on converting him into food. Suddenly, however, he ran -towards us, and our apparent indifference disappeared. In a moment we -stood ready to receive him; the sledge was drawn across the line of his -advance, and each casting off his drag-rope, knelt and aimed over the -sledge. The directions were to aim at the lower part of the skull, and -to fire only when he was quite close to us. The dogs were moved to the -further side of the sledge, and covered with its sail. Of the other four -men, two held the dogs, a third laid hold of a revolver, and the fourth -provided himself with some cartridges ready for contingencies. After -the completion of these preparations, no one either moved or spoke. The -bear meanwhile, moved steadily towards us, stopping for a moment at the -spot where a piece of bread had intentionally been placed. Just as he -stopped to examine it, three shots in rapid succession went off, and -the bear, hit in the head and chest, lay dead on the ground. The dogs, -being let loose, rushed on their fallen foe and began to tear his shaggy -skin. While we were cutting the bear up, they sat down and watched us, -occasionally dipping their tongues in the warm red blood and snapping -up the morsels which were thrown to them. The bear we had shot was a -female, six feet in length; and after cutting off the tongue and the best -portions for meat, we continued our march in the teeth of the driving -snow. One of our people had cut his finger badly in dressing the bear, -and as the application of chloride of iron did not suffice to stop the -violent bleeding, we were compelled to halt and erect our tent about six -o’clock in the evening. - -8. When we set out again on the morning of the 12th (the thermometer -marking -26° F.) all round us was a red undulating waste, and the driving -gusts of snow, which hid from our view the nearest rocky heights, pricked -us as if with countless sharp-pointed darts. Such drifting snow, although -it greatly impedes travelling, cannot be compared with the tremendous -snow-storms I had experienced in Greenland. The same precursory signs -were, however, common to both—extraordinary refractions, brilliant -auroras, perfect calms, and a dull close atmosphere. In taking down the -tent, which was covered with wreaths of snow, every article which fell -in it was at once buried under its drifting waves. Of all the tests of -endurance in Arctic journeys none exceeds that of continuing the march -amid driving snow at a low temperature. Some of my company who had not -been accustomed to walk in such tremendous weather, in attempting to -button on their wind-screens and nose-bands and fasten up their coats -after we had left the tent, at once had their fingers frozen. Our -sail-cloth boots were as hard as stone, and every one took to stamping to -preserve his feet from frost-bite. Under such circumstances the sledge -is not packed with that precision which is the only preservative against -the loss of the various articles of its contents. To watch against this -contingency is the special business of the man who pushes the sledge -from behind. Hurry and confusion were visible in the bag of provisions -being left open. At last everything was ready: the march began, men -and dogs, dragging the sledge along, all coated with snow and entirely -covered except the eyes. In a momentary lull of the wind, we discovered -that our march the day before had led us far too much to the south, and -Cape Tegetthoff now lay before us directly north. Thither we now directed -our steps, and as the wind still came from the north-west, we struck our -sledge sail. As a consequence of this marching against the wind, which is -most severely felt by the leaders of the team, all, even Klotz, had their -noses frost-bitten. We had much difficulty in persuading him to rub his -with snow, urging that his nose did not belong to himself alone, but that -seven noses and fourteen feet were under the general supervision of the -leader, and that each had a share in this general property. - -9. As we came under the land, the violence of the snow-drifting somewhat -abated, and in about two hours a calm set in. Close before us lay the -plateau of Cape Tegetthoff, with its steep precipitous sides. From its -summit a line of basalt rocks descended towards the east, ending in two -columns, each about two hundred feet high. We reached them just before -noon, and the weather being propitious we determined the latitude by -observation and found it to be 80° 6′ N.L. The force of the tide not -being able to raise or burst the bay-ice, the thaw-water of the spring -collects itself on the coast-edge in small lakes. Close under one of -these towers of dark-coloured basalt, we set up our tent; and while our -cook was preparing our dinner of bear’s flesh we lay in the sun under the -rocks in order to dry our clothes, which were coated all over with ice. - -[Illustration: CAPE TEGETTHOFF.] - -10. About one o’clock I set off with the Tyrolese to the plateau of Cape -Tegetthoff. Those who remained behind spent their time in rubbing their -feet with snow. Lettis had reserved for us the unpleasant surprise that -his feet had been frost-bitten for three hours, and that he had lost -all feeling in them. We marched for an hour on the snow, which lay in -tender azure-blue shadow under the long line of basalt rocks, and after -climbing for another hour over rosy-coloured masses of snow lying between -crystallized rocks, we reached the highest point of the undulating -plateau. No ascent could be more interesting, made, as it was, in a -country so utterly unknown. Haller and Klotz were born mountaineers, and -during my surveys in Tyrol I had made a hundred ascents of mountains of -10,000 feet, without the tension of expectation I now experienced, as -I mounted this summit. The ascent was not without difficulty, and it -taxed the extraordinary dexterity of the two Tyrolese to climb up steep -icy precipices in their sail-cloth boots. It was about three o’clock in -the afternoon when we reached the summit; the temperature had fallen to --30° F. (in the tent the thermometer at the same time marked -24° F. and -in the ship -20° F.). By a barometrical measurement we found the height -to be 2,600 feet. Contrary to expectation the view from the top proved -to be limited. In a northerly direction, the atmosphere, laden with -innumerable ice crystals, possessed so little transparency that Cape -Berghaus, at no distance off, appeared to be covered with a thick veil, -and all distant objects were enveloped in a dense mist. Fogs lay over the -interior to the west, and banks of reddish vapour covered the icy ocean -to the south. Some narrow strips of open water sparkled in the sun. After -making a sketch of all that could be distinctly seen, and determining the -bearings of some points, we returned to the tent. Here we found Lettis -and Cattarinch engaged in rubbing with snow the hands of Lukinovich, -which had been frost-bitten, while he was occupied in rubbing the feet of -Lettis. - -11. Nothing except the wind makes men so sensitive to cold as the want -of exercise. The fall of the temperature had been felt far more by those -who remained behind, than by ourselves. Even the wonderful beauty of -the snow-clad summit bathed in rosy light failed to modify their severe -judgment of Franz-Josef Land. Instead of greeting us with supper ready -at the appointed hour, which he ought to have prepared without the use -of spirit, the bewildered cook was vainly endeavouring to roast bear’s -flesh over smoky chips and sticks, and we got our supper only after I -had served out a bottle of alcohol. We then went to rest in the common -sleeping bag, but soon began to shake with cold, which threw Pospischill, -who took oil twice a day for lung-disease, into a fever. When I left the -tent to look at the thermometers, the mercury in one had gone down into -the bulb and was frozen, and the spirits of wine in the other showed 41° -below zero (C.). Some hot grog, for which a whole bottle of strong rum -was used, put us all right, raising the temperature of our bodies by one -or two degrees. After this refreshment we all fell into a deep sleep, -which was incommoded only by the increasing dampness of our clothes. - -12. We started again about six o’clock on the morning of March 13. The -sun had not risen, the spirit of wine thermometer indicated nearly 44° -(C.) below zero, and a piercingly cold breeze met us from the land. -Even on board the ship the temperature at the same time marked 37° (C.) -below zero, a difference to be ascribed to the influence of the land -in lowering the temperature. In Greenland we observed still greater -deviations of this nature, which seem to show that climatical influences -are subject to great variations, even in places which are in close -proximity. Cape Berghaus was our goal. From its summit a general view -of the distribution of the land under 80° N. lat. was reasonably to be -expected. Long before the rise of the sun, the hard snowy plains were -tinted with a pale green reflected light, and the icebergs wore a dull -silvery hue, while their outlines constantly changed and undulated. Our -road was formed from millions of glittering snow crystals, so hard that -the sledge glided over them with difficulty and with a creaking noise, -and after three hours, the exertion of dragging had so exhausted us that -we determined to unload the sledge, and, after melting some snow, to wet -its runners with water. A layer of ice was immediately formed on them, -which greatly facilitated the labour of dragging, till it was rubbed -off. A broad inlet surrounded by picturesque mountains—Nordenskjöld -Fiord—had opened out on our left, and as a large glacier formed the -background of this fiord, we took a westerly direction in order to study -the ice-formation. The heights surrounding this fiord seemed equally as -well fitted as Cape Berghaus for the object we had in view. The further -we penetrated into it, the deeper became the layer of fine powdery snow -which the wind had deposited in this hollow. At noon we reached the high -precipitous termination of Sonklar-Glacier, and pitched our tent by an -iceberg. - -[Illustration: MELTING SNOW DURING A HALT NEAR CAPE BERGHAUS.] - -13. In the afternoon, accompanied by the Tyrolese, I ascended a -mountain—Cape Littrow—whose height, by means of an aneroid barometer, -we ascertained to be 2,500 feet. From its summit we had a view of the -mountains of Hall Island, and of the islands which lay to the east. -Not a breath of wind was stirring, and the atmosphere was clearer than -usual, so that, without suffering in the least degree from cold, I could -work for three hours, first in sketching our surroundings and then in -taking observations. From south-west to north-east the peaks of distant -mountains rose above the summits of those in the foreground. This view, -while it assured us that the land we had named after our monarch must be -of great extent, stimulated our impatience to know its extent, and the -nature and relation of its constituent parts. The Wüllersdorf Mountains -were the extreme limits of what could be known for the present, and -their three peaks glowed in the setting sun above the dark edges of the -terraces of the Sonklar-Glacier, whose broad terminal front over-hung the -frozen bay of Nordenskjöld Fiord. It was eight o’clock in the evening -when we returned to our tent, not, however, before we had made suitable -preparations for the observation of the movement of the glacier. Sumbu -and Torossy were our companions; but we had to tie them with a rope both -in going up and coming down, and we ourselves only mastered the great -steepness of the cone of the mountain by steps which Klotz, who went -on before, hewed with incomparable dexterity and precision in the ice. -During the night the temperature fell to 46° below zero (C.) (-47° F. -in the ship), and I do not believe that we could have passed through it -without the help of grog. We drank it as we lay close together muffled up -in our sleeping bag. It was boiling hot, and so strong, that under other -circumstances it must have made us incapable of work, yet in spite of the -grog, we suffered much all through the night from cold and our frozen -clothes. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE COLD. - - -1. THE coldest day we had during this expedition was the 14th of March. -By six o’clock on the morning of that day the Tyrolese and I stood on -the summit of the precipitous face of the Sonklar-Glacier. The others -remained behind to clear the tent of snow, and to bury a small depôt of -provisions in an iceberg which was close at hand. The sun had not yet -risen, though a golden gleam behind the glaciers of Salm Island indicated -his near approach. At last the sun himself appeared, blood-red, glowing -with indistinct outline through the mists, and surrounded with parhelia, -which generally occur when the cold is great. The tops of the high snowy -mountains were first touched with rosy light, which gradually descended -and spread over the icy plains, and the sun like a ball of fire shone at -length clearly through the frosty mist, and everything around seemed on -fire. As the sun even at noon was but a few degrees above the horizon, -this wonderful colouring lasted throughout the day, and the mountains, -whose steepest sides were covered with a frosty efflorescence, shone -like glass in this radiant light. The alcohol thermometer soon after -we came on the glacier fell to 59° 1′ (F.) below zero,[34] and a light -breeze blowing from the interior, which would have been pleasant enough -on a March day in Europe, exposed me, while engaged in the indispensable -work of drawing and measuring, to such danger, that though I worked -under the shelter of my Tyrolese companions as a protection against the -cold, I was constantly compelled to rub my stiffened and benumbed hands -with snow. We had taken some rum with us, and as each took his share, -he knelt down and allowed another to shake it into his mouth, without -bringing the metal cup in contact with his lips. This rum, though it was -strong, seemed to have lost all its strength and fluidity. It tasted like -innocent milk, and its consistence was that of oil. The bread was frozen -so hard that we feared to break our teeth in biting it, and it brought -blood as we ate it. The attempt to smoke a cigar was a punishment rather -than an enjoyment, because the icicles on our beards always put them -out, and when we took them out of our mouths they were frozen. Even the -shortest pipes met the same fate. The instruments I used in surveying -seemed to burn when I touched them, and the medals which my companions -wore on their breasts felt like hot iron. - -[Illustration: ON THE SONKLAR-GLACIER.] - -2. The phenomena of cold which we had the opportunity of observing -during this journey, and which I immediately recorded, will perhaps -justify a short break in my narrative while I attempt to describe them. -The horrors of a Scythian winter are an ancient belief, and it used to -be counted wisdom to shun the zones where men were frozen, as well as -the zones where men were scorched. But it has been assumed, with great -exaggeration, that a hot climate makes men sensual and timid, while a -cold climate renders them virtuous and bold. There is far more truth in -the opinion held by some observers, and especially by Polar navigators, -that cold is depressing in its influence, and enfeebles the powers of -the will. At first it stimulates to action, but this vigour is quickly -followed by torpidity; exertion is soon succeeded by the desire to rest. -Persons exposed to these alternations of increased action and torpor feel -as if they were intoxicated. From the stiffness and trembling of their -jaws they speak with great effort, they display uncertainty in all their -movements and the stupor of somnambulists in their actions and thoughts. -Most of the circumpolar animals escape, as much as they can, the horrors -of the frost: some migrate; others, burying themselves in holes, sleep -throughout the winter. The fish, which are found in the small pools of -sweet water on the land are frozen in when these pools freeze, and awake -to life and movement again only when the pools are thawed. - -3. The human body, with an inner warmth amounting to 95°-100° F., is -exposed in the wastes of North America and Siberia to frightful cold, -the extremes of which have been noted by many different observers. Back -recorded in Fort Reliance, Jan. 17, 1833, the temperature -67° F.; Hayes, -March 17, 1861, -69° F.; Nevérow, in Jakutzk, Jan. 31, 1838, -74° F.; -Kane, -69° F.; Maclure, Jan. 1853, -73° F.; John Ross, 1831, -56° F.; and -Parry, 1821, -55° F.; while the lowest temperature which has hitherto been -observed in the Alpine countries of Europe is only -24° F. In consequence -of the difficulty of observing the extremes of cold, lower temperatures -than these can scarcely ever have been registered. - -4. In order to illustrate the effect of an extraordinarily low -temperature on the human frame, the best point to start from is the -imagination of a man exposed without clothes to its influence. At 37° or -50° (C.) of cold a misty halo would encompass him, the edges of which -would have, under certain circumstances, the colours of the rainbow. -It is evident that the moisture of the body rapidly coming forth and -becoming visible in the cold air would cause this mist, which would -decrease with the heat of the body, and disappear on the death of the -frozen man. The purpose of clothing is to counteract as much as possible -this twofold loss of warmth and moisture, which is the principal cause -of the fearful Arctic thirst. But even clothed men exposed to so low -a temperature present a strange appearance. When they are dragging a -sledge on the march their breath streams forth like smoke, which is soon -transformed into a mass of needles of ice, almost hiding their mouths -from view; and the snow on which they tread steams with the heat which it -receives from the snow beneath. The countless crystals of ice, which fill -the air and reduce the clearness of day to a dull yellow twilight, make -a continual rustling noise; their fall in the form of fine snow-dust, -or their floating as frosty vapour, is the cause of that penetrating -feeling of damp which is so perceptible when the cold is intense, and -which receives accretions from the vapours issuing from the open places -of the sea. Notwithstanding all this, there is an indescribable dryness -in the atmosphere, strongly contrasting with the feeling of dampness. -Heavy clouds are impossible; the heavens are covered only by mists, -through which the sun and the moon, surrounded by halos, glow blood-red. -Falls of snow, as we understand the expression, altogether cease; the -snow crystals, under the influence of cold, are so minute as to be -almost invisible. The land, the real home and source of cold, acts as -the great condenser of vapour, and snow and moisture of every kind, and -lies under a deep covering of frozen snow till the colour of its walls -and precipices reappears in April. The soil, in the stricter sense of -the word, is frozen as hard as iron wherever it appears through the -snow, and the mean temperature of Franz-Josef Land (about 3° F.) makes -it highly probable, that the frost penetrates to the depth of a thousand -feet. Great cold, calm weather, and clear atmosphere combined, are the -characteristics of the interior of Arctic countries. The nearer we -approach the sea, the rarer is this combination. Light breezes sometimes -occur with a temperature 37° (C.) below zero,[35] but the atmosphere is -then less transparent. - -5. It is well known that sound is propagated far more freely in -Polar regions than with us. When the cold was great, we could hear -conversations, carried on in the usual tone of voice, distinctly at the -distance of several hundred paces. Parry and Middendorf both assert that -the voice is more audible at a distance in cold weather. The propagation -of sound seems to find less hindrance from the irregular masses of ice -and cushions of snow, than from the curtains of our woods and the carpets -of our vegetation. In the mountainous districts of Europe many of the -characteristics of Polar regions, besides intense cold, are met with; yet -it is a fact, that the report of a gun can scarcely be heard in those -situations. Cold, however, can scarcely be regarded as the essential -condition of this phenomenon; for the propagation of sound, though in a -less striking degree, may be observed even in the summers there.[36] It -would seem rather that the amount of moisture in the atmosphere has a -more decided influence in the production of this phenomenon. - -6. When the snow becomes hard as rock, its surface takes a granular -consistence like sugar. Where it lies with its massive wreaths frozen in -the form of billows, our steps resound, as we walk over them, with the -sound as of a drum. The ice is so hard that it emits a ringing sound; -wood becomes wonderfully hard, splits, and is as difficult to cut as -bone; butter becomes like stone; meat must be split, and mercury may be -fired as a bullet from a gun.[37] - -7. If cold thus acts on things without life, how much more must it -influence living organisms and the power of man’s will! Cold lowers -the beat of the pulse, weakens the bodily sensations, diminishes the -capacity of movement and of enduring great fatigue. Of all the senses, -taste and smell most lose their force and pungency, the mucous membrane -being in a constant state of congestion and excessive secretion. After -a time a decrease of muscular power is also perceptible. If one is -exposed suddenly to an excessive degree of cold, involuntarily one -shuts the mouth and breathes through the nose; the cold air seems at -first to pinch and pierce the organs of respiration. The eyelids freeze -even in calm weather, and to prevent their closing we have constantly -to clear them from ice, and the beard alone is less frozen than other -parts of the body, because the breath as it issues from the mouth falls -down as snow. Snow-spectacles are dimmed by the moisture of the eyes, -and when the thermometer falls 37° (C.) below zero they are as opaque -as frost-covered windows. The cold, however, is most painfully felt in -the soles of the feet, when there is a cessation of exercise. Nervous -weakness, torpor, and drowsiness follow, which explains the connection -which is usually found between resting and freezing. The most important -point, in fact, for a sledge party, which has such exertions to make at -a very low temperature, is to stand still as little as possible. The -excessive cold which is felt in the soles of the feet during the noon-day -rest is the main reason why afternoon marches make such a demand on the -moral power. Great cold also alters the character of the excretions, -thickens the blood, and increases the need of nourishment from the -increased expenditure of carbon. And while perspiration ceases entirely, -the secretion of the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes is permanently -increased, and the urine assumes almost a deep red colour. At first the -bowels are much confined, a state which, after continuing for five and -sometimes eight days, passes into diarrhœa. The bleaching of the beard -under these influences is a curious fact. - -8. Although theoretically, the fat endure cold better than the lean, in -reality this is often reversed. Somewhat in the same way it might be -argued that the negro would have an advantage over the white man, for -the former as a living black bulb thermometer is more receptive of the -warmer waves of heat. But blackening the face or smearing the body with -grease are experiments which could only be recommended by those who have -never been in a position to try them. The only protection against cold -is clothing carefully chosen, and contrivances to avoid the condensation -of moisture. All articles of dress are made as stiff as iron by the -cold. If one puts off his fur coat and lays it down for a few minutes -on the ground, he cannot put it on again till it be thawed. The fingers -of woollen gloves become as unpliable as if they belonged to mailed -gauntlets, and therefore Arctic travellers, except when engaged in -hunting, prefer to use mittens. - -9. Constant precautions are needed against the danger of frost-bite, -and the nose of the Arctic voyager especially becomes a most serious -charge. But no sooner has its safety been secured, than the hands which -have rubbed it with snow are threatened with the same fate. The ears, -however, are well protected from frost by the hood. Frost-bite, which is -caused by the stoppage of blood in the capillaries, evinces itself by a -feeling of numbness, which, if not immediately attended to, increases to -a state of complete rigidity. Slight cases are overcome by rubbing the -part affected with snow. When the cold is excessive, feeling accompanied -with a prickling sensation only returns after rubbing for hours. Under -all circumstances, freezing water with an infusion of hydrochloric acid -is the best means of restoring circulation. When the frost-bitten member -is immersed in this, it is at once overspread with a coating of ice, -but as the temperature of the water slowly rises the frozen limb is -gradually thawed. The longer persons are exposed to a low temperature, -the greater becomes their sensitiveness under it. Their noses, lips and -hands swell, and the skin on those parts becomes like parchment, cracks, -and is most sensitive to pain from the least breath of wind. In cases of -neglected frost-bite, the violet colour of a nose or hand is perpetuated, -in spite of all the efforts made to banish it. Frost-bites of a more -severe character will not yield to mere rubbings with snow, but should -be treated with the kind of cold bath we have described, continued for -some days. The formation of blisters, the swelling of the parts affected, -great sensitiveness and liability to a recurrence of the malady, are the -consequences. In many cases a sensitiveness to changes of temperature -lasts for several years. Amputation is inevitable in severe and neglected -cases. When circulation has been restored, a mixture of iodine and -collodion—10 grains to an ounce—may, according to the experience of -Dr. Kepes, be advantageously applied to reduce the inflammation which -generally results. - -10. It is remarkable that great heat as well as great cold should -generate the great evil—thirst. It is also remarkable how rapidly the -demoralisation produced by thirst extends when any one of the party -begins to show signs of suffering from it. Habit, however, enables men -to struggle against thirst more successfully than against hunger. Many -try to relieve it by using snow; which is especially pernicious when -its temperature falls considerably below the point of liquefaction. -Inflammation of the mouth and tongue, rheumatic pains in the teeth, -diarrhœa, and other mischiefs, are the consequences, whenever a party -incautiously yields to the temptation of such a momentary relief. It is -in fact a mere delusion, because it is impossible to eat as much snow—say -a cubic foot—as would be requisite to furnish an adequate amount of -water. Snow of a temperature of 37° to 50° (C.) below zero feels in the -mouth like hot iron, and does not quench, but increases thirst, by its -inflammatory action on the mucous membranes of the parts it affects. -The Eskimos prefer to endure any amount of thirst rather than eat snow, -and it is only the Tschuktschees who indulge in it as a relish with -their food, which is always eaten cold. Snow-eaters during the march -were regarded by us as weaklings, much in the same way as opium-eaters -are. Catarrhs of every kind are less frequent in Polar expeditions, and -the chills to which we are exposed by passing suddenly from the cold of -the land journey to the warmer temperature of the ship, have no evil -consequences. It deserves to be investigated whether this arises from the -difference of the amount of ozone in the atmosphere of the respective -latitudes.—Now let us return to our journey. - -11. After crossing over the Sonklar-Glacier and measuring its slight -inclination of 1° 6′, we climbed an elevation to ascertain the most -promising route for penetrating in a northerly direction; and none -seemed better suited than that which lay over its back, which seemed -free from crevasses. But we looked in vain for the fancied paradise of -the interior, which had existed only in our desire to clothe in glowing -colours the Land, from which we had been so long held back. The true -character, however, of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land, so far as it could be -explored in this and the following sledge expeditions, will be the -subject of the next chapter. The accompanying sketch represents a block -of snow, about the height of a man, at the foot of the Sonklar-Glacier, -to which the winds had given a fanlike shape. In the afternoon, after -inspecting the stakes which we had fixed for measuring the motion of the -glacier, we came back to the tent and began our return march to Cape -Tegetthoff and the ship. A cutting wind compelled us to make constant -efforts against frost-bites. With a heavy creaking noise the sledge was -dragged over the hard snow, and to our reduced strength it seemed to be -laden with a double load. The night is generally the hardest part of -such expeditions, and our camping out during the night under the cliffs -of Cape Tegetthoff was especially bitter. Happy was he who, exhausted -by the labour of dragging, fell asleep at once. As usual, we dug a deep -hole in the snow and loosened it as much as possible, so that we might -profit by its property of being one of the worst conductors of heat. In -a short time the inside of the tent was covered with rime frost, and we -ourselves with ice. The tongue only seemed to recover its former mobility -with those who bewailed their loss of knives, stockings, gloves—yea, -of everything, even their place in the tent. They ate their portion of -bear’s flesh much as if they had been chloroformed, and dropping asleep -in their stiffened icy coat of mail, they were awoke by its gradual -thawing, to reiterate without cessation how cold it was; a fact which no -one present was prepared to dispute. The alcohol thermometer stood at --56° F. (-48° on board the ship), and when the warmth produced by the -exercise we had taken and by the effects of supper was gone, the feeling -of cold was so intense that it seemed far more probable that we should -be frozen to death than that we should sleep. The cook therefore received -orders to brew some strong grog, and forthwith six spirit-flames burnt -under the kettle filled with snow; but to make snow of such extreme -coldness boil quickly we should have had to place the kettle over -Vesuvius itself in the height of an eruption. - -[Illustration: BLOCK OF SNOW.] - -12. We now slept without stirring a limb, and about five o’clock in the -morning of the 15th of March we started to compass the twenty miles -which lay between us and the ship in one march, without encountering the -suffering of another night’s camping out in the snow. The weather was -as clear as it is possible to be at a temperature of -52° F., and going -along with a light breeze from the north, we made use of our sledge sail -to such advantage that we reached the gentle ascent of the west point of -Wilczek Island after a march of seven hours. We formed a second depôt of -provisions on the summit of a rocky promontory, whence we discerned with -a telescope the masts and yards of the ship lying behind an iceberg, and -our fears and anxieties lest it should have drifted away in our absence -were dissipated by this glad view. Our return to the ship could no longer -be a matter of choice; it had become a necessity. Lettis had been unable -for some days to take any share in the labour of dragging, and walked -along in shoes made of reindeer hide, on account of his frost-bitten -feet. Haller also wore similar shoes to save his swollen feet; -Cattarinch’s face was frost-bitten, and he too suffered from lameness; -Pospischill, who could no longer wear his shrunk-up fur coat, so suffered -from frost-bite in both hands, that I sent him on to the ship, that -he might have the help of the doctor as soon as possible. It was with -much effort that we made the last six hours’ march; and when at length, -stiff with ice, we passed between the hummocks that lay around the ship, -Weyprecht, Brosch, Orel, and eight sailors came to meet us, who, alarmed -at the inability of Pospischill to speak in answer to their questions, -had set out from the ship in order to find us. - -[Illustration: THE BURIAL OF KRISCH.] - -13. As I entered my berth I heard the hard breathing of our poor comrade -Krisch. For more than a week he had lain without consciousness; yet -death had not come to relieve him. On the afternoon of the 16th of -March a sudden cessation of all sound told us that he was no more! Next -day, his body, placed in a coffin, was brought on deck, and our flag -hoisted half-mast high. On the 19th, when the thermometer was at -13° -F., the body was committed to its lonely grave in the far north. A -mournful procession left the ship, with a sledge, on which rested the -coffin covered with a flag and cross, and wended its way to the nearest -elevation on the shore of Wilczek Island. Silently struggling against -the drifting snow, we marched on, dragging our burden through desolate -reaches of snow, till we arrived, after a journey of an hour and a half, -at the point we sought on the island. Here, in a fissure between basaltic -columns, we deposited his earthly remains, filling up the cavity with -stones, which we loosened with much labour, and which the wind, as we -stood there, covered with wreaths of snow. We read the prayer for the -dead over him who had shared in our sufferings and trials, but who was -not destined to return home with us with the news of our success; and -close by the spot, surrounded with every symbol of death and far from the -haunts of men, we raised as our farewell a simple wooden cross. Our sad -and solemn task done, there rose in our hearts the thought, whether we -ourselves should be permitted to return home, or whether we too should -find our resting-place in the unapproachable wastes of the icy north. -The wind blowing over the stiff and stark elevation where we stood, -covered us all with a thick coating of snow, and caused the appearance of -frost-bite in the faces and hands of some of our party. The decoration -of the grave of our comrade with a suitable inscription was therefore -deferred till the weather proved more favourable. We found considerable -difficulty in returning to the ship through an atmosphere filled with -snow.[38] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND. - - -In now presenting a general view of those parts of Kaiser Franz-Josef -Land which were explored by us, I must be allowed to anticipate the -order of my narrative which describes the subsequent sledge expeditions, -by which our knowledge of the discovered country was so considerably -enlarged. - -1. The country, even in its already ascertained extent, is almost as -large as Spitzbergen, and consists of two main masses—Wilczek Land on the -east, and Zichy Land on the west, between which runs a broad sound called -Austria Sound, extending in a northerly direction from Cape Frankfort -till it forks at the extremity of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, 80° 40′ -N. L. One branch of it, a broad arm running to the north-east—Rawlinson -Sound—we traced as far as Cape Buda-Pesth. Wilczek and Zichy Lands are -both intersected by many fiords, and numerous islands lie off their -coasts. - -2. A continuous surface of ice extends from the one land to the other. -At the time of our exploration, this expanse was formed of ice, for the -most part not more than a year in growth, but crossed in many places -with fissures and broad barriers of piled-up ice. Throughout its whole -extent we saw many icebergs, which we never did in the Novaya Zemlya -seas; whence it is to be inferred that they sail away in a northerly -direction.[39] Our track lay over this ice-sheet. As long as it remains -unbroken, every fiord might serve as a winter harbour; but if it should -break up, not a single locality suitable to form one presented itself -along the coasts we visited, which had no small indentations.[40] - -3. The map of this country, which we present, was designed and -constructed from fifteen observations of latitude, from many observations -made with the azimuth compass, from drawings, and from a system of -triangulation, which, from the nature of the circumstances under which it -was formed,[41] makes no pretensions to absolute exactitude. The heights -of the mountains were determined by the aneroid barometer. Near the ship -a base of 2170·8 metres was measured by Weyprecht and Orel, and connected -trigonometrically with the nearest promontories. This work of theirs -formed the basis of my surveys. - -4. It has always been a principle and a practice with Arctic explorers -to name their discoveries either after the promoters of their special -expeditions, or after their predecessors in the work of discovery. Though -they are never likely to become important to the material interests of -mankind, the naming the lands we discovered after those who promoted our -expedition, was, we considered, the most enduring form by which we could -express our gratitude for their efforts in furtherance of a great idea. -The localities, I may add, were named during the work of surveying. - -5. As I have had the privilege of visiting all the Arctic lands north -of the Atlantic, I have been able to compare them and observe their -resemblances as well as their differences. West Greenland is a high -uniform glacier-plateau; East Greenland is a magnificent Alpine land -with a comparatively rich vegetation and abundant animal life. How and -where the transition between these opposite characters takes place in -the interior is as yet utterly unknown. We may form some notion of -Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya, if we imagine a mountain-range, like that -of the Oetzthal with its glaciers, rising from the level of the sea, -if that level were raised about 9,000 feet. There is more softness, -however, in both these countries than is usual in the regions of the high -north. But Franz-Josef Land has all the severity of the higher Arctic -lands; it appears, especially in spring, to be denuded of life of every -kind. Enormous glaciers extend from the lofty solitudes of the mountains, -which rise in bold conical forms. A covering of dazzling whiteness is -spread over everything. The rows of basaltic columns, rising tier above -tier, stand out as if crystallized. The natural colour of the rocks was -not visible, as is usually the case: even the steepest walls of rock were -covered with ice, the consequence of incessant precipitation, and of the -condensation of the excessive moisture on the cold faces of the rock. -This moisture in a country whose mean annual temperature is about 3° F., -seems to indicate its insular character, for Greenland and Siberia are -both remarkable for the dryness of their cold, and it was singular that -even north winds occasioned a fall of temperature in Franz-Josef Land. In -consequence of their enormous glaciation, and of the frequent occurrence -of plateau forms, the new lands recalled the characteristic features of -West Greenland, in the lower level of the snow-line common to both, and -in their volcanic formation. Isolated groups of conical mountains and -table-lands, which are peculiar to the basaltic formation, constitute the -mountain-system of Franz-Josef Land; chains of mountains were nowhere -seen. These mountain forms are the results of erosion and denudation; -there were no isolated volcanic cones. The mountains, as a rule, are -about 2,000 or 3,000 feet high, except in the south-west, where they -attain the height of about 5,000 feet. - -6. The later Arctic expeditions have established the existence of vast -volcanic formations in the high north, and of very recent deposits -in their depressions. In fact, a vast volcanic zone seems to extend -from East Greenland, through Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen, to -Franz-Josef Land. The geological features of the latter are at any rate -in harmony with those of North-east Greenland. The tertiary Brown-coal -sandstone of East Greenland is also found in Franz-Josef Land, though -Brown-coal itself is met with only in small beds, which, nevertheless, -may be reckoned among the many indications that the climate of Polar -lands must once have been as genial as the climate of Central Europe at -the present day. The kind of rock which predominates is a crystalline -aggregation called by the Swedes “Hyperstenite” (Hypersthene), identical -with the Dolerite of Greenland; but the Dolerite of Franz-Josef -Land is of a coarser-grained texture, and of a dark yellowish green -colour; according to Professor Tschermak (the Director of the Imperial -Mineralogical Museum at Vienna), it consists of Plagioclase, Augite, -Olivine, titaniferous Iron and ferruginous Chlorite. The mountains of -this system forming table-lands, with precipitous rocky sides, give to -the country we discovered its peculiar physiognomy. - -7. The Dolerite of Franz-Josef Land greatly resembles also the Dolerite -of Spitzbergen. After the return of the expedition I saw in London some -photographic views of the mountains of North-East Land, Spitzbergen, -taken by Mr. Leigh-Smith, and I was at once struck with the resemblance -between their forms and those of Franz-Josef Land. I learnt also from -Professor Nordenskjöld, the celebrated explorer of Spitzbergen, as -I passed through Sweden, that the rock of North-East Land was this -same Hyperstenite (Hypersthene). Hence the geological coincidence of -Spitzbergen and Franz-Josef Land would seem to be established; and this -geological affinity, viewed in connection with the existence of lands -more or less known, appears to indicate that groups of islands will be -found in the Arctic seas on the north of Europe, as we know that such -abound in the Arctic seas of North America. Gillis’ Land and King Karl’s -Land are, perhaps, the most easterly islands of the Spitzbergen group; -for it is not probable that these and the lands we discovered form one -continuous uninterrupted whole. - -8. Amygdaloids, so common in Greenland, were never found by us in -Franz-Josef Land; and while the rocks in the southern portions of the -country were often aphanitic and so far true basalt, in the north -they were coarse-grained and contained Nepheline. The other rocks -consisted of a whitish quartzose sandstone, with a clayey cement, and -of another finely-grained sandstone, containing small granules of -quartz and greenish-grey particles of chlorite, and also of yellowish -finely-laminated clay slate. Erratics, so far as my opportunities -permitted me to judge, were of rare occurrence; but we found many -smaller pieces of petrified wood, allied to lignite. - -9. Some of the islands of the Spitzbergen and Franz-Josef Land group must -be of considerable extent, because they bear enormous glaciers, which -are possible only in extensive countries. Their terminal precipices, -sometimes more than 100 feet high, form generally the coast-lines. The -colour of all the glaciers we visited inclined to grey, we seldom found -the dull green-blue hue; the granules of their ice were extraordinarily -large; there were few crevasses; and the moraines were neither large -nor frequent. Their movement was slow; and the snow-line commences at -about 1,000 feet above the level, whereas on the glaciers of Greenland -and Spitzbergen the like limit is generally 2,000 or even 3,000 feet, -and in these countries also, all below that line is free from snow in -summer. Franz-Josef Land, on the contrary, appears even in summer to be -buried under perpetual snow, interrupted only where precipitous rock -occurs. Almost all the glaciers reach down to the sea. Crevasses, even -when the angle of inclination of the glacier is very great, are much -less frequent than in our Alps, and in every respect the lower glacier -regions of Franz-Josef Land approach the character of the _névés_ of our -latitudes. There only was it possible to determine the thickness of the -annual deposits of snow and ice. In these lower portions, the layers were -from a foot to a foot-and-a-half thick; fine veins, about an inch wide, -of blue alternating with streaks of white ice ran through them, which -occurred with peculiar distinctness at the depth of about a fathom. On -the whole, this peculiar structure of alternating bands or veins was not -so distinctly marked as it is in the glaciers of the Alps, because the -alternations of temperature and of the precipitations are very much less -in such high latitudes. - -10. The glacier ice of Franz-Josef Land was far less dense than the -glacier ice of East Greenland; whence it appears that movement, as a -factor in the structure of the glacier, predominates in Franz-Josef-Land -more than the factor of regelation. Even at the very end of the glaciers, -granules an inch long are distinctly traceable in its layers, and in -the _névé_ region especially the glacier ice is exceedingly porous. The -great tendency of the climate of Franz-Josef Land to promote glaciation -is manifested in the fact, that all the smaller islands are covered with -glaciers with low rounded tops, so that a section through them would -present a regular defined segment of a circle; hence many ice-streams -descending from the summits of the plateaus spread themselves over the -mountain-slopes and need not to be concentrated in valleys and hollows -in order to become glaciers. Yet many glaciers occur—the Middendorf -Glaciers, for example—whose vertical depth amounts to many hundred -feet. Their fissures and the height of the icebergs show this. It was -unfortunately impossible for us to explore the Dove Glacier, the largest -of all we saw, owing to its great distance from the line of our route. -Evaporation from the surface of the glacier goes on with great intensity -during those summer months when the daylight is continual, and deep -water-courses show that streams of thaw-water then flow over it. - -11. The comparison of the temperature of the air within the crevasses -of the glaciers with the external air, invariably proved, that within -the crevasses the temperature was higher. The traces of liquefaction in -the glacier during winter, arising from the warmth of the earth, could -not be observed, because the sides and under-edge of the glaciers were -inaccessible from the enormous masses of snow, and the icicles of the -terminal arches and precipices could be ascribed only to the freezing of -the thaw-water of the preceding summer. - -12. The plasticity of the glaciers was so great, that branches of them, -separated by jutting-out rocks, flowed into each other again at their -base, without showing any considerable crevasses. We could only in a -few cases judge of their movement by direct measurement, and we had -never more than one day to test it. One observation made on the Sonklar -Glacier in the month of March did not seem to support the notion of the -advance of the glaciers; but the repetition of similar experiments, some -weeks later, made on two glaciers on the south of Austria Sound, gave -the mean of two inches as the daily movement. It is very probable that -their movement begins in the Arctic regions somewhat later than in our -latitudes, perhaps at the end of July or beginning of August, because the -period of the greatest liquefaction then ends, while it is at its minimum -in March and the beginning of April. The signs of glacier-movement -were apparent in the detachment of icebergs in the month of March, but -more frequently in the month of May—as at the Simony Glacier—and in the -crashing-in of the ice-sheet at their base in the month of April—as at -the Middendorf Glacier; and the appearance of “glacier dirt,” where -there is no material to furnish a moraine,—as on the Forbes Glacier—must -be regarded as a sign of its onward movement or lateral extension. The -infrequency of moraines may be explained by the resistance which Dolerite -offers to weathering, and may also be regarded as a sign of the slow -movement of the glaciers. Red snow was seen once only, in the month of -May, on the precipices westward of Cape Brünn. We never met with glacier -insects, although they are common in Greenland; and however diligently -I looked for them I never saw unmistakable traces of the grinding and -polishing of rocks by glacier action. - -13. It is well known that the north-east of Greenland as well as Novaya -Zemlya and Siberia are slowly rising from the sea, nay, that all the -northern regions of the globe have for ages participated in this -movement. It was, therefore, exceedingly interesting to observe the -characteristic signs of this upheaval in the terraced beaches, covered -with débris containing organic remains along the coast of Austria Sound. -The ebb and flow, which elevates and breaks up the bay-ice only at the -edge, is to be traced on the shores of Austria Sound by a tidal mark of -two feet. - -14. The vegetation was everywhere extremely scanty, crushed, not so -much by the intensity of the cold as by its long continuance, and is -far below the vegetation of Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Novaya Zemlya. -It resembled, not indeed in species but in its general character, the -vegetation of the Alps at an elevation of 9,000 or 10,000 feet, while the -Alpine region corresponding to the vegetation of East Greenland lies a -thousand feet lower. We found neither the stunted birches and willows, -nor the numerous phænogamous plants of East Greenland, Spitzbergen, and -Novaya Zemlya. The rare appearance of soil chiefly contributes to this -extremely sparse vegetation, the detritus of the country resembling -the meagre “dirt” layer on an old moraine, here and there enlivened -by a small patch of green. Although we visited Franz-Josef Land at the -season in which vegetation begins to stir, nowhere could there be seen -a patch of sward, even a few feet square, to recall the features of our -latitudes, although we examined depressions very favourably situated -and free from snow. Some level spots showed patches of thin meagre -grasses of _Catabrosa algida_ (Fries), a few specimens of _Saxifraga -oppositifolia_ and of _Silene acaulis_, rarely _Cerastium alpinum_ or -_Papaver nudicale_ (L.). Thick, cushion-like tufts of mosses were more -frequently discovered. There were abundance of lichens: _Imbricaria -stygia_ (Acharius), _Buellia stigmatea_ (Körber), _Gyrophora anthracina_ -(Wulfen), _Cetraria nivalis_ (Acharius), _Usnea melaxantha_ (Acharius), -_Bryopogon jubatus_ (Körber), _Rhizocarpon geographicum_ (Körber), -_Sporastatia Morio_ (Körber)—and the _Umbilicaria arctica_ of winter, -which we found in Greenland at an elevation of 7,000 feet. These -specifications I owe to the kindness of Professor Fenzl, director of -the Botanical Garden in Vienna, and of Professor Reichhardt. The museum -of this institution accepted the small collection of plants I was -able to bring to Europe. Of some of these there remained nothing but -withered roots, so that it was impossible to determine their character. -Nature in those regions, unable to deck herself with the colours of -plants, produces an imposing effect by her rigid forms, and in summer -by the glare of the ice and snow; and as there are lands which are -stifled by the excess of Nature’s gifts and blessings, so as even to -defy efforts of civilization, here in the high North another extreme -is displayed—absolute barrenness and nakedness, which render it quite -uninhabitable. - -15. Drift-wood, chiefly of an old date, we frequently found, but in -small quantities. On the shore of Cape Tyrol, we once saw a log of pine -or larch one foot thick and several feet long, lying a little above the -water-line, and which might have been driven thither by the wind, as the -_Tegetthoff_ was. The fragments of wood we found—the branches on which -showed that they did not come from a ship—were of the pine genus (_Pinus -picea_, Du Roy), and must have come from the southern regions of Siberia, -as the large broad rings of growth showed. - -16. Franz-Josef Land is, as may be supposed, entirely uninhabited, and we -never came on any traces of settlements. It is very questionable whether -Eskimos would have been able to find there the means of subsistence, and -if anywhere most likely on the western side of Wilczek Island, where an -“ice-hole” of considerable extent remained open for a great part of the -year. - -17. In the southern parts it is destitute of every kind of animal life, -with the exception of Polar bears and migratory birds. North of Lat. -81°, the snow bore numberless fresh tracks of foxes, but though their -footmarks were imprinted on the snow beyond the possibility of mistake, -we never saw one. Once we found their excrements, and on Hohenlohe Island -those of an Arctic hare. The scanty vegetation forbade the presence of -the reindeer and musk-ox. It is not, however, impossible that there may -be reindeer in the more westerly parts of the country, which we did not -visit. The character of that particular region approximates to that of -King Karl’s Land and Spitzbergen, on the pastures of which herds of these -animals live and thrive. - -[Illustration: LIPARIS GELATINOSUS.] - -18. Of the great marine Mammalia, seals only (_Phoca grœnlandica_ and -_Phoca barbata_) abounded; although we saw some White Whales. Walruses -we saw twice, but not close to the shore; it is, however, probable that -the absence of open water prevented us from seeing the walrus nearer the -shore, for the character of the sea-bottom would present no obstacle to -its existence. - -19. Of fish we saw only the species _Liparis gelatinosus_ (Pallas) and a -kind of cod (_Gadus_), which were taken with the drag-net. - -20. The birds, which we found in the region between Novaya Zemlya -and Franz-Josef Land were of the following species:—the long-tailed -Robber Gull (_Lestris_, K.); the black Robber Gull without the long -tail-feathers; the Burgomaster Gull (_Larus Glaucus_, B.); the Ice or -Ivory Gull (_Larus eburneus_); the Kittiwake (_Rissa tridactyla_, L.); -the Sea-swallow (_Sterna macrura_, N.); the Arctic Petrel or Mallemoke -(_Procellaria glacialis_); Ross’s Gull (_Rhotostetia rosea_); two species -of Auks (_Uria arra_, P., and _Uria mandtii_, L.); the Greenland Dove -(_Grylle columba_, Bp.); the Rotge (_Mergulus alle_, V.); the Lumme -(_Mormon arcticus_); the Eider-duck (_Somateria mollisima_, L.); the -Snowy Owl (_Strix nivea_); the Iceland Knot (_Tringa canutus_); the -Snow-bunting (_Plectrophanes nivalis_, M.). Most of these occurred also -on the coasts of Franz-Josef Land. - -21. We can here only allude generally to those forms of animal life which -were taken by the drag-net on the south of Franz-Josef Land, and brought -to Europe in the collection of Dr. Kepes, and of which I made seventy-two -drawings. To Professor Heller, of Innspruck, and Professor Marenzeller, -of Vienna, the expedition is indebted for the naming and arrangement of -those specimens, and while I refer my readers to their fuller account -in the _Mittheilungen_ of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, -I limit myself here to a few of the results of their observations. -The investigation of the invertebrate Fauna of the sea through which -we passed was necessarily limited from the moment that the course of -the _Tegetthoff_ ceased to be under our control. We had, in the first -place, no zoologist on board, and from the drifting ship nothing more -could be done than letting down the net almost daily during the weeks of -summer—which Lieutenant Weyprecht did—and dragging it for some hours. -The greater part of the animals so taken were immediately sketched by -me, in order that, in the event of the loss of the original objects, -some sort of representation of the animal world of a region never before -investigated might be preserved. The issue justified a caution which must -always be kept in view in Polar expeditions. - -Of the abundant shrimp-family of the Arctic seas there are four species -among the collections we formed, namely:—_Hippolyte payeri_, Heller, -n. sp., _Hippolyte turgida_ (Kröyer), _Hippolyte polaris_ (Sabine), -and _Hippolyte borcalis_ (Owen). The _Hippolyte payeri_ was found at -the depth of 247 metres, and was of a beautiful pink colour and had -blue-black eyes. There were found besides: _Crangou boreas_ and _Pandalus -borealis_ (Kröyer). - -[Illustration: HIPPOLYTE PAYERI.] - -The group of Amphipoda was, comparatively, largely represented -among the Crustacea of the Arctic waters; we often called these -_Floh-krebse_—flea-crabs—because many of them used their hind legs to hop -along. Eleven species of this genus were brought home in our collections; -among these were _Amathillopsis spinigera_, a new species, _Cleïppides -quadricuspis_, also a new species, both described by Professor Heller; -_Acanthozone hystrix_ (Owen), &c. The group—Isopoda—is represented by the -interesting _Munnopsis typica_ (Sars), the _Idothea sabini_ (Kröyer), and -by a new variety, _Paranthura arctica_. - -[Illustration: HYALONEMA LONGISSIMUM.] - -Of the group Pycnogonida, our collection contained three varieties, of -which two are new. - -[Illustration: UMBELLULA.] - -Sponges were common; but we were obliged to leave behind the specimens -of the larger kinds on account of the room they took up. Among the -silicious sponges, those of the genus Hyalonema were the largest in -size, and included the forms described as _Hyalonema boreale_ (Lovèn), -and _Hyalonema longissimum_ (Sars). There was one specimen of the horny -sponge, so rare in those parts. The drag-net often brought up _Actiniæ_, -_Bryareum grandiflorum_ (Sars), and June 2, 1873, from a depth of 110 -fathoms, a specimen of the extremely rare _Umbellula_ described by -Mytius and Ellis, 1753. Since that date this animal had been lost sight -of, until it was found again by the Swedes—Gladans expedition 1871—in -Baffin’s Bay, and by the _Challenger_, 1873, between Portugal and Madeira -and between Prince Edward’s Island and Kerguelen’s Land. It may be -assumed that our Umbellula is identical with the form first described, -1758, by Linnæus as _Isis encrinus_. I regret to say that this, the -most interesting of all the objects we had collected, was left behind -in the _Tegetthoff_. The sketch of it made from life will facilitate a -comparison with the forms known in other regions and variously named. - -[Illustration: KORETHRASTES HISPIDUS.] - -[Illustration: NEPHTHYS LONGISETOSA.] - -Hydroid polypes, widely distributed in several varieties in the Atlantic -Ocean,—_Asteridæ_ and _Ophiuridæ_, the _Korethrastes hispidus_ (Wyv. -Thomson), a new variety discovered by the _Porcupine_ expedition -between the Faroe and Shetland islands, _Crinoidæ_, represented by two -species never before found so far north, and several _Holothuriæ_, were -also among the acquisitions brought home. Our collection was rich in -_Annelides_, containing seven-and-twenty varieties found in Greenland -and Spitzbergen. Fourteen varieties of _Bryozoa_ were found, and single -specimens of _Turbellaria_ and _Gephyrea_. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE SECOND SLEDGE EXPEDITION.—AUSTRIA SOUND. - - -1. The first sledge journey enabled me to draw up a plan for a more -extended expedition towards the north. It was not only a cherished -scheme of my own, but it became also the dominating interest on board -the _Tegetthoff_, although the other scientific investigations were -carried on uninterruptedly. Weyprecht and Brosch continued with admirable -perseverance the laborious observation of the Magnetic Constants, -and measured on the ice close to the ship a base of 2170·8 metres, -which served for all my trigonometrical surveys. The meteorological -observations also were carried on with the usual regularity. - -2. For some days the weather had been bad; its increasingly stormy -character excited our fears, lest the ice should break up and the floe -drift away with the ship. The danger of leaving her, in order to explore -the extent of the new country, increased also with the longer duration -of our proposed second journey. We were convinced, too, that the sea -within a few days had broken up the ice almost as far as Wilczek Island, -and a heavy water-sky was seen in the south at no great distance from -us. Discoveries of importance could only be expected from an expedition -of a month’s duration. But withal the venture must be made, and leaving -the dangers and perils to the chances of the future, I gathered together -the picked men who were to accompany me, to lay before them my plans. I -explained to them my design of penetrating in a northerly direction as -far as possible, and I put before them the danger of our being cut off -from the ship. But while I showed the perils, I stimulated them also by -the hope of reward. If the eighty-first degree of latitude were reached, -I guaranteed to them the sum of £100; if we attained the eighty-second -degree, £250; and I declared that merit, and merit alone, should regulate -the distribution of these sums. In order to make sure of reticence on -the part of my company and thus obviate ill-feeling among the rest of -the crew, which might easily have been called forth by this apparent -preference, they were told that the rewards would be forfeited, if any -of those who stayed behind in the ship should hear of these rewards. The -assembled company agreed also to my request never to mention dangers -during the journey, and, in the event of our not finding the ship on our -return, to take the whole blame of such an issue on our own shoulders. -With regard to the rewards, I must add that never was a secret better -kept. Immediately began on board a packing, a tailoring, a preparation as -if for a campaign, and under the tent-roof of the ship the rusty runners -of the sledges were polished, till they were as smooth as glass. - -3. Before we started, there was an interesting interruption in the -monotony of our lives, occasioned by a family of bears. While we were -absent in our first journey a bear had been shot from the ship, and -little Pekel had been wounded in the neck. On the 19th of March another -bear came close to us, which was scared away after some unsuccessful -shots had been fired at it. Three days afterwards a she-bear appeared -accompanied by her two cubs, of a darker colour than their mother, -rolling on after her. It was exceedingly interesting to watch the -actions of this family. The mother frequently stopped and snuffed the -air with uplifted snout; then she would lick her cubs, who fondly crept -up to their mother, behaving exactly like young poodles, which they -also resembled in size. Six shots were fired at seventy paces distance, -and the mother-bear, after running for about forty paces, fell dead. -Amazed at the reports of the rifles and the actions of their mother, -the little bears sat as if they were rooted in the snow, and looked -with astonishment at the dark forms which rushed out from the ship. One -of them suffered itself to be shaken by Pekel; and only when they were -seized by the nape of the neck and carried on board did they seem to -entertain the least surmise of mischief. At first they were shut up -separately in casks set on their end, and growled long and impatiently -till they were put together in the same cask. Sumbu alone was slow -to understand our suddenly-excited pity for his hereditary foes, and -scratched and barked at the cask for hours together, while the cubs -growled and threatened retaliation with their little paws. After looking -at this for some time, Gillis was moved to side with the bears, and a -battle ensued between him and Sumbu, in which the latter got the worst -of it. The little animals afforded us much amusement, and the crew were -seriously considering the feasibility of training them to draw in the -sledge, in the meditated return expedition to Europe. They ate bread, -sauerkraut, bacon—in short, everything that was given them. One morning, -however, the little rascals eluded the eye of the watch and got away. -They were immediately caught and killed, and appeared roasted on our -dinner-table. - -[Illustration: THE DOGS DIFFER AS TO THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG BEARS.] - -4. On the 25th of March our preparations for the extended journey -northwards were brought to an end. The sledge with its load weighed about -14 cwt. - - lbs. - The large sledge 150 - The dog sledge 37 - The provisions, including packing 620 - The tent, sleeping bags, tent-poles, alpine stocks 320 - Alcohol and rum 128 - Fur coats and fur gloves 140 - Instruments, rifles, ammunition, shovel, two cooking-machines, - drag-ropes, dog-tent, &c. 170 - ---- - Total 1565 - -Each of the four sacks of provisions—calculated for seven days and -seven men—contained 51 lbs. of boiled beef, 48 lbs. of bread, 8 lbs. of -pemmican, 7 lbs. of bacon, 2 lbs. of extract of meat, 4 lbs. of condensed -milk, 2 lbs. of coffee, 4 lbs. of chocolate, 7 lbs. of rice, 3 lbs. of -grits, 1 lb. of salt and pepper, 2 lbs. of peas-sausage, 4 lbs. of sugar, -besides a reserve bag with 20 lbs. of bread. We took boiled beef for -the dogs. We counted also on the produce of our guns as a considerable -supplement both for ourselves and them. - -5. The sledge party consisted of myself, Orel, Klotz and Haller, and -of three sailors, Zaninovich, Sussich, and Lukinovich; and we had with -us three dogs, Jubinal, Torossy, and Sumbu, and men and dogs together -dragged the large sledge. The duties were thus divided: Zaninovich -managed the packing and the giving out of the spirit and rum, Haller -served out the provisions, Klotz attended to the dogs and the arms, -Sussich was responsible for keeping everything in working order, and -at night Lukinovich acted as a wind-protector close to the door of the -tent. We started on the morning of the 26th of March with the thermometer -6° F. below zero, and amid snow driving from the north-west. For some -distance we were accompanied by Weyprecht and the rest of the crew. We -had scarcely gone a thousand paces from the ship, before the snow began -to drive to such an extent, that we could scarcely see our comrades close -to us and keep together. As it was impossible to go on until the storm -laid, we preferred, instead of returning to the _Tegetthoff_, which would -have been the simpler course, to erect the tent out of sight of the ship -behind some ice-hummocks, and pass twenty-four hours in it. Our only -employment except sleeping was to thaw the snow, which filled our clothes -and especially our pockets. On the 27th of March (the thermometer -varying between 2° and 22° F. below zero) we continued our journey amid a -slight fall of snow, and made an early start, in order that our halt of -yesterday should remain unknown to the crew of the ship. When we reached -the south-eastern point of Wilczek Island we lost sight of the ship, and -the driving snow with a falling thermometer increased to such an extent, -that Sussich’s hands were frost-bitten, and we were compelled to halt -for an hour to rub them with snow. Starting again, we all ran the risk -of having our faces frost-bitten, meeting as we did a strong wind. The -heavily-laden sledge, too, compelled us to make such exertions that our -faces were bathed in perspiration. On the 28th of March the wind fell to -a calm, and as we passed over the Sound between Salm and Wilczek Islands -in a north-westerly direction we advanced at the rate of eighty paces -a minute. The track, which we followed, consisted partly of bay-ice a -year old and partly of old floes, these together forming a continuous -surface, here and there broken by barriers of hummocks, miles in length, -due to ice-pressures. After we had passed the headlands south-west of -Salm Island, we came in sight of the Wüllersdorf mountains, which we had -hitherto seen only from a great distance, hoping from their summits to -determine the route which we should take northwards. - -6. At the distance of some miles right ahead of us lay several rocky -islands, with their outlines scarcely discernible owing to the dull thick -state of the atmosphere; but as they lay in the direction of our course, -we made for them. We now passed some icebergs and saw on their southern -sides the first signs of the process of liquefaction—new icicles. By and -by a wind from the south-west set in, raising the temperature gradually -to 6° F. and bringing with it fogs and then heavy snow-storms. Covered -with snow and running before the wind with a large sledge-sail set, we -came under the glacier-walls of Salm Island, among icebergs frozen fast -together, trudging along through wind and whirling snow. Occasionally -the wind was so strong, that the sail alone sufficed to impel the heavy -sledge, while a man in front, guided by a whistle from those behind, kept -it in its proper course. After a march of sixteen hours, the wind having -increased to a storm, which rendered it impossible to keep the track, we -determined to halt. Our clothes appeared to consist of nothing but snow, -our eyes were iced up, and our strength exhausted. In great haste we -erected the tent and took refuge within it; but our misery now properly -began. One scraped the thawing snow from the clothes of another, or -turned inside-out the pockets of his own trousers, filled with dissolving -snow-balls. At last the cooking-machine was lighted, and we began to -steam, and heartily wished that our miseries had arisen from cold instead -of moisture. The temperature in the tent rose at the distance of three -feet from the flame to 80°F., and twenty minutes after the production -of this artificial heat it fell seven degrees below zero. Early in the -morning of the 29th of March (Palm Sunday) the wind abated and the -temperature rose to 24·5°F., so that it began to rain in the tent as we -were preparing our breakfast. During the march of that day we ascended -the rocky heights of Koldewey Island, at the foot of which we had put up -the tent for the purpose of surveying. These rocks consisted of Dolerite, -over-spread with a close network of Lichens (_Cetraria nivalis_) and in -the clefts we found _Silene acaulis_. - -7. From the summit of this island we suddenly beheld, in the field -of view of the telescope of the theodolite, a bear, which had seized -Torossy and severely wounded him. But almost immediately again the -bear disappeared in the snow, and when we came to the place of his -disappearance, we discovered the winter retreat of a family of bears. It -was a cavity hollowed out in a mass of snow lying under a rocky wall. The -bear had shown herself only once, but resisted all our efforts to seduce -her to leave the shelter she had chosen, nor had we any special desire to -creep on all fours into the narrow dark habitation. Sumbu only was bold -enough to follow her, but he too saw things which led him to return very -quickly. From the snow which had been thrown up at the entrance of this -hole, we inferred that this had been the work of the bear in her efforts -to close the approach to her abode. It was the first time that we came -upon a family of bears in their winter quarters, or had the chance of -adding anything to our scanty knowledge as to the winter sleep of those -animals. Middendorff does not admit that they sleep during the winter; -he considers the bear far too lean to be able to do so. According to Dr. -Richardson it is only pregnant females who hibernate in a snow-hole, -while the males roam over the Arctic seas in search of places free from -ice. - -[Illustration: THE WINTER HOLE OF A BEAR.] - -8. As we advanced further, we went round Schönau Island[42] so remarkable -for its columnar structure and environed by ice which had been raised up -by pressure. In a cleft of its precipitous rocky walls we buried a depôt -of provisions and a supply of alcohol for two days, together with some -articles of clothing, covering them up with four feet of snow. We could -not, however, conceal from ourselves the danger of placing a depôt within -sight of a bear’s hole, and greatly deplored that we were not able, like -the fox in the fable, to obliterate the marks of our footsteps. Towards -evening the temperature fell to -10° F., and the tent was frozen as stiff -as a board. On the 30th of March the temperature fell to -22° F., and a -strong north wind was blowing as we came out of the tent, and curling -billows of snow, reddened by the rising sun, rolled round us, hiding from -us at last even the sun himself. A march in the teeth of a wind at so -low a temperature is quite useless and only exposes to the great danger -of frost-bite. This was now clearly seen when, the tent being taken down -as usual immediately after breakfast, the laggards, imperfectly clad, -faced the wild weather. One was binding a stocking round his face with -his braces, because his frozen fingers would not permit him to button on -his nose-band and wind-guard; another had put on reindeer shoes instead -of boots after a vain attempt to thaw them; a third had put on the wrong -boot, and I myself was obliged to wind a long rope round my body, because -I was unable to fasten my coat. Such a state of things is opposed to -order and safety, and may degenerate into serious mischief. There was -nothing for it therefore but to set up the tent again and to get back -into our sleeping-bag. But the damp tent was frozen hard, and we felt -much as if we were lying between two plates of cold metal. It would be -difficult to say whether we suffered more from cold than from vexation. -Zaninovich spread the sail over us, and shovelled down the snow from the -walls of the tent;—who could be so serviceable as this comrade of ours, -who on every occasion displayed such hardihood against cold? Orel and I -made vain attempts to shorten the time by reading a volume of Dessing -which we had brought with us; but we soon renounced the effort, finding -that we could not fix our attention in such a situation. We had some -compensation, however, in the amusement of listening to the Dalmatians -learning to speak German with Klotz, who was far from the weakness of -uttering a single word in Italian. As usual, when the weather was bad, -the dogs gathered close to the wind-sheltered side of our tent. Sumbu -forcing himself in among us had to be driven out, for he growled if he -had the faintest suspicion that we meant to move or to smoke; but failing -to make himself comfortable among the other dogs, he avenged himself by -again rushing in among us, shaking the snow from his coat, and forced us -to admit him. - -[Illustration: LIFE IN THE TENT.] - -9. On the 31st of March, the weather having cleared, we continued our -journey northwards, halting as usual at noon to refresh ourselves with -soup. We measured the meridian altitude of the sun with a theodolite, -and surveyed and sketched our surroundings. When we came to 80° 16′ N.L. -we found a broad barrier of hummocks piled one upon another. This was -succeeded by older ice, whose undulating surface was broken by numerous -icebergs and high black basaltic cliffs. Here ended the possibility of -determining the route to be taken; for although there was an opening -between Cape Frankfurt and the Wüllersdorf mountains, we could not enter -it, until we ascertained whether it led northwards. In order to settle -this point Haller and I left the sledge and made a forced march to Cape -Frankfurt, whence we hoped to discover the direction of our course. -Meanwhile Orel and the rest of the party dragged the sledge with great -exertions between hummocks and icebergs towards the north-east. Cape -Frankfurt is a promontory of Hall Island, 2,000 feet high and surrounded -with glaciers. The small difference of level in the sea-ice at the base -of its cliffs showed that the tide did not rise high. Its glaciers flowed -towards Markham Sound and Nordenskjöld fiord. When we arrived at the -summit everything lay steeped in the rosy mists of evening. Flocks of -birds flew from its massive basaltic crown, and as it was evident that -they had not come there to breed, we inferred that open water was not far -off. - -[Illustration: CAPE FRANKFURT, AUSTRIA SOUND, AND THE WÜLLERSDORF -MOUNTAINS.] - -10. Our attention was directed, however, especially to the configuration -of the country, and great was our delight when we beheld beneath us a -broad inlet, which promised to be of considerable extent and to run -towards the north. This inlet was covered with icebergs and could be -traced up to the faint outlines of a distant promontory (Cape Tyrol). -It now appeared certain, that we could reach the eighty-first degree -of latitude on an ice-covered sea, and the measurement of some angles -furnished us with a provisional guidance for penetrating into these -new regions. The coasts of Wilczek Land appeared to run in a northerly -direction, and then to trend gradually to the north-east. At a great -distance below us we saw a dark point moving over the dimly-seen plain -of sea-ice. Its advance was discernible only when for a short time it -disappeared behind an iceberg, and again reappeared. It was Orel with the -large sledge; but neither the snowy mountains bathed in carmine light, -which surrounded our point of view with picturesque effect, nor the -crimson veil spread over them, nor the profound solitude of the wastes -that lay around us, could so rivet our attention as that little point in -which lodged forces apparently so insignificant, but yet made potent by -human will. With pain and toil we descended the mountain in our canvas -boots between steep precipices of ice, and pressed on for six miles in -the rapidly-waning light over hummocky-ice to rejoin our companions, -whose position we had marked by the stars, from the elevation we had -ascended. We reached our friends before midnight and our news excited -great joy. - -11. On the 1st of April (the thermometer marking -20°F.) we penetrated -by Cape Hansa into the newly-discovered passage, which was covered -with heavy ice; I called it Austria Sound. The nearer we approached -the coast of Wilczek Land, the more unquestionable did it appear that -the Wüllersdorf mountains extended far into the interior; but it would -have cost more time than the attempt was worth to ascend them. The -latitude taken at noon was 80° 22′. Nothing can be more exciting than the -discovery of new countries. The combining faculty never tires in tracing -their configuration, and the fancy is restlessly busy in filling up the -gaps of what is as yet unseen, and though the next step may destroy its -illusions, it is ever prone to indulge in fresh ones. Herein lies the -great charm of sledge expeditions, as compared with the tiresome monotony -of life on board ship—a charm which is only then diminished when we -have to wander for days over wastes of snow, with the coasts at such a -distance, that they do not change sufficiently rapidly, or leave scope -for indulging in surmises and fancies of what is coming. The discomforts -incident to this mode of travelling are in this case doubly felt. The -sledge is dragged with great difficulty in the hours of the early -morning, for the hard edges of the snow crystals have not yet felt the -smoothing effects of evaporation under the power of the sun. The goal -itself appears as if it were never to be reached, because the limited -horizon of the travellers constantly retreats. Thirst and languor then -set in. The small quantity of water which we were able to prepare during -the march had no more effect than a drop on a plate of hot iron. Klotz -felt unwell to-day, and cured himself by swallowing his ration of rum at -one gulp. Even the dogs seemed languid, and crept along with drooping -heads and their tails between their legs. - -12. The land on our right was a monotonous waste of ridges and terraces -of parallel raised beaches, partially covered with snow. Following its -line as we marched onwards, we passed iceberg after iceberg. Towards -evening I ascended one of these, and made the joyful discovery that -Austria Sound stretched in a northerly direction at least as far as a -cape—afterwards called Cape Tyrol. In the midst of my observations Orel -called to me from below that a bear was coming near us. We awaited his -approach with the greed of cannibals, for his flesh would be priceless -while we were making such great exertions and had only the insufficient -nourishment of boiled beef. I promised Haller and Klotz the bear-money -of 30 gulden, usual in Tyrol, if the bear should be bagged. The animal -received three shots at the same moment and at first stood stock still, -but then began to drag himself slowly off. We rushed after him, and to -save our cartridges struck him with the butts of our rifles, and finished -him by thrusting our long knives into his body. We appropriated 50 lbs. -of his flesh to our own use, and gave the rest of his carcase to the -dogs, and deposited 50 lbs. of boiled beef on the iceberg, close by which -we erected our tent. - -13. On the 2nd of April (the thermometer marking -11 F.) we again started -with renewed vigour, though in the face of a strong north wind. I myself -left the sledge in order to examine the raised beach for some distance. -It was for the most part bare of snow, and exhibited laminæ of brown-coal -sandstone amid the Dolerite. Close beside the scanty remains of some -drift-wood, I was surprised to find a circle of large stones resembling -those erections which I had seen in East Greenland in deserted Eskimo -villages. As, however, there were no other marked traces of former -settlements, this circle of stones was no doubt something accidental. -The magnitude of Franz-Josef Land seemed to grow before our eyes, as we -saw the broad Markham Sound opening up towards the west, and ranges of -high mountains stretching away towards Cape Tyrol. The coasts abounded in -fiords, and glaciers were everywhere to be seen. Wilczek Land disappeared -under ice-streams, and only reappeared again in the rocky heights of Cape -Heller and Cape Schmarda, opposite Wiener-neustadt Island. In the evening -we reckoned that we had reached latitude 80° 42′. - -14. On the 3rd of April (the thermometer standing at -9° F.) we should -have reached Cape Tyrol, had not snow-storms from the south kept us -in the afternoon in our tent: a delay with which Lukinovich was by no -means displeased, for this being Good Friday he had counted on a day of -complete rest,—for our friend Lukinovich was prone to turn his eyes to -heaven, spoke constantly of the saints, could mention their festivals -as they occurred in the calendar; but, alas! was a snow-eater, and -could march not a whit better than Falstaff. On the 4th of April the -temperature, with constant driving storms of snow from the south, rose -from -4° to 23° F.; and the snow accumulated to such an extent even in -the tent, that it had to be shovelled out. It was towards the afternoon -before we could continue our march, the delay made being not so much on -account of the cold, as from dread of the moisture. Our start proved, -however, useless, for the snow began to drive so furiously, that, as -we dragged, those behind could scarcely see the men in front. We again -travelled by the compass and used our sledge-sail; but we constantly -deviated from the right course, though we pressed on, passing Cape -Tyrol without seeing it, and entered an unknown region in which we were -guided by mere chance—expecting every moment to stumble on a fissure in -the ice or open water. This day we sustained a painful loss—the loss of -my dog Sumbu. For two long years he had been almost our only source of -amusement by his cunning and his impudence. He had long been the rival -of the frolicsome Torossy, in dragging the sledge; and it was often -almost touching to see how at evening he would sink down exhausted in the -snow, in the very spot where he was unharnessed. It cannot well detract -from the merit of such services—and after all they were rendered in the -interests of science!—that they were those of an animal and sprang from -attachment.[43] To this vigorous lively animal, what more natural than -that he should be almost beside himself if in one of these vast solitudes -he should get sight of a living creature? So it happened to-day. A gull -flew over his head, and Sumbu burst away from the sledge. In hot pursuit -of the bird he disappeared from our sight and never returned again. All -our shouts were thrown away. Our track was soon covered over by the -drifting snow, and there cannot be a doubt that our faithful companion, -after wandering about for days, either died of hunger or fell a victim to -a bear. - -[Illustration: HOW SUMBU WAS LOST.] - -15. April 5, after a short rest, we again started about midnight in order -to economize our time (the thermometer being at 19° F.). The weather -had greatly improved. Klotz, who was the first to step out of the tent, -startled us by the information that some high land barred our further -progress. But when we followed him into the open air, we found that Klotz -had looked to the west instead of to the north, and we discovered the -true state of things, that Zichy Land ran on our left in a northerly -direction, while Wilczek Land trended towards the north-east. We pursued, -therefore, our course on the vast icy wastes, over which hung Cape Easter -(81° 1′), and Cape Hellwald shining in the sun, and hoisted the flag on -the sledge to celebrate our passage of the eighty-first degree of north -latitude, and in commemoration of Easter Sunday. - -[Illustration: CAPE EASTER AND STERNEK SOUND.] - -[Illustration: HOW WE RECEIVED BEARS. CAPE TYROL IN THE BACKGROUND.] - -16. During our march, spying us at a great distance, a bear approached us -at a rapid pace, but when he came within forty paces he fell, receiving -three bullets in his head. The accompanying illustration shows how we -received bears when they attacked us on our journey; it represents also -the fine forms of Cape Tyrol in the background. A few hours afterwards, -we observed a she-bear about 400 yards from us, apparently diligent in -burrowing in the snow; but as soon as she got wind of us she suddenly -turned, reared herself on her hind legs, and began to snuff the air. -She then came towards us, but as she advanced she rolled herself over -with evident pleasure on her back several times, then pushed on with -her snout and belly close to the ground, perfectly unconscious of the -three rifles which were levelled at her. At fifty paces distance we -fired, and brought her down. We immediately examined the place where we -had seen her so busy. We did not find poor Sumbu, as we half expected, -but a partially-consumed seal, and close to it a hole in the ice, into -which the creature no doubt would plunge when danger threatened; but -the bear had been sharper and cleverer than the seal, and had probably -seized it when asleep on the ice. Bear-flesh now formed our principal -food, and the sledge was heavily laden with it. We ate it both raw and -cooked, and when the flesh was badly cooked—especially if it were the -flesh of an old bear—it was less palatable than when uncooked. It may -be tolerable food for sea-gulls, but it is a diet hardly fit even for -devils on the fast-days of the infernal regions. Arctic lands certainly -do not furnish delicacies to gratify a refined taste; the best things -they have to offer are coarse and oily, and if ever they are eaten with -relish, it is a relish which comes from hunger alone. The desolate shores -of these lands are truly the very home of hunger, and nowhere else are -the calculations of travellers so much influenced and determined by -the stomach and its needs. Remains or fragments are unknown in Arctic -regions. The dead are consumed by the living, and the living find their -never-ceasing occupation in the toilsome search for food. In my three -Arctic expeditions, I very seldom indeed found the remains of animals, -never the remains of a bear or a fox. The man who visits these wastes -must do homage to the principle of eating everything, and throwing away -nothing. Franklin was unsurpassed in this, but I believe we were little -behind him. Franklin and his people found the flesh of a white fox as -pleasant to the taste as young geese—a proof how entirely they had -forgotten how geese taste. They preferred foxes, too, to lean reindeer; -and they considered the flesh of a grey bear exceedingly palatable, -though even the Eskimos eat it only in dire necessity. Reindeer marrow, -even raw, was to them a great delicacy, and they ate animals in a state -of decomposition. Barentz and his crew were very modest in their tastes; -they compared whale-flesh to beef, and foxes to rabbits, as articles -of diet; bears’ meat they utterly detested. Once only it seems they -partook of the liver of a bear, and three of his men became exceedingly -ill in consequence, their skin peeling off from head to foot. Kane was -prejudiced against bear, notwithstanding the great straits to which he -was reduced, and complains of this food as being absolutely uneatable. -The testimony of Dunér is more favourable. “If,” says he, “a bear has not -been eating walrus or seal in a state of semiputrefaction before he is -killed, his flesh, though somewhat coarse, is yet palatable, and not at -all prejudicial to health.” Parry thought whale-flesh and walrus-flesh -equally distasteful: he makes an exception in favour only of the heart of -the walrus; but he speaks of the tenderness and excellence of the flesh -of young seals. As for ourselves, we disdained nothing that we could get -hold of, after the manner of Sir John Ross, who thought the fox the best -of all food, better than the gull (_Larus tridactylus_). - -[Illustration: DINING ON BEARS’ FLESH.] - -17. The continued moisture of the last few days had completely saturated -our canvas boots; and those of several of us were besides nearly worn -out, and in the morning when completely frozen, to put the foot into one -was as bad as putting it into an ice-hole, so that we were obliged to -thaw them over a spirit-flame, and to knock their heels with a hammer -continually during the march. Sussich had made himself a pair of new -boots out of a cloth jacket. It would, however, be a mistake to think -that we should have been any better off with leather boots. In fact, we -could not have put them on, and in the increasing cold of the following -weeks our feet would certainly have been frost-bitten. Our clothes were -completely saturated in like manner, and whenever the temperature fell -they became stiff with ice. I suffered the least of any, for my bird-skin -garments were the best preservatives against the penetration of moisture. - -18. No kind of snow opposes such hindrances to sledge-dragging as the -snow with the thermometer not much below freezing-point, for at this -temperature it balls. This impediment we now encountered. The air, too, -became oppressively heavy; land and sky were suddenly overspread with -darkness; and, from behind thunderlike clouds, red rays of the sun fell -on the conical mountains of Kane Island. Falls of snow, calms, and -violent gusts of wind rapidly succeeded one another, and just before we -erected our tent it again became clear. Far to the north we saw two white -masses—Becker and Archduke-Rainer Islands, and an extensive inlet—Back -Inlet; but only within Austria Sound could we count on pursuing our -journey northwards without making any détours. On Easter Monday, April -7th (the thermometer varying between 9° and 19° below zero (C.)), we -approached Becker Island; but the atmosphere was on this day so moist and -thick, though without mist in the proper sense, that its existence might -be asserted or disputed according as the light changed; and it was only -when we were not further off than 100 paces that we could be positive -of the existence of land, rising gently at an angle of 1° 7′. Over this -ice-covered island we now dragged, and, full of expectation, mounted its -highest point. To the north lay an indescribable waste, more utterly -desolate than anything I had ever seen, even in the Arctic regions, -interspersed with snow-covered islands, all, big and little, of the same -low, rounded shape. The whole, at a distance, presented the appearance -of a chaos of icehills and icebergs scattered over a frozen sea. One -thing only in this view gave us much satisfaction. Austria Sound still -stretched uninterruptedly towards the north. Could we have forgotten how -the _Tegetthoff_ had drifted towards Franz-Josef Land, that Sound would -have seemed to us the true road to the Pole. Nor could we doubt that in -the immediate north open water would be found, for in no other way could -we interpret the indications we had observed in the course of the last -few days—the great moisture and high temperature, the dark colour of the -northern sky, the frequent flights of Auks, and Divers, grey and white -Gulls, which flew from the north southward, or _vice versâ_. - -19. After crossing Becker Island, we went on again on the frozen sea, -which was rough and undulating for some distance. From behind one of -the hummocks a bear suddenly emerged, and came towards us without any -fear or hesitation, his yellow colour forming a strong contrast with -the gleaming hills of ice. When he was thirty paces off we fired; but -though severely wounded he managed to get away. On the 7th of April (the -thermometer varying between 16° and 25° below zero (C.), and with a light -south-west wind), we passed close to Archduke-Rainer Island, a heavy rime -frost seriously impeding our progress. We were able, however, to turn to -good account the clear sunny weather of this day. We dried our clothes -and tent furniture, spreading them out in the sun over the sledge or -suspending them to its mast and yard. We had almost reached Cape Beurmann -at noon, and having taken our observations, we found our latitude to be -81° 23′. We had consequently gone beyond the latitude reached by Morton; -Hayes only having reached a slightly higher latitude than this. About -this time of the day the horizon towards the north became exceedingly -clear, and the steep rocks of Coburg Island were distinctly visible, -and behind them now rose the faint outlines of mountains—Crown-Prince -Rudolf’s Land. - -20. At this latitude it seemed as if Wilczek Land suddenly terminated, -but when the sun scattered the driving mist we saw the glittering -ranges of its enormous glaciers—the Dove[44] Glaciers—shining down on -us. Towards the north-east we could trace land trending to a cape lying -in the grey distance—Cape Buda Pesth, as it was afterwards called. -The prospect thus opened to us of a vast glacier land, conflicted -with the general impression we had formed of the resemblance between -the newly-discovered region and Spitzbergen; for glaciers of such -extraordinary magnitude presuppose the existence of a country stretching -far into the interior. As it appeared to us that Crown-Prince Rudolf’s -Land and Karl Alexander’s Land formed a continuous whole, we left Austria -Sound and diverged into Rawlinson Sound, and directed our course towards -Cape Rath. It was my intention, if this headland should be reached, to -leave behind the remainder of the party and push on with the dog-sledge -and two companions. We could count on finding deep snow-wreaths behind -the hummocks, and to dig out a snow-house would have been the labour of -an hour for three men. Previous experience had convinced us that such -a night encampment is warmer than the shelter which a tent can afford. -But though we were filled with zeal to extend our discoveries as much -as possible, we now felt that the excessive exertions we had made had -reduced our strength. We had slept on an average but five hours a day, -and marched the rest of the day, or at any rate had been occupied with -all manner of work. Our appetite too had increased with our labours, and -the partaking of bears’ flesh began to tell on some of us. The restricted -use of bread-stuff was especially felt, and the almost exclusive, use of -flesh produced diarrhœa and general debility. Nothing is more prejudicial -to those engaged in extended sledge journeys than great exertion with -insufficient sleep. The urgent reasons we had for losing no time in order -that we might return as soon as possible to the ship, constrained us -to depart from the rule of a ten hours’ sleep to a seven hours’ march -on sledge journeys. In consequence of our persistent adherence to this -principle during our return to Europe after abandoning the _Tegetthoff_, -the labours incident to it were far more easily performed. We did not -lose but gained strength; and some of us even grew stouter during it. - -[Illustration: CUTTING UP THE BEARS.] - -21. On the 8th of April we continued our journey, making an early start -as usual. Our track lay between countless hummocks, some of which were -forty feet high, while the depressions between them were filled with -deep layers of snow, and as we advanced into Rawlinson Sound, high -icebergs towered over a monotonous chaos of ice-forms. The ice resembled -that which surrounded the _Tegetthoff_ during our first winter, and -indicated a periodical, perhaps even an annual, breaking up. There -was nothing, however, to entitle us to infer that Rawlinson Sound was -navigable in summer. Like many of the passages of the northern coast -of North America, Austria and Rawlinson Sounds are too narrow for the -purposes of navigation. They are, however, well calculated for sledge -travelling. For some time we made use of our sledge-sail; but when the -wind shifted to E.S.E., it drove the sledge so much from its true course, -that we took it down. Our noses had become so susceptible, that we were -glad to put on our wind-protectors to save them from frost-bite. Then -followed snow-storms, alternating with brilliant sunshine which, however, -illuminated, partially only, some reaches of the hummocky ice, while the -distant land lay in shadow. It cost us excessive labour to get the sledge -on; we had occasionally to dig a lane for it, and we ran some risk of -breaking it. Our advance was one continual zig-zag, due to the confused -character of the ice on which we travelled and the untrustworthiness of -the compass in high latitudes. It seemed too, as if the declination of -the magnetic needle had considerably diminished since we left the ship. -Our labours were diversified by the visit of a bear, who, when we first -observed him, was standing on the top of one of the many ice-hummocks -about 300 paces distant. He then approached us, as was usually the case, -under the wind, and we at once drew up to receive him. He took no notice -of the bread we had laid down to gain his attention, but still pressed -on till he received three bullets in his head. Notwithstanding this he -ran for about seventy yards and then fell. To make sure, another bullet -was fired into his body, and thinking him dead, we forthwith began to -cut him up; but when his belly was being opened, he raised his head in a -fury, seized the butt-end of my rifle with his teeth and tore it from my -hand. My companions soon despatched him. The bear was eight feet long, -and therefore of unusual size. We might have cut off two or three cwt. -of flesh from his carcase, but in consideration of the heavy lading of -the sledge, we contented ourselves with appropriating sixty pounds. Both -Rawlinson and Austria Sounds were equally rich in fresh traces of bears, -which seemed to be those of whole families and not of individual animals. - -22. Our latitude from a meridian observation was found to be 81° 38′—and -though the sun shining dimly through the clouds might account for an -error of two or three minutes, we had certainly passed beyond the -latitude 81° 35′ reached by Hayes in Smith’s Sound in 1861.[45] Having no -conception at the time that Hall’s American expedition had penetrated, -the year before we achieved this result, to 82° 9′ on the land and 82° -22′ at sea, we hoisted our sledge-flag to commemorate our success. The -character of the ice now became so wild and confused that we wandered 45° -from one point of the compass to the other. We constantly expected to -come upon open fissures, and could not conceal from ourselves how easily -its loose connection might be broken up by a storm, and our return to -the ship exposed to great risks. The transport of our travelling gear -became increasingly difficult, and great were our fears lest, through the -constant heavy shocks which the sledge encountered, the case of spirit -should be crushed and destroyed. The difficulties too to be overcome amid -the multitude of hummocks were more depressing than the occurrence of -snow-storms, inasmuch as their number almost destroyed the possibility of -progress; and the monotonous uniformity which tired the eye tended also -to depress the spirits. - -23. On the 9th of April (the thermometer standing at 10° F., and a light -breeze blowing from the east) we continued our work of dragging between -the hummocks till noon. We then ascended an iceberg, and discovered -that the hummocks of ice in Rawlinson’s Sound appeared to stretch on -without end. We therefore altered our course and took a north-westerly -direction, in order to come under Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, whose noble -mountain forms and mighty glaciers shone forth in the light of the sun. -We expected to find smoother ice on its coast-line; but we were deceived -in this expectation, for the character of the ice remained unchanged. We -were compelled therefore to cross this Sound in a westerly direction to -Hohenlohe Island, and to select the rocky pyramid—visible from a great -distance—of Cape Schrötter as the point where our expedition should -divide into two parties; the larger party to remain behind, the smaller -to penetrate further towards the north over the glaciers of Rudolf’s -Land. By noon of this day we reached 81° 37′ N. L. and in the evening -arrived at Cape Schrötter. All the labours and efforts of the last few -days had consequently been without result. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -IN THE EXTREME NORTH. - - -1. Immediately after reaching Cape Schrötter, the east end of Hohenlohe -Island, we ascended the summit of this Dolerite rock, which was quite -free from snow, and covered with a sparse vegetation. We were surprised -to find here the excrement of a hare. The prospect which lay before us -convinced us of the necessity of our proposed temporary separation. The -mountains of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, separated from us by an arm of -the sea covered with level ice, were so high (about 3,000 feet) that we -saw at once that we could pass over them only with the small dog-sledge. -The walking powers, moreover, of two of my companions had greatly -deteriorated, and for them rest was not an indulgence, but a necessity. -Austria Sound appeared to stretch still further to the north, but its -western coasts turned sharply to the left in the precipitous cliffs of -Cape Felder and Cape Böhm. The blue jagged line of mountains, towering -above snow-fields lying in the sun, stretched away to the north-west till -they were lost in dark streaks on the horizon, which our experience led -us to interpret as a water-sky above open spaces of the sea. - -2. I was greatly delighted by Orel’s readiness, though he was suffering -from inflamed eyes, to take part in the expedition to the extreme north; -and it only remained for us to select the fittest among the party and to -calm the apprehensions of those who were to remain behind. On our return -to the foot of the rocks, where the tent was already pitched, we found -the rest of the party sitting close to each other at the rocky wall on -which the sun was shining, in order to warm themselves,—like crickets on -the wall of a house. The success of an expedition like that we projected -depends chiefly on the mutual good feeling among its members, and he -who commands it, besides participating personally in all the labours to -be endured, must show himself a sympathetic friend even in cases where -strict duty does not enjoin it, so that confidence in him may grow into -a kind of belief in his infallibility. There could not be more devoted -or enduring men than those who were here lying in the sun, and whom we -now joined, in order to decide the question of the hour. I explained to -them the plans I meant to follow,—that I should be absent from five to -eight days, that if I should not return to them within fifteen days they -should march back to the ship with the sledge—sawn through the middle—and -the stock of provisions which should be placed at their disposal would -suffice for this emergency. I then asked each of them whether he could -dismiss fear, and remain behind in this desolation. Sussich answered: -“_Se uno de lori resta indietro, mi non go paura:_” so said the rest. By -the expression, however, “uno de lori” they meant Orel or one of the two -Tyrolese, and specially with an eye to the bears which might be prowling -about. I left it free to Klotz and Haller to decide which of them was the -fittest and most serviceable to accompany me: “You,” answered Haller, -“you, Klotz, are the better man to drag the sledge and endure fatigue.” -Accordingly Sussich and Lukinovich remained under Haller’s command. These -three were ordered not to go more than 300 yards from Cape Schrötter, -to remain on the defensive if attacked by bears, to spend their time in -drying their clothes and repairing their torn boots, and to go about -in wooden shoes to save wear and tear. Haller received as Governor of -Hohenlohe Island a pocket-compass, a watch, an aneroid barometer, and a -thermometer, and to them we left also our little medicine-chest. If Dr. -Kepes had once tried to make a doctor of me in one hour, in now repeating -the experiment on Haller I confined myself to ten minutes. - -3. On the morning of the 10th of April (the thermometer standing at 5° -F.) we divided the tent; one half was put on the dog-sledge, the other -was pitched, with its open side close under the rock. Before a caravan -takes the desert, the camels are watered, and we too, though in a -very different kind of desert, exposed to the constant evil of thirst, -would gladly have been treated in like fashion. But we had to content -ourselves with a pint of boiling water, served out to each of us every -morning, reminding us, indeed, of coffee, for 2 lbs. of it were boiled -in 105 gallons of water in the course of thirty days. The provisions -were divided, and enough for eight days was dealt out to the party -starting to the north, Orel, Zaninovitch, Klotz, myself, and two dogs. -The special requirements of our expedition, among which were a rifle and -a revolver, raised the weight of our sledge to about 4 cwt., which it was -the business of the dogs to draw without any assistance from us, and this -they did over the level snow with such zeal, that we had some trouble in -keeping up with them. - -4. The merits of our dogs I have hitherto left unnoticed, in order -emphatically to assert that we owed the passing beyond the eighty-second -degree of north latitude not to our own exertions, but to the endurance -and courage of these animals. No kind of life among dogs is comparable -for hardships with the life of a dog in an Arctic sledge. His tent is -scarcely the pretext of a shelter, and his natural coat is generally -covered by a thick rime. The snow when it drifts completely covers him, -though he constantly but vainly seeks to shake it off. He draws his -breath with difficulty, hunger gnaws at his bowels, and his wounded feet -colour the snow with blood. Often, too, these poor animals amid the -great cold must keep still; then they lift up their paws alternately, to -prevent frost-bite. The two dogs, which accompanied us to the extreme -North, were the noblest animals ever employed in a sledge expedition, -and when I recall the great services they rendered us, both now and -afterwards in the return to Europe, their sad end fills me with sincere -sorrow. Jubinal and Torossy were dogs of remarkable size and strength, -and escaped the epidemic diseases[46] which attacked the dogs of Hayes -and Kane; and though it has been thought that the dogs of the Eskimo and -of the Siberian people were alone adapted for Arctic expeditions, our -experience with our own dogs most of them brought from Vienna, proves -that they were not a whit less useful. Our dogs had only one defect: -they had not been trained to sledge-drawing from their youth, but had -been broken to it only during our expedition, and were therefore not -always amenable to discipline. When left to themselves in dragging the -sledge they went on, without turning to the right or left, from cape -to cape, and if they found themselves on a wide plain of ice, and far -from all striking landmarks, they ran either towards the sun or moon, or -some remarkable star. It was against the grain with them to have to drag -in the teeth of the wind, and if they had to push on amid hummocks of -ice, they immediately began to growl. They were fed in the morning, and -more particularly in the evening, and they showed a delicacy of taste -in discriminating between bear’s flesh and the despised seal’s flesh. -While they carefully avoided coming near us before our start, provided -they were not very hungry, in order to escape being harnessed, yet when -harnessed nothing could exceed their vigour and persistence in dragging. - -[Illustration: ICEBERGS AT THE BASE OF THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER.] - -5. As we approached the promontory on the south of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s -Land, we came upon innumerable icebergs, from one hundred to two hundred -feet high, which made an incessant cracking and snapping sound in the -sunshine. The Middendorf glacier, with an enormous sea-wall, ran towards -the north to a great distance. Deep layers of snow and great rents in -the sea-ice, the consequence of the falling-in of icebergs, filled the -intervening spaces between them. Into these fissures we were continually -falling, drenching our canvas boots and clothes with sea-water. But the -aspect of these colossal fragments of glaciers engrossed us to such an -extent, that we wandered a long time with unflagging interest among -these pyramids, tables, and cliffs. It was only when I sent on Klotz to -mark out by his footsteps a path by which we might ascend the Middendorf -glacier, that we came to a more open region, and, all putting their -strength to the work of dragging, we gained its summit, crossing in our -progress many crevasses bridged over with snow. Three of these yawned -across the lower part of the glacier, needing but a slight movement of -the ice to detach them and transform them into icebergs. Further on, the -glacier appeared smooth and free from crevasses, although its inclination -amounted to several degrees. Towards the north it seemed as if it might -be crossed without excessive exertion, if all took part in the work of -dragging. But before we began this part of the day’s work we rested, and -recruited ourselves with dinner, and setting up our little tent at about -400 paces above the edge of the glacier, we looked down with feelings of -delight on its semi-circular terminal precipice and the gleaming host -of icebergs which filled the indentations of the coast. While we were -sitting in the tent Klotz made the fatal communication to me, that he -was not the man he should be, that for some days his foot had swollen -and ulcerated, so that he could walk only in shoes made of hide. However -vexatious this mishap, there was nothing for it but to send him back to -Hohenlohe Island. Laden with a sack and carrying a revolver, he set off, -and soon disappeared from our eyes in the labyrinth of icebergs beneath -us. - -[Illustration: THE SLEDGE FALLS INTO A CREVASSE ON THE MIDDENDORF -GLACIER.] - -6. We had meanwhile again packed the sledge, harnessed the dogs, and -fastened the traces round us, when, just as we were setting off, the -snow gave way beneath the sledge, and down fell Zaninovich, the dogs, -and the sledge, and from an unknown depth I heard a man’s voice mingled -with the howling of dogs. All this was the impression of a moment, -while I felt myself dragged backwards by the rope. Staggering back, and -seeing the dark abyss beneath me, I could not doubt that I should be -precipitated into it the next instant. A wonderful providence arrested -the fall of the sledge; at a depth of about thirty feet it stuck fast -between the sides of the crevasse, just as I was being dragged to the -edge of the abyss by its weight. The sledge having jammed itself in, -I lay on my stomach close to the awful brink, the rope which attached -me to the sledge tightly strained, and cutting deep into the snow. -The situation was all the more dreadful as I, the only person present -accustomed to the dangers of glaciers, lay there unable to stir. When -I cried down to Zaninovich that I would cut the rope, he implored me -not to do it, for if I did, the sledge would turn over, and he would be -killed. For a time I lay quiet, considering what was to be done. By and -by it flashed into my memory, how I and my guide had once fallen down -a wall of ice in the Ortler Mountains, 800 feet high, and had escaped. -This inspired me with confidence to venture on a rescue, desperate as -it seemed under the circumstances. Orel had now come up, and although -he had never been on a glacier before, this gallant officer dauntlessly -advanced to the edge of the crevasse, and, laying himself on his stomach, -looked down into the abyss, and cried to me, “Zaninovich is lying on a -ledge of snow in the crevasse, with precipices all round him, and the -dogs are still attached to the traces of the sledge, which has stuck -fast.” I called to him to throw me his knife, which he did with such -dexterity, that I was able to lay hold of it without difficulty; and as -the only means of rescue, I severed the trace which was fastened round -my waist. The sledge made a short turn, and then stuck fast again. I -immediately sprang to my feet, drew off my canvas boots, and sprang over -the crevasse, which was about ten feet broad. I now caught sight of -Zaninovich and the dogs, and shouted to him, that I would run back to -Hohenlohe Island to fetch men and ropes for his rescue, and that rescued -he would be, if he could contrive for four hours to keep himself from -being frozen. I heard his answer: “Fate, Signore, fate pure!” and then -Orel and I disappeared. Heedless of the crevasses which lay in our path, -or of the bears which might attack us, we ran down the glacier back to -Cape Schrötter, six miles off. Only one thought possessed us—the rescue -of Zaninovich, the jewel and pride of our party, and the recovery of our -invaluable store of provisions, and of the book containing our journals, -which, if lost, could never be replaced. But even apart from my personal -feeling for Zaninovich, I keenly felt the reproaches to which I should be -exposed of incautious travelling on glaciers; and it gave me no comfort -to think that my previous experiences in this kind of travelling over -the glaciers of Greenland appeared to justify my proceedings. Stung with -these reflections, I pressed on at the top of my speed, leaving Orel far -behind me. Bathed in perspiration, I threw off my bird-skin garments, my -boots, my gloves, and my shawl, and ran in my stockings through the deep -snow. After passing the labyrinth of icebergs I saw the rocky pyramid -of Cape Schrötter before me in the distance. The success of my venture -depended on the weather. If snow-driving should set in, and footprints -should be obliterated, it would be impossible to find Hohenlohe Island. -All around me it was fearfully lonely. Encompassed by glaciers, I was -absolutely alone. At last I saw Klotz emerge from behind an iceberg -at some distance off, and though I continued to shout his name till -I almost reached him, I failed to rouse him from his usual reverie. -When at last he saw me breathlessly pushing on, scarcely clothed, and -constantly calling, his sack slipped from his back, and he stared at me -as if he had lost his senses. When the hardy son of the mountains came to -understand that Zaninovich with the sledge was buried in the crevasse, -he began to weep, in his simplicity of heart taking the blame of what -had happened on himself. He was so agitated and disturbed, that I made -him promise that he would do himself no mischief, and then, leaving him -to his moody silence, I ran on again towards the island. It seemed as if -I should never reach Cape Schrötter; with head bent down I trudged on, -counting my steps through the deep snow; when I raised it again, after a -little time, it was always the same black spot that I saw on the distant -horizon. At last I came near it, saw the tent, saw some dark spots creep -out of it, saw them gather together, and then run down the snow-slope. -These were the friends we had left behind. A few words of explanation, -with an exhortation to abstain from idle lamentation, were enough. They -at once detached a second rope from the large sledge, and got hold of a -long tent-pole. Meantime I had rushed upon the cooking-machine, quickly -melted a little snow to quench my raging thirst, and then we all set off -again—Haller, Sussich, Lukinovich, and myself—to the Middendorf glacier. -Tent and provisions were left unwatched; we ran back for three hours -and a half; fears for Zaninovich gave such wings to my steps, that my -companions were scarcely able to keep up with me. Ever and anon, I had -to stop to drink some rum. At the outset we met Orel, and rather later -Klotz, both making for Cape Schrötter, Klotz to remain behind there, and -Orel to return with us at once to Middendorf glacier. When we came among -the icebergs under Cape Habermann I picked up, one by one, the clothes I -had thrown away. Reaching the glacier, we tied ourselves together with a -rope. Going before the rest, I approached with beating heart the place, -where the sledge had disappeared four hours and a half ago. A dark abyss -yawned before us; not a sound issued from its depths, not even when I -lay on the ground and shouted. At last I heard the whining of a dog, -and then an unintelligible answer from Zaninovich. Haller was quickly -let down by a rope; he found him still living, but almost frozen, on -a ledge of snow forty feet down the crevasse. Fastening himself and -Zaninovich to the rope, they were drawn up after great exertion. A storm -of greetings saluted Zaninovich, stiff and speechless though he was, when -he appeared on the surface of the glacier. I need not add that we gave -him some rum to stimulate his vital energies. It was a noble proof how -duty and discipline assert themselves, even in such situations, that the -first word of this sailor, saved from being frozen to death, was not a -complaint, but thanks, accompanied with a request that I would pardon him -if he, in order to save himself from being frozen, had ventured to drink -a portion of the rum, which had fallen down in its case with the sledge -to his ledge of snow. Haller again descended, and fastened the dogs to -the rope. The clever animals had freed themselves from their traces in -some inexplicable way, and had sprung to a narrow ledge, where Haller -found them, close to where Zaninovich had lain. It was astonishing how -quickly they discerned the danger of the position, and how great was -their confidence in us. They had slept the whole time, as Zaninovich -afterwards told us, and he had carefully avoided touching them, lest -they should fall down deeper into the abyss. We drew them up with some -difficulty, and they gave expression to their joy, first by rolling -themselves vigorously in the snow, and then by licking our hands. We then -raised Haller by the rope some ten feet higher than the ledge on which -Zaninovich had lain, so that he might be able to cut the ropes which -fastened the loading of the firmly wedged-in sledge. At this moment Orel -arrived, and with his help we raised one by one the articles with which -the sledge was loaded. It was ten o’clock before we were convinced that -we had lost nothing of any importance in the crevasse. - -[Illustration: KLOTZ’S AMAZEMENT.] - -[Illustration: THE ALARM OF THE HOHENLOHE PARTY.] - -7. We now left the glacier and the icebergs, and by midnight had reached -Cape Habermann. Here we slept, and the dogs with us, as uncomfortably as -possible. On the morning of the 11th of April (the thermometer marking 3° -F.), we started at an hour when we would much rather have continued to -sleep. Our thirst was so great that we felt ourselves equal to drinking -up a stream. Haller, Sussich, Lukinovich had during the night returned -to Cape Schrötter. Before they started Haller earnestly besought me to -come back as soon as possible; for the recent event, he said, had not -been without its disquieting effects on the men. On the whole, we might -congratulate ourselves on being able to continue our journey, without -having received any serious damage, though no longer over the treacherous -glacier. - -[Illustration: HALT UNDER CROWN-PRINCE RUDOLF’S LAND.] - -8. A sharp turn to the left brought us to the west coast of Crown-Prince -Rudolf’s Land, along which we pursued our route northwards. When we -reached Cape Brorock, where by an observation we found our latitude -at noon to be 81° 45′, the weather became wonderfully bright, and the -warm sunlight lay on the broken summits of the Dolerite mountains, -which, though covered with gleaming ice, were free from snow. To the -north-west we saw at first nothing but ice up to the horizon; even with -the telescope of the theodolite I could not decide for the existence -of land, which Orel’s sharp eye discovered in the far distance. In the -Arctic regions, it often happens that banks of fog on the horizon assume -the character of distant ranges, for the small height to which these -banks rise in the cold air causes them to be very sharply defined. It is -very common also to make the same mistake in the case of mists arising -from the waste water of enormous glaciers. We marched on northward close -under the land, and for the first time over smooth undulating ice, in -high spirits at the increasing grandeur of the scenery and at the happy -issue of our adventure of yesterday. Thirst compelled us frequently to -halt in order to liquefy snow;[47] sometimes we melted it as we marched -along, and our sledge with smoke curling up from the cooking-machine then -resembled a small steamer. - -9. By and by we came to more snow, and the ice, through which many -fissures ran, became gradually thinner, but when we reached the imposing -headland, which we called Cape Auk, the ice lay in forced-up barriers. -A strange change had come over the aspect of nature. A dark water-sky -appeared in the north, and heavy mists rolled down to the steep -promontories of Karl Alexander Land; the temperature rose to 10° F.,[48] -our track became moist, the snow-drifts collapsed under us with a loud -noise, and if we had previously been surprised with the flight of birds -from the north, we now found all the rocky precipices of Rudolf’s Land -covered with thousands of auks and divers. Enormous flocks of birds flew -up and filled the air, and the whole region seemed alive with their -incessant whirring. We met everywhere with traces of bears and foxes. -Seals lay on the ice, but sprang into the water before we got within -shot of them. But notwithstanding these signs of a richer animal life, -we should not be justified in inferring, from what we saw in a single -locality, that life increases as we move northwards. It was a venial -exaggeration, if amid such impressions we pronounced for the nearness -of an open Polar sea, and without doubt all adherents of this opinion, -had they come with us to this point and no further, would have found in -these signs fresh grounds to support their belief. In enumerating these -observations, I am conscious what attractions they must have for every -one who still leans to the opinion that an open ocean will be found at -the Pole; subsequent experience, however, will show how little is their -value in support of this antiquated hypothesis. - -[Illustration: CAPE AUK.] - -10. Our track was now very unsafe; it was only the icebergs which -seemed to keep the ice in the bays. A strong east wind would certainly -have broken it up and cut off our return, at least with the sledge. -There were no longer the connected floes of winter, but young ice only, -covered with saline efflorescence, dangerously pliable, and strewn over -with the remains of recent pressures. The ice was broken through in -many places by the holes of seals. It was expedient therefore to tie -ourselves together with a long rope, and each of us, as he took his -turn in leading, constantly sounded the ice. Passing by Cape Auk, which -resembled a gigantic aviary, we followed the line of Teplitz Bay, into -which a stream of glaciers, descending from the high mountains in the -interior, discharged itself. Icebergs lay along the terminal glacier -wall which formed its shore. Ascending one of these masses, we found -granite erratics on its surface and saw the open sea stretching far to -the west. There seemed to be ice only on the extreme horizon. As the -ice-sheet over which our track lay became thinner and more pliable, and -constantly threatened to give way under us, the height and length of its -piled-up barriers increased also, and because the high glacier walls made -it impossible to travel over the land, we had no other resource than to -open up a track through the hummocky ice by pick and shovel. At last -even this expedient failed to help us; our sledge, constantly damaged, -and as constantly repaired, had to be unloaded, the dogs unharnessed, -and everything transported separately. Evening had now arrived; ahead -of us lay the two rock-towers, which we called Cape Säulen, and open -coast-water here began. - -[Illustration: CAPE SÄULEN.] - -11. Beautiful and sublime was this far-off world. From a height we looked -over a dark “ice-hole,” studded with icebergs like pearls, and over these -lay heavy clouds through which the sunbeams fell on the gleaming water. -Right over the true sun shone a second, though somewhat duller sun; the -icebergs of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, appearing enormously high, sailed -through the still region amid rolling mist and surrounded by vast flocks -of birds. Close under Cape Säulen (the Cape of Columns) we came upon -the steep edge of the glaciers and dragged up our baggage with a long -rope. While Orel got ready our encampment for the night in the fissure -of a glacier, and completed as usual his meteorological observations -and soundings, I ascended a height to reconnoitre our track for the -next day. The sun was setting amid a scene of majestic wildness; its -golden rays shot through dark banks of mist and a gentle wind, playing -over the “ice-hole,” formed ever-widening circles on its mirror-like -surface. Land was no longer visible towards the north, it was covered -with a dense “water-sky.” A bird flew close past me; at first I took it -for a ptarmigan, but it was probably a snipe. It ought to be remarked -that during the two days which we spent near this “ice-hole” we never -once saw a whale. As soon as with half-closed eyes we had eaten our -supper, we fell fast asleep, for our longing to sleep was yet greater -than our exhaustion and our thirst. The dogs availed themselves of this -opportunity to devour several pounds of bear’s flesh and empty a tin -of condensed milk, which, however, did not prevent them from barking -impudently the next morning for more. - -12. The 12th of April was the last day of advance in a northerly -direction. Though the weather was not clear, yet it was clearer than it -had been for some time. When we started we buried our baggage in the -fissure of the glacier where we had slept, in order to protect it from -bears, which roamed about on all sides. Our march lay over snowy slopes -to the summits of the coast range—from 1,000 to 3,000 feet high. The -masses of mist lying on the horizon had retreated before the rays of the -morning sun, and all the region with its lines of ice-forms was bathed in -light; and southward, open water stretched to the shores of Cape Felder. -As we followed this lofty coast range, mountains with glaciers sloping -down their sides towards the sea seemed to rise before us. An hour before -noon we reached a rocky promontory 1,200 feet high, afterwards called -Cape Germania. Here we rested, and from a meridian observation we found -our latitude to be 81° 57′. Following the coast as it trended towards the -north-east, we came on a glacier with a steep inclination and frequent -crevasses, which compelled us to leave the sledge behind before we -attempted to cross it. But the increasing insecurity of our track over -fissures, our want of provisions, and the certainty that since noon we -had reached 82° 5′ N. L. by a march of five hours, at last brought our -advance northward to a close. With a boat we might certainly have gone -some miles further. - -[Illustration: THE AUSTRIAN FLAG PLANTED AT CAPE FLIGELY.] - -13. We now stood on a promontory about 1,000 feet high, which I named -Cape Fligely, as a small mark of respect and gratitude towards a man of -great distinction in geographical science. Rudolf’s Land still stretched -in a north-easterly direction towards a cape—Cape Sherard Osborne—though -it was impossible to determine its further course and connection. The -view we had from this height was of great importance in relation to the -question of an open Polar sea. Open water there was of considerable -extent and in very high latitudes: of this there could be no question. -But what was its character? From the height on which we stood we could -survey its extent. Our expectations had not been sanguine, but moderate -though they were, they proved to be exaggerated. No open sea was there, -but a “Polynia” surrounded by old ice, within which lay masses of younger -ice. This open space of water had arisen from the action of the long -prevalent E.N.E. winds. But of more immediate interest than the question -of an open Polar sea was the aspect of blue mountain-ranges lying in -the distant north, indicating masses of land, which Orel had partially -seen the day before, and which now lay before us with their outlines -more defined. These we called King Oscar Land and Petermann Land; the -mountainous extremity on the west of the latter lay beyond the 83rd -degree of north latitude. This promontory I have called Cape Vienna, -in testimony of the interest which Austria’s capital has ever shown in -geographical science, and in gratitude for the sympathy with which she -followed our wanderings, and finally rewarded our humble merits. - -14. Proudly we planted the Austro-Hungarian flag for the first time in -the high North, our conscience telling us that we had carried it as far -as our resources permitted. It was no act asserting a right of possession -in the name of a nation, as when Albuquerque or Van Diemen unfurled the -standards of their country on foreign soil, yet we had won this cold, -stiff, frozen land with no less difficulty than these discoverers had -gained those paradises. It was a sore trial to feel our inability to -visit the lands lying before us, but withal we were impressed with the -conviction that this day was the most important of our lives, and ever -since the memory of it has recurred unbidden to my recollection. - -15. The Dolerite of this region was of a very coarse-grained character, -and its rocks rose in terraces from out of the white mantle of snow; -_Umbilicaria arctica_, _Cetaria nivalis_, and _Rhyzocarpon geographicum_ -were the sole ornaments of its scanty vegetation. The following document -we inclosed in a bottle and deposited in a cleft of rock:— - -“Some members of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition have here -reached their highest point in 82·5° N. L., after a march of seventeen -days from the ship, lying inclosed in ice in 79° 51′ N. L. They observed -open water of no great extent along the coast, bordered by ice, reaching -in a north and north-westerly direction to masses of land, whose mean -distance from this highest point might be from sixty to seventy miles, -but whose connection it was impossible to determine. After their return -to the ship, it is the intention of the whole crew to leave this land and -return home. The hopeless condition of the ship and the numerous cases of -sickness constrain them to this step. - -“Cape Fligely, _April 12th, 1874_. - -“(Signed) - - “ANTONIO ZANINOVICH, _Seaman_. - “EDWARD OREL, _Midshipman_, - “JULIUS PAYER, _Commander_.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE RETURN TO THE SHIP. - - -1. This done, our thoughts now turned to the ship, between which and -ourselves lay 160 miles. But, the _Tegetthoff_—did she lie still where -we had left her, or had she drifted away? Fastened together by a rope, -we began our return by re-crossing the glaciers, and on reaching the -stores we had deposited at Cape Germania, the first thing we did was -to prepare some water, for the beverage we had taken with us in an -india-rubber bottle, made of coffee, rum, and extract of meat, had -only aggravated thirst, without adding to our strength. It was late in -the evening when we reached our night-encampment near Säulen Cap (Cape -Columns), in a state of great exhaustion, cheered and alleviated by the -thought of our success. The utter loneliness of our position could not -suppress the satisfaction we felt. After digging up our still untouched -stores, we went to rest for three hours. Longer we dared not sleep; the -least breeze might break up the ice and drive it out of the bight on the -north of Cape Auk. The insecurity of our position therefore impelled us -to make a very early start on the morning of the 13th of April, with -the thermometer at 12° F. As we started, we awoke also to the extreme -difficulties of the return route, difficulties which the excitement of -our advance had made light of. Orel, suffering from snow-blindness, -marched along with closed eyes, and want of sleep now began to tell on -us all. Even our dogs were all worn out, and whenever a halt was made -they lay down exhausted in the snow. The sledge had constantly to be -unloaded and reloaded, and its fractures repaired. The surface of the -smooth ice, encumbered by the snow-slush which had accumulated on it, -rendered our progress very burdensome. The dull dreary weather, however, -did not prevent the sea-birds from gathering and wheeling around us in -enormous flocks. During our noon-day halt, utterly distraught, I cooked -our dinner with sea-water; not one of us could touch it. Our road through -wastes of snow from Cape Brorock to Cape Schrötter, seemed as if it would -never end. However rapidly we advanced, constantly counting our steps as -we went along, that Cape remained for hours the same dark spot on the -gloomy and snowy horizon. It was evening before we approached it, and as -we came within 300 paces of his frontier, we were received and welcomed -by ambassadors from Haller. It was curious and also characteristic to -observe how a few days without active employment and without discipline -had demoralised our old companions; the party we left behind were -scarcely recognisable. Blackened by the oil used in cooking, wasted -with diarrhœa, these men crept out of their tent listlessly to greet us -on our arrival; a few more days would have sufficed to prostrate them -with sickness. Yet they had strictly followed the directions I had -given them, and had used with moderation their stock of provisions. As -I have already mentioned, I had furnished them, before I started on my -expedition northward, with all the means of ascertaining their position -by observations, and of enabling them to begin their return to the ship, -in the event of my failing to appear at the end of fifteen days; but -when I now asked them what direction they would have taken in order to -reach the _Tegetthoff_, to my horror they pointed, not to Austria, but to -Rawlinson Sound![49] - -[Illustration: MELTING SNOW ON CAPE GERMANIA.] - -2. The observations of temperature which Haller furnished me with, -scrawled in hieroglyphics on a peas-sausage case, showed a difference of -about 4½° in favour of the extreme north, and this difference was still -more marked, when we came to compare the readings which had been recorded -on board ship. The open water to the north was doubtless the cause of -this. But the same influence extended southward, and as the snow-drifts -over which we walked broke under us with a dull, heavy sound, we began -to fear lest the season when the snow suddenly thaws and the land-ice -breaks up had begun, and that our return would be a matter of extreme -difficulty. If there had been nothing else, this would have sufficed to -quicken our movements, but to this was added the discovery that our stock -of provisions, independent of depôts, would last only ten days more. By -ridding ourselves of all but absolutely necessary baggage, and leaving -behind our common sleeping bag and the tent for the dogs, we lightened -our sledge, so as to enable us to extend our day’s march considerably. - -3. On the 14th of April, the thermometer marking 4° F., we left Hohenlohe -Island in very bad weather, and made for the Coburg Islands, which were -scarcely visible. Our route ran between hummocks, which gave the dogs -an opportunity they were not slow to use, of taking it easy after their -recent exertions. It had been our intention that the large sledge should -keep the same line which we had taken in our journey northward, while -I with the dog-sledge should visit places to the right and left. This -plan, however, was found unfeasible; for in addition to the difficulties -and impediments incident to the march, we had an accumulation of evils -to contend with. Klotz’s foot had become much worse, and all those who -had been left behind at Cape Schrötter were more or less snow-blind, -though hitherto our party had suffered little from eye diseases. It was -surprising that our dogs did not suffer from this affection, close as -they were to the glare of the snow and without any protection against -it. Snow-blindness occurs even in Alpine regions. The severity of the -attack depends on the character of the snow; the harder and smoother it -is, the greater is the reflection and the danger of inflammation; the -retina of the eye is at last injured by the dazzling whiteness of the -snow. Various remedies have been employed to mitigate this evil; even -the rough-and-ready one of throwing snuff into the eyes has been tried. -In Europe, snow-blindness is cured in a day or two by wet applications, -but in the low temperatures of the high North such a remedy cannot be -applied; poultices are hardly possible in the tent, and a simple bandage -worn during the march is no preservative against the constant burning -sensations common to this affection. It is clear that the range of -remedies during a sledge expedition must be very limited. The crew of Sir -James Clark Ross suffered in an unusual manner from this cause in their -land expeditions. Richardson and Nordenskjöld dropped a weak tincture -of opium twice a day into the eye, and in about twenty-four hours the -patient recovered, provided he were not compelled to march. Parry on -board ship used a solution of sugar of lead and cold water, applied -constantly for three or four days—a somewhat questionable remedy, as -it is apt to injure the cornea of the eye. Another mode of treatment, -which should take effect in six hours, is unhappily not available in a -North Pole expedition, as it requires white of egg, sugar, and camphor, -beaten up till it becomes frothy, and laid as a compress on the eye. Some -tribes of North America use the steam of hot water, the Creek Indians a -decoction from the resinous buds of the Tacamahac—an application which -causes much suffering. The only real preservative is the constant use of -coloured spectacles, the metal mountings of which should be covered with -wool, on account of the cold. The ordinary network at the side should be -avoided, as this dims the glasses even when the cold is not considerable; -whereas open spectacles are only exposed to this inconvenience at very -low degrees of temperature, and can easily be cleared by the hand. - -[Illustration: ENCAMPING ON ONE OF THE COBURG ISLANDS.] - -4. But to return to our journey. It was evening when the Coburg Islands -(81° 35′ N. L.) were reached. The Dolerite rock of this small cluster of -islands was of a remarkably coarse-grained crystalline texture. We had -frequently come across the traces of bears and foxes during the march of -this day, though we actually saw neither bear nor fox. On the 15th of -April, after a severe march, we got clear of the region of ice-hummocks, -and continued our southerly course with our sledge-sail before the wind. -We encountered a bear this day, which, being allowed to approach within -the distance of thirty paces, fell dead under our fire. In a few minutes -we loaded the sledge with fresh meat, and again pursued our journey. But -excessive exertion, the want of sleep, and the exclusive use of a meat -diet, were meanwhile telling their tale of reduced strength, though our -appetites were great almost beyond belief. The excessive consumption -of animal food[50] without bread-stuff excited hunger and lowered our -muscular power, while it irritated our nervous system. Our supply of bark -was rapidly decreasing, and Haller, Sussich, and Lukinovich, who could -not endure bear-flesh, were often attacked with giddiness during the -march, and placed on “half-diet.” In the following week our miseries were -intensified by insufficiency of sleep; in fact, we could not spare time -to sleep it out. Hence the afternoon hours of the march were especially -oppressive, and though the sledge with its load was positively lighter, -our strength to drag it had diminished in still greater measure. It would -be a great mistake to imagine that exercise of itself, without necessary -rest, increases the capacity of marching. The loss of strength is almost -suddenly experienced, especially in return journeys, when the excitement -of discovery has passed away, and nothing is left but the animal-like -employment of dragging. - -5. Our course lay under Andrée Island; we crossed over the flat ice-dome -of Rainer Island, and on the west saw Back’s Inlet filled with many -icebergs. From this elevation we once more beheld the snowy ranges of -Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land in the far distance, which soon, however, -disappeared in an ocean of mist, whose white waves rolled over the -intervening ice-levels. As we again descended to the icy surface of the -sea, to our great astonishment we fell into a hole covered over with -snow, and got thoroughly wet, and, after much wandering about, we found, -towards evening, a dry place (81° 20′ N. L.) on which to pitch our tent. -On the 16th of April we found our latitude by an observation taken at -noon to be 81° 12′, and when we reached, in the evening, a point four -miles to the north of Cape Hellwald, those whose appetite had failed them -could not march a step further. - -6. On the 17th of April, Orel, with the large sledge, continued the march -southwards, while I went on with the dog-sledge, in order to ascend Cape -Hellwald. The temperature had fallen in the morning to -18° F., and the -outlines of the icebergs vibrated and undulated under the influence -of refraction. Ice-hummocks, on the distant horizon, insignificant -in size, were magnified into gigantic proportions; then again many -of these phantasmagoria seemed to form a long line, which broke up at -the next step forward. Unyoking the dogs on the shore of the island, I -left the sledge behind, and climbed the steep sides of a precipice of -clay-slate, with its laminæ firmly frozen into a mass, and reached the -summit of the lofty promontory—Cape Hellwald—about 2,200 feet above -the level of the sea. On the tops of its basaltic columns great flocks -of divers congregated, which flew round me without fear as I set up my -theodolite, and then settled close to me on the snow. I might have killed -half-a-dozen of them at a single shot. By and by, these birds, scared -by the appearance of the dogs, who soon joined me, took refuge on some -inaccessible rocks, but were not in the least disturbed when I fired -at them. My lofty point of view enabled me to have a general survey of -the mountainous country lying on the north-west, and to ascertain that -I stood on an island separated from lands on the west by Sternek Fiord. -Meantime Orel, far below me, was moving on with the sledge, but so great -is the advantage of dog-sledging, that I descended and arrived at the -same time as he did at Cape Easter. By an observation taken at noon we -found our latitude to be 81°. In the afternoon the dogs in their own -sledge dragged half of our baggage, and notwithstanding got on more -quickly than we did with the large sledge. Henceforward the order of -the day was fasting, more or less absolute; for our stock of provisions -consisted of bread and bear’s flesh for two days and a half, and the dogs -could no longer be favoured as they had been. - -7. At a few miles’ distance there rose before us the rocky cones of -Wiener Neustadt Island, with large glaciers descending their sides. As -it was beyond a doubt that the ascent of one of these conical heights -would open up an extensive prospect, I fixed on the imposing Cape Tyrol -as the most promising for an ascent. Accordingly, on the 18th of April -Haller and I started, and after a toilsome march over glaciers, reached -its dark, weather-worn summit, 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. -Even here we perceived the traces of excrements of the fox, from whose -craft the birds were protected by the inaccessibility of the places where -they bred. Though we had cut up some bullets into slugs, we refrained -from shooting at the auks and divers perched on the rocks, as we saw -that our game could not be bagged even if we killed them. Over our heads -was spread the bright sky, below us a very sea of mist, in which, though -invisible to us, Orel was wending his way towards the south. The distant -glacier wastes of Wilczek Land towered aloft on the east; a cloudy shade -separated the heights of the peninsula of La Roncière from the colourless -icy wastes of Lindemann Bay, and beyond the picturesque Collinson Fiord -there seemed to be a maze of inlets and bights, bare rocks and broad -table-lands. We bitterly deplored that the necessity of returning to the -ship prevented us from penetrating into this labyrinth of mountains and -sounds. - -[Illustration: THE VIEW FROM CAPE TYROL. COLLINSON FIORD—WIENER NEUSTADT -ISLAND.] - -8. In our descent we passed over three basaltic terraces, and came -upon a rocky ledge covered with a thick carpet of _Usnea melaxantha_—a -fresh example of the great capability of lichens to bear extremes of -temperature, the great cold of winter and the burning heat of the rock in -summer. The mists now began to rise, and for the first time a greenish -landscape without snow gleamed out of the depth, on which lay the warm -glow of the sun. The scenery seemed to belong to the Alps, and not the -81st degree of North Latitude. The contrast became the more striking, -when the mists rolled away and unveiled the icebergs and the ice-filled -sound. When we reached these green mountain slopes we found ourselves -among grasses, the lower stalks of which were already beginning to be -green; the few flowering plants (_Saxifraga oppositifolia_, _Silene -acaulis_, _Papaver nudicale_) were clustered together in dense masses. -We were now able to form some conception of what summer might be here. -Countless streams issuing from the snow would force these spots to put -on the livery of summer, and rapid torrents would precipitate themselves -down gorges of snow and rock; but at present all was stiff and stark, -save that stunted green herbage seemed to show that we were in the -fancied paradise of Franz-Josef Land, though when compared even with -other Arctic lands it was but a scene of desolation. Closer to the shore -above the level of the sea, in a belt of yellow sandstone, we found much -lignite firmly frozen in the ground, resembling drift-wood a century old. - -9. The search for our companions was for some time fruitless; and a -driving snow might have separated us from them for ever. At last, -however, we found them gathered together in the tent near Forbes’ -Glacier, in about 80° 58′ N. L., and as the party had been without -tobacco for a fortnight, they greeted Haller’s collection of lichens as a -welcome substitute. - -10. During the last few days the cold had sensibly increased, and we -therefore determined to sleep during the day, and to walk during the -night. Our march in the night of April 18 was a memorable one to us. -We were trudging along in the face of a strong south-wester—which was -extremely distressing to our highly sensitive frozen noses—and striving -to protect the soles of our feet by the rapidity of our movement from -being frost-bitten. After succeeding to a certain extent in this, we -began to find the snow very deep, and so soft that we sank in at every -step. This grew worse and worse; water rose in the deeper layers of snow -and penetrated our boots, and as this could not be explained by the state -of the temperature, we had to step with distrust and hesitation, in -constant fear of unseen depths. At first we believed that the water arose -from streams flowing from underneath the glaciers, or from the movement -of these glaciers breaking up the surface of the ice. Hence we kept at -a distance from their terminal walls. But that the ice-sheet of the sea -itself had broken up, that unseen fissures surrounded us, and that the -water under the snow was nothing but the water of the sea forcing its way -in—of this we had not the least conception, till the sudden immersion -of the leader of the party left no doubt about the matter. Once Haller -would have utterly disappeared unless he had been quickly rescued. As we -picked our way along, even with a long pole we found every now and then -no bottom. Klotz now took the lead with a long “alpenstock,” guiding us -with the greatest dexterity among these fissures, though often himself -falling in. Greatly did we rejoice when we reached unbroken footing. Some -of the party on this occasion were frost-bitten in the feet, but we could -do little more for them than rub their feet with snow and improve as we -could their foot-covering. The sun was now visible at midnight, and the -mountains of Markham Sound were tinged with rosy light. - -[Illustration: BREAKING IN.] - -11. Ahead of us in the south lay a dark water-sky, while the land on -either side was veiled in mist and fog. We tried to persuade ourselves -that this phenomenon might be explained otherwise than by open water. -Soon, however, we heard the unambiguous sound of ice-pressure and of the -beating of the surf at no great distance, and when we went to rest, in -80° 36′ N. L., it was with the feeling that we needed new strength to -meet the dangers which unquestionably awaited us. We slept soundly for -some hours in spite of all our anxious fears, till we were aroused by -the increasing noise. We now advanced along the old sledge-track upon -which we had fallen. Orel and I went first, and after we had gone a few -hundred paces the truth burst upon us: we saw the sea ahead of us and -no white edge beyond. Walls of forced-up ice surrounded this water, -which, stirred by a heavy wind, threw up crested waves; the spray of its -surf dashed itself for a distance of thirty yards over the icy shore. -Forthwith ascending an iceberg, we looked over the dark waste of water, -in which the icebergs, under which we had passed a month before, were now -floating; the more distant of them stood out against the arch of light -on the horizon, and those nearer to us shone with a dazzling brilliancy -under the dark water-sky. That on which lay our depôt of provisions was -floating in the midst of them; and here we were, without a boat, almost -without provisions, and fifty-five miles distant from the ship! A strong -current was running southwards at the rate of three or four miles an -hour; fragments of ice were driving before the wind, as if they meant to -delight us by their movements, and as if there were no change for the -worse to a handful of men, who stood in reality before an impassable -abyss. - -[Illustration: ARRIVAL BEFORE THE OPEN SEA.] - -12. But what were we to do; what direction were we to follow? If we -killed and ate our dogs and broke up our sledge to find wood to melt the -snow, we might live for eight days longer. In this case we must ourselves -carry our baggage. But the most important question was, Whither? In -what direction did the ice lie still unbroken? Did the land on the west -afford a connected route to the ship? Did the sea before us communicate -further south with the sea where the _Tegetthoff_ lay? There was but one -alternative—escape by land and over land; and because open water could -be traced to the north-west beyond the bare reefs of the Hayes Islands, -and heavy clouds over Markham Sound seemed to indicate that the ice had -broken up in it also, I decided to try the way over the glaciers of -Wilczek Land. Everything depended on the unbroken state of the ice in the -southern parts of Austria Sound. Dejected as I was, I finished my sketch -of this dreadful scene, while Orel went back to caution the men against -venturing on the young ice and to tell them to keep to the old ice under -the land. While the men were struggling with the great sledge in the -snow, I descended from my higher point of view, and, soaked through by -the surf, went along the ice-strand in a south-easterly direction towards -Wilczek Land. The others followed, and though we came on many fissures -merely covered with snow, we yet reached _terra firma_ in safety, Orel -skilfully guiding the movements of the sledge according to the signs -agreed on. - -[Illustration: DRAGGING THE SLEDGE UNDER THE GLACIERS OF WILCZEK LAND.] - -13. But soon afterwards everything was veiled in mist; the temperature -rose to 7° F., then came driving snow, which gradually increased to a -snow-storm, and in order not to be cut off we were obliged once more to -keep together. Dreadful as the weather was, we could not venture to put -up the tent; march we must, in order to escape before the wind destroyed -the ice-bridges on the way back. We trudged along under enormous glacier -walls, enveloped in whirling snow. Sounding all round, we escaped the -abysses with difficulty. We could scarcely even breathe and make head a -against the wind. Our clothes were covered with snow, our faces were -crusted with ice, eyes and mouth were firmly closed, and the dark sea -beneath us was hidden from our view. We ceased to hear even its roar, -the might of the storm drowning everything else. Haller, a few paces -ahead, continually sounded, so as to keep us clear of fissures. We could -scarcely follow him or recognise his form. We saw nothing even of the -enormous glacier walls under which we toiled along, except that at times -we caught a glimpse of them towering aloft. At every hundred paces we -halted for a few minutes to remove the ice which formed itself on our -eyes and round our mouths. We stilled our hunger with the hope, that we -should find and dig out the body of the bear which we had shot a month -ago. But we dared not rest, nor await the abatement of the storm, until -we had crossed the glacier and felt the firm ground, free from ice, -beneath our feet. This we compassed after a march of seven hours. Utterly -exhausted, we then put up the tent on a stony slope, got beneath it, -white with snow, wet through and stiffened with ice; notwithstanding our -hunger, we lay down to sleep without eating. Not a morsel of bread could -we venture to serve out from the small stock of provisions that remained. -Our prospects were gloomy in the extreme. If open water, or even a broad -fissure at Cape Frankfort, separated us from the ship, we must inevitably -perish on the shores of Wilczek Land. - -[Illustration: THE SLEDGE IN A SNOW-STORM.] - -14. The snow-storm still continued to rage; hunger, cold, and moisture -forbade sleep, and the dogs, covered with snow, lay in front of the tent. -On the 20th of April (the thermometer marking 3° F.), after a breakfast -more suited for a patient under typhus fever than for men hungry as -wolves, we left the tent in our still wet clothes, and while standing -on its sheltered side to wait till it was cleared, our clothes froze -into coats of mail. As we went on, the terrible weather blew out of us -almost all that remained of our courage and resolution. It was evening -before the storm abated, but we had the good fortune to find the iceberg -with our last depôt in its former position close to the shore. There -were the 45 lbs. of boiled beef, and there, too, the bear lying two feet -deep in snow. It took us an hour to dig him out and load our sledge with -this frozen mass, which we were glad to call provision. After each of -us had devoured 3 lbs. of boiled beef and bear’s flesh, on we went. To -our inexpressible joy the open water had retreated to the west, and we -were able to get round it by making a considerable bend. The numerous -fissures which crossed our path we succeeded in evading, and by ascending -icebergs were able to pick our way, till at last we arrived safely at -Cape Frankfort (80° 20′ N. L.). At its base we found, to our great -satisfaction, the land-ice running without break towards the ship. This -amounted, in fact, to deliverance, and we celebrated our joy at the event -by a glass of grog. The next thing to be done was to search for the depôt -of provisions on Schönau Island. - -[Illustration: DIGGING OUT THE DEPÔT.] - -15. On the 21st of April (the thermometer marking -7° F.) Orel led -with the large sledge, while I remained behind with the dog-sledge, in -order, from an elevation at Cape Frankfort, to complete the measurement -of certain angles indispensable for the maps I was constructing. We -joined company again nearly opposite Cape Berghaus, and together crossed -a broad reach covered with ice-hummocks. The weather was clear, and -brilliantly-marked parhelia hung over the dark blue background of the -mountains. We again came on very deep snow, and as we advanced with -much difficulty and great exertion, we got rid of the bear, after we -had cut off from it every portion that could be used for food. The -relief, however, was not great, and we were repeatedly compelled to halt -and rest. Lukinovich and the much-enduring Zaninovich were taken with -fainting-fits, the consequence of their excessive exertions. Indeed we -were all more or less faint and emaciated. During one of these halts, -in order to quicken their failing energies, I held forth to them on the -astonishing example of MacClintock’s sledge journeys. The Dalmatians -freely expressed their admiration of those Englishmen, but the Tyrolese -were rather slow to believe. - -[Illustration: THE MIDNIGHT SUN BETWEEN CAPE BERGHAUS AND KOLDEWEY -ISLAND.] - -16. Soon after midnight on the 22nd of April (the thermometer standing -at -6° F.) we reached Schönau Island, round which the ice had broken -up, so that we frequently fell into the fissures. As we erected our -tent, the sun was setting behind the violet-coloured edges of the -ice-hummocks, while the lofty pinnacle of Cape Berghaus stood out -sharply marked against the sky. The situation of the island we had -reached being extremely favourable, on the highest point of it, I took -some observations, which completed the surveys which I had made during -this expedition. Close to the eastward of us, the ice had broken up -round Hochstetter Island. Orel had meanwhile put up the tent, and Klotz -had dug out the depôt of provisions, which, to our great joy, we found -had not been disturbed by bears. The danger of starvation was at an -end, and after satisfying the claims of hunger we enjoyed a delicious -sleep of seven hours, and again set forth. We were still twenty-five -miles from the ship. This distance I now determined to compass with the -dog-sledge with all the speed possible, in order to ascertain whether -the _Tegetthoff_ remained where we left her. Orel was to follow close -with the large sledge. The day was of unusual brightness. All the land, -which a month ago had been the home of storms and enveloped in snow, now -shone in the sunlight, and the walls of rock wore their natural brown -colour. My route lay close under Koldewey and Salm Islands. At first -every fragment which had fallen from a glacier on either of these islands -was used as a pretext by the dogs for turning out of the course, and the -trail of a bear seemed quite to distract them. It was to little purpose -that I went on first to show them the way. No sooner was the least -liberty allowed them, than they used it to make now for Cape Tegetthoff, -then for Cape Berghaus, and, in preference to every other point, for the -sun! Ever and anon Torossy dragged Jubinal out of the road, and this -unruliness lasted till we came on the old sledge track, which was almost -obliterated by the snow. Suddenly they seemed to feel as if they had -entered on a familiar region. With their heads raised, and tails in the -air, they now rushed along at the rate of 180 paces in a minute, though -I had now taken my place on the sledge. The south-west corner of Salm -Island was beset by a crowd of apparently stranded icebergs. Under the -sheltered side of one of these colossal masses I made a short halt, and -lighted the cooking-machine to thaw some boiled beef, and enjoy a meal -in common with my canine companions, who regarded all my movements with -fixed attention. Just as I was intently observing a small dark point -on the horizon advancing in my direction—it was Orel and his party—the -iceberg, in whose stability I was placing complete confidence, suddenly -capsized, and, rolling on to the ice, shivered into fragments. In an -instant I was surrounded by fissures, pools of water, and rolling pieces -of ice. Seizing the cooking-machine, which I had lighted, I escaped with -great difficulty. I had often observed, that icebergs were surrounded -by circles of shattered surface-ice, with sea-water standing in their -fissures. The overturning of icebergs, which occurs, I apprehend, more -frequently than is generally imagined, easily accounts for the fact. It -is therefore advisable to shun the immediate neighbourhood of an iceberg -when the tent has to be erected, and to avoid using the iceberg itself as -a place for a depôt of provisions. - -[Illustration: THE “TEGETTHOFF” DESCRIED.] - -17. When I turned into the narrow passage between Salm and Wilczek -Islands, Orgel Cape, visible at a great distance, was the only dark spot -in the scene. At once the dogs made for it, and about midnight I arrived -there. A few hundred steps further, and I should stand on the top of it, -and see the ship, if ship were there. With an anxious, heavy heart, I -then began the ascent. A stony plateau stretched before me. With every -advancing step, made with increasing difficulty, the land gradually -disappeared, and the horizon of the frozen sea expanded before me—an -immeasurable white waste. No ship was to be seen—no trace of man for -thousands of miles, save a cairn, with the fragments of a flag fluttering -in the breeze, and a grave covered with snow-drifts. Still I climbed on. -Suddenly three slender masts emerged—I had found the ship: there she lay -about three miles off, appearing on the frozen ocean no bigger than a -fly. The snow-drifts and icebergs around her had hitherto concealed her -from my eye. I directed my telescope towards her, and every spar and sail -I saw seemed to promise a happy conclusion to our expedition. I held the -heads of the dogs towards the ship, and pointed with my arm to where she -lay, that they might share in my joy. We soon descended, and took our -way towards her. At about a hundred yards off the watch detected us. All -on board but the men who composed it were asleep, for it was night. At -first they were exceedingly alarmed to see me alone, but having calmed -their apprehensions, I went down at once into the cabin to awaken the -sleepers. Great was the joy caused by the account of the high latitude we -had reached, and of the discoveries we had made, which I endeavoured to -explain by the rough outline of a map which I sketched. In a few hours -the stock of questions was answered and exhausted, and everyone now left -the ship to welcome the approaching party, which was soon descried with -the sledge-flag flying. Hearty and joyful were the mutual greetings; and -the appetite of the emaciated adventurers occupied this night and for a -week afterwards, all the attention of the rest of the crew.[51] We formed -a strange group to look upon, but Klotz carried off the palm from us -all. He had never shown any weakness in counteracting the effects of -weather and exposure on his motley garments. His cap, a wondrous piece -of patchwork, resembled the winged helmet of a knight-errant, and of his -boots nothing remained but the feet, over which hung the legs of them in -shreds and tatters. Carlsen, when he saw him stepping along proudly and -silently, forgot for a moment his walruses, and compared him to Saint -Olaf, who could find only one horse in “Gulbrandsdalen” strong enough to -carry him. - -[Illustration: KLOTZ.] - -18. During our absence the greatest activity had reigned on board ship. -Weyprecht and Brosch had finished their magnetical observations, and -measured on the ice the base, which I have already mentioned, for the -trigonometrical portion of my surveys. The crew had begun the equipment -of the boats for our return to Europe, and packed up the provisions in -water-tight cases. The number of the sick had diminished; the frost-bites -had yielded to a persevering course of poultices and baths. The only -unpropitious circumstance was the accident which had befallen Stiglich, -who had shattered his right arm by accidentally discharging a rifle. -Sores and wounds in Arctic regions are difficult to heal, and especially -during the winter. Thanks to the care of our physician, Stiglich’s severe -wound healed more quickly than many a slighter injury during the cold -period of the year. The sanitary condition had essentially improved, -owing to the rich supplies of fresh meat afforded by the chase. Even -before our arrival the ship’s company had killed several bears. Scarcely -a day now passed without a bear coming near the ship. On the 25th of -April we shot one in the act of tearing down with his fore-paws a cask -sticking in the ice, and on the following day another fell a victim to -the curious attention with which he was regarding some meat packed in a -tin case. Birds also, especially divers, appeared in greater numbers; the -cliffs of Wilczek Island were no longer desolate as before. Hence it was -that we indulged in dishes of stewed birds and roasted bear’s-flesh. We -had brought with us seven bears’ tongues; each day brought an accession, -and our culinary art exercised itself on the refined preparation of -bears’ tongues, which, together with the brains of this animal, were -esteemed the greatest delicacies. Weyprecht, according to agreement, -had caused a boat and provisions for three months to be put on shore, -intended for the use of the sledge-party in the event of the ship being -driven from her moorings. As these precautionary measures could now be -dispensed with, the boat and all these provisions were removed to the -ship. Later experience proved that the exploring party could not have -escaped in this manner, for the united strength of three-and-twenty men -was required to raise and place such a boat on a sledge. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE THIRD SLEDGE JOURNEY. - - -1. The weather during the last days of April was truly delightful; calms -and bright sunshine made work and exercise in the open air exceedingly -pleasant, and the temperature never fell below -2° F. But even this -amount of cold was sufficient to retard the softening of the snow for -some days, and favoured the carrying out of a third sledge expedition. -Its intention was the exploration of the western portions of Franz-Josef -Land; for the question of its extension towards Spitzbergen was scarcely -less interesting than its extension towards the North. I should have -liked to devote weeks to the undertaking, but our impending return left a -few days only at my disposal. - -2. On the 29th of April (the thermometer marking -2° F.) Lieutenant -Brosch, Haller, and myself left the ship. Jubinal and Torossy were -selected to drag the small sledge, which was equipped for a week’s -expedition; Pekel accompanied us as a volunteer. The measurement of -the angles necessary to complete my survey detained us so long on the -heights of Wilczek Island, that we could not make our start on the level -ice till the next morning. The power of the sun some days was so great, -that the temperature of the tent at noon, when there was no wind, rose -to 63° F., while in the two preceding months it was from 10° F. to -13° -F. If the temperature during the day did not fall more than 6° below -freezing-point, we required no clothes beyond our woollen underclothing -and stockings. As we started in the morning of April 30, some snow -fell, and the mountains were covered with masses of mist, which lay in -horizontal layers half way up their sides. Cape Brünn, however, which -was our goal, lay before us, clear and distinct, and the long glacier -walls, running to the west of it round the edge of MacClintock Island, -were under the constant play of refraction, and could be traced as far as -Cape Oppolzer, from which point they seemed to trend to the north-west. - -3. The snow-track of the Sound was still firm, so that our dogs needed -little help in dragging our baggage, especially after we had buried -provision for the return journey in an iceberg. We had scarcely finished -this labour when we discovered a bear’s hole in the layer of snow at its -base, and immediately afterwards we beheld its occupant coming furiously -towards us. Several hasty shots were fired at him, but the bear escaped, -though evidently wounded. The nearer we approached MacClintock Island, -the more frequently we found fissures in the ice running parallel to -the coast and communicating with a small “ice-hole” in the south about -four miles off. Trusting, however, that during the next few days these -fissures would not open so much as to prevent our re-crossing them, we -went on and pitched our encampment near the terminal front of one of the -glaciers of the island. - -4. Our dogs continued now, as before, the implacable enemies of bears. -Matotschkin’s sad end had not frightened them into prudence and caution, -doubtless because they counted on our prowess against the common foe. To -them nothing could be a more joyous spectacle than a wounded bear. If in -his flight he became faint and exhausted they surrounded him, bit at his -legs, and did all they could to prevent his getting away, and courage, -as well as love of mischief, was visible in all their actions. Pekel, -small as he was, was the leader in all attacks, and Torossy grew under -his tuition to be at length a formidable assailant. So things proved -now. While we were busily preparing our supper in the tent a young bear -appeared on the scene; before we could stop them, out rushed the dogs on -our visitor, who at first retreated, while the dogs followed hard on his -heels. As it generally happened that the bear, after a time, turned on -his pursuers and gave them chase, we were somewhat alarmed for the safety -of the dogs, especially of Torossy, who sometimes was so stupid as not -to find his way back to the tent without guidance. Just as we expected, -the bear turned and became the pursuer; Torossy taking the lead in the -retreat. Our small stock of cartridges and superfluity of bears’-flesh -might have induced us to gaze at him while he gazed on us, if he had -only kept at a respectful distance; but he would come too near, and -reluctantly we found ourselves under the necessity of killing him and -depriving him of the dainty morsel of his tongue. Forster says that the -flesh of the Polar bear tastes like bad beef, an opinion which we are -able to endorse and confirm, as we had consumed in this expedition about -four bears apiece. - -[Illustration: MARKHAM SOUND, RICHTHOFEN PEAK FROM CAPE BRÜNN.] - -5. On the 1st of May (the thermometer standing at 4° F.) we purposed to -cross the Simony glacier and ascend the pyramid-like Cape Brünn, whence -we might hope to see at a glance as much of the surrounding country as -would have required a journey of several days on the level to discover. -Unfavourable weather, however, prevented the execution of this project, -and we were obliged to keep in our tent. Lieutenant Brosch, whose duties -in taking magnetical observations stood in the way of his accompanying me -in the previous expeditions, had now the misfortune to injure his foot; -and in consequence of this accident I had to start next morning (May 2) -accompanied only by Haller, to attempt the ascent. Fastened together with -a rope, we passed over the Simony glacier amid heavy snow-storms from the -W.N.W., and in a zigzag course went up the steep pyramid of Cape Brünn. -Never have I made a more disagreeable ascent. A steep, snowy gorge led -through a crown of rocks to the summit, which we reached after a march -of five hours. By an aneroid observation we found the height to be 2,500 -feet. - -6. If the ascent of a mountain in the face of wind and penetrating cold -demands all the self-command even of men the most inured to fatigues, -it required the additional stimulus afforded by the view of an unknown -land to give us endurance and energy under such circumstances, to sketch, -to take azimuth measurements, and estimate the distances of important -localities. To add to our difficulties, the theodolite was constantly -shaken by the wind, so that every angle had to be observed repeatedly, in -order that an available mean value might be obtained. It was only after -several hours of the most severe labour that my work was completed. My -attention was directed chiefly to the southern parts of Zichy Land, which -formed a vast mountainous region beyond Markham Sound. Half the horizon -was bounded by cliffs and heights gleaming with snow. The conical shape -of the mountains prevailed here also; the only exception was Richthofen -Spitze, the loftiest summit, perhaps, we had seen in Franz-Josef Land, -which rose like a slender white pyramid to the height of about 5,000 -feet. The land was everywhere intersected by fiords and covered with -glaciers. Its boundaries towards Spitzbergen, or Gillis’ Land, could not -be determined, because even at the distance of seventy or ninety German -miles, mountain ranges were distinctly to be traced. It would appear, -therefore, that masses of land stretch in this direction to at least -the fiftieth degree, perhaps even to the forty-eighth degree, of east -longitude. We also discovered, that the lands on the south of Markham -Sound were separated by a fiord—Negri Sound. This was already open, and -since some darker spots indicated fissures in the ice in Markham Sound, -it is probable that sledge-journeys can be only undertaken early in the -spring in Franz-Josef Land without the danger of being cut off. At the -time when we made our observations, it was utterly impossible that such -waters could be navigated by any ship, not even if she could be placed -amid these small unconnected “ice-holes.” Haller, whose rheumatic -tendencies unfitted him to bear wind and cold, had, meanwhile, posted -himself in a cleft of rock sheltered from the wind beneath the summit, -but I was quite satisfied with his running to my help, in order to rub -my frozen hands with snow, when I was forced to drop the book in which I -recorded my labours. - -7. But however great our delight at the discovery of these unknown -lands—trophies of our endurance—we were much discouraged by the view -towards the south. An enormous surface of ice extended before us—a sad -outlook, as we thought of our return homeward. Although one single -serpentine thread of water, gleaming in the sun, stretched towards the -south-east, separating the land-ice from the field-ice, yet it was -but too certain that the next breeze from the south would again close -it. All save this was a close sheet of ice. We spent some time in -exploring the lower glacier region of the island, so that it was towards -evening before we reached the tent. Much as we desired to prosecute our -explorations, reflection forced us to limit them. In order to penetrate -in a north-westerly direction several days would have been needed; but -as it had been arranged that we must at once begin our return to Europe, -we were constrained to abandon the thought of such a scheme and return -at once to the ship. On the night of the 2nd of May we began our forced -march of two-and-twenty hours, during which we were often bathed in -perspiration, though the temperature on the 3rd of May varied between 5° -F. and -4° F. The dogs alone drew the sledge with ease, though it carried -a load of 3 cwt., giving us such a striking example of what they could -do, that we felt persuaded that a sledge, with a strong team of dogs, -must be the best form, beyond comparison, of sledge-travelling. In the -evening we reached the _Tegetthoff_ and our sledge expeditions came to a -close, after we had travelled in this fashion about 450 miles. - - - - -“TEGETTHOFF” ABANDONED: RETURN TO EUROPE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -LAST DAYS ON THE “TEGETTHOFF.” - - -1. We could now return with honour. The observations and discoveries we -had made could not be wrested from us, and our many anxieties on this -ground were at an end, henceforth the greatest evil that could befall -us was death on our homeward voyage. The intervening days were given up -to the recruiting of our exhausted powers; Klotz called this time the -“plundering of the ship.” Not very much time, indeed, was left for this, -but the short spell of good living, in which we all shared, transformed -the ship into an abode of Epicureans. But withal we redoubled our -diligence to secure the results of our toils and labours. Lieutenant -Weyprecht deposited our meteorological and magnetical readings, the -log-books and the ship’s papers, in a chest lined with tin, and soldered -it down, and a few days afterwards I made exact duplicates of the -surveys, and of measurements, which I had taken. I took especial care so -to prepare these, that another person might be able to construct from -them a map of Franz-Josef Land, should I myself perish on the return -journey. These sheets also were packed in a chest lined with tin and -soldered, and along with them were placed our zoological drawings and -about 200 sketches of the country, of the Arctic Sea and our adventures, -the flag too of the sledge journeys, and my journals. Of the zoological -collection itself, only a small selection of the specimens most easy of -transport could be taken with us. - -2. The time passed away with unexpected rapidity; the days had scarcely -begun before they seemed to have come to an end. Everyone was busy in -getting his clothes ready. In the quarters of the crew, sewing went -on without intermission, and piles of thread disappeared under their -fingers, to appear again in the strangest patterns worked on the old -garments. Avalanches of cast-off clothes hung over the hull of the ship. -The vessel—no longer trim as before—came to wear the look befitting the -catastrophe that awaited her. A great number of bears’ carcases lay on -the ice,[52] for only the brain, the tongue, and the prime portions of -the flesh found their way to the kitchen, the remaining parts lay about -half buried under snow-drifts, given up to the dogs to tear to pieces, -who now for the first time found themselves exempted from rations served -out according to time and circumstances. A month later, and such a field -of carnage would have become a very home of pestilence. - -3. Short excursions with the dog-sledge enabled us to finish our -observations on the motion of glaciers, which the great depth of -the snow had hitherto made a matter of much difficulty. The last of -these expeditions took place on May 15th. On the spot on which we had -first set our foot, we took farewell of the grave of our departed -comrade and of the Land to which we had drifted through the happy -caprice of an ice-floe, and the discovery of which rendered a return -without humiliation possible. But with this farewell the business of -the expedition came to an end, all our thoughts were now occupied -with getting back to Europe. Of the issue we dared not form the least -conception; but whether it were deliverance or destruction, our lot must -at any rate be decided within three months, as for this period only we -could drag with us the most indispensable provisions. - -4. On our equipment Lieutenant Weyprecht and I bestowed much thought and -care, and our measures were carried out with the greatest exactness. -All these were based on the excellent apparatus for sledging already -described; the additional precautions were confined to the more -convenient stowing away of the provisions, and to the diminishing, as -much as possible, of the baggage. The rapid decrease of the cold and -the consequent rise of the temperature, even above the freezing point, -enabled us to reduce our clothing to a minimum without endangering our -health; and no more comfortable sleeping-place for Arctic explorers can -be conceived than the interior of a dry boat, covered in like a tent and -provided with bed-quilts. There was more danger that we should suffer -from heat than from cold; the apprehension of insufficient provisions was -better founded. - -5. Three boats were selected for the return expedition. Two of these were -Norwegian whale-boats, 20 feet long, 5 feet broad, and 2½ feet deep. -Lieutenant Weyprecht, Dr. Kepes, Lusina, Orasch, Latkovich, Palmich, -Vecerina and Klotz, formed the complement of the one; and Zaninovich, -Haller, Lukinovich, Scarpa, Stiglich, Pospischill, Midshipman Orel and I, -the complement of the other. The third and somewhat smaller boat carried -Lieutenant Brosch, Captain Carlsen, Cattarinich, Lettis, Sussich, Marola -and Fallesich. Each of these boats rested on a sledge, and was laden with -the following articles:— - - 10 light oars. - 2 long steering oars. - 1 sail and mast. - 1 ice-anchor. - 2 boat-hooks. - 1 harpoon and line. - 1 fishing-line. - 1 small hatchet. - 1 ice-borer. - 1 screw-driver. - 1 caulking-iron. - 1 saw. - 6 reserve sledge screws. - 1 bag of nails. - 2 Lefaucheux rifles. - 1 Werndl rifle. - 1 case with 100 shot cartridges. - 1 case with 50 ditto. - 2 cases of 50 Lefaucheux cartridges. - 25 Werndl cartridges. - 8 sledge traces. - 6 lamps. - 6 weights for measuring provisions. - 2 pairs of reindeer shoes. - 2 oil cans. - 1 bag of nails. - 20 boxes of lucifer matches. - 1 steel and tinder. - 1 compass. - 1 sextant. - 1 bundle of wicks. - 1 telescope. - 1 signal horn. - 1 50-fathom line. - 1 box of lard. - 1 pair of tin-cutters. - 1 grindstone. - 3 bungs. - - _Spare Clothes._ - - 1 pair of drawers. - 1 shirt. - 1 woollen undershirt. - 1 pair of trousers. - - 1 spirit measure. - 1 pair of scales. - 1 spirit can. - 1 lever. - 1 funnel. - -To each boat was attached a large sledge thus laden:— - - Pemmican—4 boxes of 50 lbs. 200 - ” 1 box of 25 lbs. 25 - ” 4 boxes of 5 lbs. 20 - ---- 245 - Peasmeal—2 chests of 100 lbs. packed in tin 200 - ” 1 chest of 100 lbs. packed in paper 100 - ---- 300 - Potted Meat—1 chest of 80 lbs. 80 - Boiled Beef—5 chests of 10 tins of 7½ lbs. 375 - ” ” 4 ” 7½ lbs. 30 - ---- 405 - Flour—3 boxes of 33 lbs. 99 - Bread—2 bags of 83 lbs. 166 - Chocolate—3 boxes of 30 lbs. 90 - Spirits—3 casks, each weighing 77 lbs. 231 - Salt—1 box of 12 lbs. 12 - Extract of Meat—2 boxes of 5 lbs. 10 - Tea—1 box of 3 lbs. 3 - ---- - Total 1641 - ==== - -To this must be added 100 lbs. of bread for the dogs, and a shovel and a -complete cooking apparatus for each sledge. Our load therefore amounted -in provisions alone to about 50 cwt., and including everything, to about -90 cwt. Parry, with twenty-eight men, in 1827 had for his journey of -sixty-one days two boats and four sledges, carrying a total weight of -75 cwt.—about 2½ cwt. therefore for each man. Notwithstanding great -obstacles from the ice, his expedition was, perhaps, more favoured than -ours, for he passed over 1½ degrees of latitude in thirty days. - -6. Of our dogs, two only, Jubinal and Torossy, were available to drag the -small sledge; 1 cwt. of bread was all we could take for them, and for the -rest they had to depend on the product of the chase. Gillis was shot on -account of his intractability, and Semlja because of her weakness. Only -Pekel was allowed to accompany us; he only of the dogs had the right -of going about at liberty; yet his life too was safe as long as our -provisions lasted. - -7. Our stock of clothes consisted of two woollen shirts, one pair of -woollen drawers, three pairs of stockings, leather water-boots, a -cap, and of a fur-coat to sleep in. Clean woollen under-garments were -much in request, and many a manœuvre was practised to get possession -of them. Each of the party carried besides a large knife, a spoon, and -a pair of snow-spectacles. Of luxuries none were permitted to us but a -tobacco-pouch to each man; but filled with such art that it was like a -stone in weight. We were not allowed to line our coats with tobacco. - -8. Our plan was simple—to reach the depôt of provisions on the Barentz -Islands, which lay in an almost directly southerly direction. After -replenishing our stores there, we proposed to follow the coast of Novaya -Zemlya with the hope of reaching one of those ships which the salmon -fishery in the rivers of that country detains there to the beginning -of harvest. It was also not impossible that we might be discovered -before this, on the more northern coast of Novaya Zemlya, by a Norwegian -seal-hunter. The boats were to keep together if possible; but in case -they should be separated, the Wilhelm Islands were fixed on as the place -of rendezvous up to the middle of August. At first, night was chosen for -the march, and day was devoted to sleep; the observance, however, of this -regulation was constantly prevented by special circumstances. The success -of the expedition depended on our crossing the ice-covered sea by the -end of August. The greatest difficulties were to be apprehended from the -melting of the snow, for although the thermometer at the beginning of May -fell 14° and even 17° below zero, and sharp north-east winds somewhat -retarded the thaw, the mean temperature during the day approximated to -zero, and on May 16 it actually rose above it. Two of our men, Stiglich -and Vecerina, were unfit for duty, and had often to be dragged in the -sledge. The rest of the men were healthy, and the swelling of the feet, -from which the sledge-party had suffered, had disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -ON THE FROZEN SEA. - - -1. The momentous day came at last—the 20th of May, the very day in 1855 -on which Kane abandoned his ship;[53] and we hailed with joy the advent -of the hour which was to terminate our life of inaction. Yet we could not -see without emotion the flags nailed to the masts of the _Tegetthoff_, -and the final preparations to leave the ship, which had been our home for -two weary years, and in which we had confronted the perils of the frozen -sea, its ice-pressures, its storms, and its cold. These recollections -crowded upon us as the moment came to abandon her. Now too we had to -part with our Zoological, Botanical, and Geological collections, the -result of so much labour; the ample collection of instruments, the -books which had helped us over many a weary hour, and the sixty-seven -bear-skins which we had so carefully prepared—all these had also to be -abandoned. The photographs of friends and acquaintances we hung on the -rocky walls ashore, preferring to leave them there rather than in the -ship, which must some time or other be driven ashore and go to pieces. A -document stating the grounds of our decision was laid on the table of the -mess-room. - -[Illustration: THE FIRST ABANDONMENT OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.” - -_To face_ p. 348.] - -2. We slept during this day, and in the evening sat down to the last -meal we were to enjoy on board the ship. About nine o’clock, P.M., we -assembled round the boats, ready for the start. Dark masses of clouds -obscured the sun, and our route southwards led us into the gloomy -monotonous region of ice-hummocks covered with snow—our world for the -next three months. The first day’s work for twenty-three men, harnessed -to boat or sledge, was the advance of one mile; and even this rate of -progress, small as it was, was not constant. Many days it did not amount -to half a mile; the sledge-sail was of little avail, for the deep snow -retarded our progress; the sledges sank deep into it, those on which the -boats were placed actually sticking fast. We had to pass three times -heavily laden, and twice empty, over every bit of the road, and half our -number were scarcely able to move a sledge or a boat. Such labours and -exertions in deep snow were truly distracting. Almost at every step we -sank knee-deep. Sometimes some unhappy fellows went in deeper still; of -Scarpa, it was asserted that scarcely anything but his head was visible -while he dragged. Constantly we had either to unload the sledge, or, -harnessing ourselves all together for a moment, drag it out of the deep -snow-drift. For one-half of the march we might get on without special -impediment, the other half was spent in vain efforts to push the load on, -amid “Aussingen,”[54] to time the strong pull and the pull all together. -The perspiration often streamed down our faces, for the sky was overcast, -and the air exceedingly sultry. After the exertion of some days, raw -wounds appeared on the shoulders of several. After a bit of our track -had been passed over three times in the way described, it was like a -path in the snow hollowed out by the shovel, so that we had spent our -strength in levelling it, but hardly in satisfactory progress. To add to -our trials, we suffered intensely from thirst, and those among us who -were unaccustomed to the fatigues of sledge-travelling, sank down in the -snow at every halt and greedily ate of it. If such were to be the course -of our journey, would escape be possible? Not a man among us imagined -that we could be saved, except by some extraordinary and happy turn of -fortune, small signs of which were at present to be seen. To escape from -this depressing fear, we deliberately avoided every allusion to the -future. - -3. The dogs, under the superintendence of Carlsen, took their part in -the transport of the baggage, but showed themselves very lazy and -intractable under his management, and seemed to take a pleasure in -plunging their loaded sledge deep into the snow, out of which it was -beyond the old man’s power to free them without help. Nor was their own -strength equal to going over the track twice at least, even with only -one cwt. each time. If, therefore, their services were to be turned -to account, they must be led by some one whom they obeyed, who could -help them by shoving or dragging, who could set up the sledge when it -overturned, and was strong enough to keep constantly lifting the heavy -bags, and who could pass over the same piece of road four or five times, -if necessary. This duty was taken in turn by Haller and myself, and -we succeeded in transporting in this way daily all the bread and the -spirits, weighing together from 8 to 10 cwt., and, in some cases, at a -later period, even the entire load of a great sledge divided into parts. -I mention this in order to show the great services which our dogs, though -their number was small, rendered during the march. - -4. In the first week after the _Tegetthoff_ was abandoned, whenever -Weyprecht encamped at the end of the day’s march, Haller, Zaninovich and -I returned in the dog-sledge to the ship in order to replenish the stores -we had consumed. The distance, which we had taken a week to pass with -all our baggage, was done by the help of the dogs in an hour or two. In -these different visits we did our utmost to fulfil the commissions of our -companions. We rummaged the hold, though in many of the cases we opened -nothing was to be seen but a dressed bear-skin. In one of these trips we -filled a small cask with a concentrated decoction of all the tea which -was left behind, and the rum we found was used to give it the proper -strength. When we returned to the boat-parties before the morning start, -this still lukewarm decoction of tea and rum met with great approbation, -but the greatest was reserved for the remains of the condensed milk we -brought with us, not merely because it was milk, but because to us it was -the only milk in the world. Round the remains of the bears we had killed -we always found flocks of sea-gulls screaming and quarrelling. Sometimes -too we saw bears prowling round the ship at a distance, waiting till -their time for plunder came. They seemed to wait for the moment when they -should be able to take permanent possession of a fortress which had been -so long hostile to their race. - -5. But we had the benefit of their company through the earlier part of -our journey. May 23, a bear was shot by Weyprecht, and forthwith the -gulls, who always turned up whenever there was anything eatable to be -got, consumed the remains with astonishing rapidity, even to the bones. -On the 26th, when I was about two miles from the advanced parties, -fetching something which had been left behind, I suddenly sighted a bear -at about 100 paces distant, lying in the snow and apparently asleep. -The dogs too got sight of him, and I had much trouble in keeping them -in, till I overturned the sledge to act as a breast-work. As the bear -rose and stood on his hind legs I fired, but though severely wounded, -he managed to crawl away. The dogs, rushing off with the sledge behind -them, assailed the wounded animal with a fury which would have been -fatal to them, if the sledge had been checked by any obstacle. Torossy -specially showed a complete ignorance of how matters stood, and was saved -by Jubinal from the paws of his assailant. Whenever the bear came up to -the sledge, Jubinal swung round with it, till I came up so close as to -make sure of killing it with my last cartridge. On the 31st, Klotz shot a -bear which came within ten paces of the boats; but notwithstanding this -addition of fresh meat, the stores we brought in the dog-sledge from the -ship maintained their charm. - -[Illustration: IN THE HARBOUR OF AULIS.] - -6. A few days after the abandonment of the ship, dark masses of clouds, -indicating open water, were seen in the south-west, which doubtless -proceeded from the fissures we had observed three weeks before from Cape -Brünn. There was good ground, therefore, to hope that we should get -beyond the land-ice in a few days, and reach the network of ever-changing -“leads.” If we succeeded in this, we might then launch the boats in -one of these water-ways, and following the windings of its course -between the fields of ice, escape to the south with greater rapidity. -Our most sanguine expectations were exceeded when, on the 28th, we -reached unexpectedly a small flat island, the very existence of which -was unknown to us—Lamont Island. Ascending the highest point of it, we -saw an “ice-hole” stretching to the south-east, in which was floating -an enormous table-shaped iceberg. This “ice-hole” was not more than a -mile from the southern extremity of the island, which was itself still -surrounded by forced-up blocks of ice. A driving snow-storm detained us -on the 29th on the island, and we contented ourselves with gathering -pieces of drift-wood lying on the shore. On the 30th we delayed no longer -in our attempt to advance to the edge of the floes and launch our boats. -But our calculations were doomed to disappointment; after a toilsome -search of several days to find a suitable spot from which to launch -our boats, we were convinced that this was for the present impossible, -because the edges of the “ice-hole” were surrounded with broad barriers -of broken ice, rendering the passage of the boats and sledges impossible. -Weyprecht and Klotz had meanwhile started to reconnoitre, and their -report on their return showed that sledging, for the present at least, -was at an end. The ice-hole before us extended far eastward, and the -attempt to outflank it would have led us through walls of ice piled up -to the height of fifty feet. We went back, therefore, to the more level -surface of ice we had left, and pitched our camp, which we called the -“Harbour of Aulis;” for, like the Greeks of old, we had here to wait for -more favourable winds. Winds only could open the ice before us and widen -the “leads” into a navigable condition. We had never kept at any great -distance from our boats while engaged in transporting their heavy loads, -but henceforward we were careful to keep close to them, as we had every -reason to look for the speedy breaking up and separation of the ice. We -were now in 79° 46′ N. L., and therefore only five miles from the ship. -Cape Tegetthoff was still distinctly visible on our northern horizon. - -7. The space in the boats being insufficient for the crew and all the -baggage we had to take, Weyprecht determined to send back Orel and nine -men to bring away the jolly-boat, which had been left behind, and I went -on in the dog-sledge to help in the work of removing more stores from -the ship. It took me just three hours to do the distance, which it had -cost the advanced parties eight days to accomplish. The activity of the -dogs received a fresh stimulus from their coming on the track of a bear -running in the direction of the ship, and when we came within 1,000 yards -of it, there we saw our enemy, who, however, thought it more prudent not -to await our attack. On the 7th of June the equipment of the jolly-boat -was completed, and we returned to our companions with a load of 3 cwt. -of boiled beef, shot, and other necessaries. The old track, now well -trodden down, proved a great advantage to us. If we had deviated a single -step, we should at once have stuck fast, for the character of the snow -had altered, and where it lay in masses it had become mere sludge. The -temperature, which at the end of May had varied between 25° and 19° F., -rose, on June 1, to freezing-point, and remained steady at that point -for some time. Even during the weeks of midsummer the temperature rose -only a few degrees above freezing-point. On the 3rd of June it rained for -the first time, and gradually the weather assumed the character of fogs -and driving mists so common to the Arctic Ocean. Clear days were of rare -occurrence, and, occasionally only, the sun shone for a few hours. On our -return to the boats we found their crews were sitting up and looking out, -like young birds in a nest, to see what we had brought from the ship. -Tobacco was regarded as a right royal gift, and Dr. Kepes, to whom I gave -a shirt-sleeve well stuffed out with the precious weed, regarded himself -as a Crœsus. - -8. Meantime our longings to launch grew apace; anxiously we looked for -the widening of a fissure to enable us to advance southward. We attempted -again and again to approach the “ice-hole,” but always found insuperable -difficulties to bar the way. The effort to get one of our boats into a -dock we had hewn in the ice nearly ended in its loss, and nothing was -left to us but to repeat the flank march along the fatal “ice-hole” -to the “harbour of Aulis,” there to watch for the breaking-up of the -ice. Throughout the day we sat penned up in the boats, worn-out with a -feeling of indescribable weariness, each morning longing for the end of -the day, and at every meal thinking when the next would be ready. It -seemed as if the time for launching the boats would never come. When the -hoarse melancholy scream of the burgomaster-gull sounded through the -stillness of the night, it seemed like a demon voice from another world, -proclaiming that all our efforts would avail nothing to deliver us from -the icy power which held us in its grasp. A visit from a bear was a -welcome change in the monotony of our life. - -9. We were now in the middle of June. Winds from the south still -prevailed, and we were close to the ship at the expiration of some -weeks; the third part of our provisions was consumed, and of the 250 -German miles between the ship and coast of Lapland we had accomplished -but one mile and a quarter. If this should continue to be the rate of -our progress, we had the prospect of reaching home in twenty years! -Yet gloomy as things appeared, there were moments when we were tempted -to think that the end of our trials had come at last. Thus, on the -17th of June, an “ice-hole” opened close to us; instantly we prepared -to take advantage of it. The day was perfectly clear, and though the -temperature in the shade stood at freezing-point (F.), it was to us an -African heat. We threw down the walls of ice, levelled a track for the -sledges, and that night we stood, with all our baggage, at the edge of -the open water, and, on the morning of the 18th of June, we at last -succeeded in launching our boats and putting all our baggage on board. -The sledges, fastened to the boats, were towed in their wake. The dogs -were put in the different boats, Jubinal alone taking kindly to his new -abode, seeing doubtless that he would have to sleep no longer on snow. -After drinking some tea with the last remains of our rum, we pushed off, -steering towards the south, and it was a sure sign of the elevation of -our spirits, that three-and-twenty tobacco-pipes were immediately put -into active operation. Our progress, however, was but small, scarcely -more than one mile an hour, which was fully accounted for by the deep -lading of the boats and the towing of the sledges. We might have sailed -about three miles, steering in a southerly direction, when a heavy floe -stopped us and progress for the time being impossible, we drew the boats -up on the ice and went to rest. Soon after snow began to fall and a west -wind set in which gradually veered to the south, and the floes were -again forced together, and we found all the “leads” closed up when we -attempted to move on in the morning. Again we had to wait, but with this -difference, that we were now at the mercy of the wind, which might drive -us with the floe, on which we happened to be, wherever it pleased. - -[Illustration: WE LAUNCH AT LAST.] - -10. On the 19th of June we had to lie still in our boats, but next day -we were able to push them to the edge of a fissure, into which we let -them down, unlading them and lading them afresh on the opposite side; -our progress during the day thus amounted to a mere change of encampment -from one floe to another floe. The absence of navigable “leads” prevented -our advancing further. Our position remained unaltered for the next two -days, the only event that occurred being the shooting of a seal (_Phoca -Grœnlandica_), which sufficed to make the soup we had for supper somewhat -more palatable. He had fallen to the gun of Weyprecht, who proved to be -the luckiest of us all in seal-hunting, in which only the persevering -succeed. Every seal that was shot was of course a saving of the stock of -our provisions, and hence the killing of these animals was a matter of -extreme importance to us, and the preservation of our lives depended in a -very great measure on our success. - -11. Nothing can give a better idea of our life at this period than a few -quotations from my journal:— - -“_June 23._—Things have improved a little towards the south; in the -forenoon of this day we passed over two water-holes and two floes, thus -advancing about a quarter of a mile. The intervention of a third floe -hindered us from penetrating into another ‘ice-hole.’ After midnight the -ice again opened, and we sailed several hundred paces further. - -“_June 24._—Early in the morning Orel shot a seal of unusual size. We -dragged on for half a mile over a large field of ice to its southern -edge, but found, on our arrival there, that an accumulation of smaller -floes barred our advance. - -“_June 25._—We could not sail a bit further; winds from the north-east -prevailed; our latitude was 79° 16′. After leaving the ice under the -land, the depth of the snow considerably diminished, so that the sledges -on which the boats were placed could be dragged on much more easily than -before. There were, however, no pools of thaw-water on the ice, though we -had observed such much earlier in the preceding year. - -“_June 26._—Several hours occupied in passing over ice-fields and small -‘ice-holes.’ During the halt at noon a bear came within twenty paces -of us, but seeing so many men in motion, ran off. The ice appeared -to be last year’s ice, and was much crushed. Orel at noon took the -latitude by sextant and artificial horizon, and found it 79° 41′—bitter -disappointment. - -“_June 27._—With a fresh north-east wind we-sailed to-day over a larger -‘ice-hole,’ our latitude at noon being 79° 39′. In the afternoon we -dragged our sledges for a quarter of a mile over an ice-field, and our -baggage had so diminished that I had to drag with the dog-sledge not -more than 7 cwt. In the lee of large ice-fields, which act like islands, -we find sometimes somewhat more open water-ways. - -“_June 28._—Two ice-fields and two ‘ice-holes’ were crossed to-day. -Progress, though small with the boats, would have been simply impossible -with a ship, which could not, like boats, be dragged over floes. Falls -of snow and gleams of sunshine alternate with each other. While the rest -slept a watch was always posted outside the boat to observe the behaviour -of the ice, and to give us timely notice of the approach of a bear. - -[Illustration: MARCHING THROUGH ICE-HUMMOCKS] - -“_June 29._—Two or three small ‘ice-holes’ and some ice-fields were -crossed to-day. The last ice-field we dragged over was of considerable -extent. To-day, for the first time, we made the attempt, with great -success, to force the boats through narrow ‘leads’ by means of poles. -Another seal was got. Every one of us had now learnt, by force of habit, -to eat half a pound of seal blubber with our tea at noon, and to eat it -with pleasure. It was some comfort to the more delicate and sensitive -to be assured that it tasted like butter, and many experiments had been -made on the edibility of the tins during the last few days. Kane came -to consider seal fin as a kind of salad. We cooked it in our soup, and -the dogs at last went beyond us in the high estimate they placed on -this article of diet. It is worth remarking, albeit it seems to be a -contradiction, that though we had all an abhorrence of fatty substances -during the sledge-journeys in the coldest period of the year, we now -took to them with great relish when the weather was warm. In fact we -never felt better than after a noon-day meal at which we had consumed -a considerable quantity of blubber. Our digestion was particularly -good, and those who suffered from stomach complaints, produced by the -continuous use of pease-sausage, ceased to be so affected. The real -ground of this abnormal preference of fatty substances was doubtless the -fact that we had now abundance of drinking water, and did not suffer -therefore from thirst. - -[Illustration: HALT AT NOON.] - -“_June 30._—A small ‘ice-hole,’ and then a large ice-field were crossed, -and as we were in the act of passing over a ‘lead’ filled with broken -ice, it suddenly closed, and we had to draw our boats up again, and to -wait till the ice should part asunder. The snow has become quite soft, -and we find water at the bottom of a hole, and employ it for the first -time for cooking. Cape Tegetthoff and Salm Island are still visible The -dogs to-day drew 12 cwt., and are quite exhausted. I had my hair cut by -Klotz, and, with many apologies for my poverty, offered him some water -in compensation—an offer he declined. In the Arctic Seas, even to the -doctor, a glass of water is a handsome fee.” - -So it runs on for weeks together in my journal; and if it be tiresome -for readers to follow such repetitions, how much more wearisome must it -have been to live through and experience them! Yet if it were possible -for our situation to become worse, it did so during the first half of the -following month. - -[Illustration: CROSSING A FISSURE.] - -12. On the 1st of July the whole of our day’s labour consisted in passing -over a fissure. The observations taken at noon gave 79° 38′ as our -latitude, so that during the last four days we had gained one single -minute only. Next day we lay amid fragments of floes closely packed -together, and there were neither “ice-holes” nor fields of ice over -which we could pass. On the 3rd of July we crossed some fissures with -great difficulty and traversed two small ice-fields, but a wind from the -S.E. set in, and our observations showed 79° 38′ N. latitude; while we -discovered from our longitude that we were only four miles to the east -of the ship. The small amount of drift discernible in the ice, with such -strong winds, was a sad sign of its closely packed condition. - -13. With imperturbable patience we continued to drag our heavy loads -over the ice, and on the 4th imagined that we had penetrated a mile in -a southerly direction; but the wind from the S.E. blew so persistently -that when we took our observations on the following day we found our -latitude 79° 40½′, and that we had thus been actually driven back towards -the north-west, and that the toils of the last three weeks had been -fruitless. On the 5th and 6th the ice lay before us in piled-up masses -rendering progress impossible, and we were compelled to rest, consuming -our provisions without getting one step further. Our seal-hunting also -on those days was seldom successful. For hours the hunters lurked round -the edges of ice-holes, sometimes without seeing a single seal come to -the surface; and when at last the animal did make its appearance, it very -often sunk after it was hit, before a boat could be launched. Those we -saw on the edges of ice-holes showed a dexterity in diving out of the -way of mischief which failed, as things were, to excite our admiration. -The bears, even more than the seals, showed a prudence and caution which -their previous behaviour had not led us to expect. On the first of those -days a bear came pretty near us, but the dogs, alas! rushed at him and -drove him away. Henceforward when the dogs were not dragging they were -secured with ropes, but our prudence came too late. - -14. On the 7th there was no change. The day passed away in moving from -one floe with rotten edges to another somewhat more firm. We only shoved -our boats a few hundred yards through the lakes of thaw water which had -formed themselves on the ice. Our latitude was 79° 43′. - -15. On the 8th we got away in a narrow “lead” a few hundred paces -southward, but after getting so far we were stopped by thickly-packed -ice, and again we had to draw our boats out of the water and recommence -our life of painful expectancy—watching for the ice to open. No one -of the party suffered so much from this depressing state of things as -Carlsen. For more than twenty years the old and tried “ice-master” had -lived amid floes and ice-blinks, manfully and successfully fighting -against the hardships of the Arctic Seas, and now that frailties had -increased on him, he saw himself compelled to such toils and privations -as would have taxed his strength even in his prime. The old polar -navigator bore his burthens without murmur or complaint, though it was -painful to others to see the signs of exhaustion in his appearance. He no -longer spoke of the polar bears and walruses, which he had entranced by a -glance of his eye or bewitched with one of his words of magic. Even the -puritanical zeal with which he once rebuked and lectured the Slavonians -for playing cards on “God’s holy day” had grown somewhat cold, and his -fears lest the conversations of the lively Southerners should end in -blows became even more intense. - -[Illustration: CARLSEN.] - -16. It was a strange life this abode for weeks of summer in boats covered -over with a low tent roof. Oars by way of furniture, and three pairs of -stockings for each man’s mattress and pillow. My journal describes these -days: “Four boats are lying on the ice, crammed with sleeping men: and -so great is the heat in them, that no one needs his fur coat, and snow -placed in any vessel becomes water in a few hours. If Torossy has not -ushered in the day by barking, the cooks do it when they bring the bowls -of soup to the boats with the cry ‘Quanta!’ Then ensues a short scene -of confusion: spoons and tin-pots have to be searched for and found, -till at length quiet is again restored, after a little ransacking, and -each man has his pot full of hot soup in his hand, consisting of meal, -pemmican, pease-sausage, bread-dust, boiled beef, seal, and bears’ flesh; -when the soup is flavoured with seal-blubber it is called ‘Gulyas.’ The -soup is consumed amid perfect silence—not a word is spoken; what indeed -was there to be said, which was not already known, or which had not been -said a hundred times before? Each one knows the other’s history from his -cradle downwards. A stillness like death reigns over all the surrounding -forms of ice, and the frozen ocean stretches out beneath a vast shroud. -A sunless leaden sky spreads over all, not a breath of air stirs, it is -neither warm nor cold, slowly melts the snow, and this pale realm of ice -forms a world of danger and difficulty, against which are matched the -strength and sagacity of three-and-twenty men! - -“Again all have taken their places in the boats to bale out the thaw -water, the great enemy of their health—and of their solitary pair of -boots. He whose turn it is to hunt the seal squats at the edge of a floe -before a fissure, which admits a few square feet of water, in which no -seal will show himself, because he has scarcely room to turn in it. - -“To the others, their abode in the boats is a time of manifest weariness -and ennui. Happy the man who has any tobacco, happy he who, after smoking -his pipe, does not fall into a faint; happy too the man who finds a -fragment of a newspaper in some corner or other, even if there should be -nothing contained in it but the money-market intelligence, or perhaps -directions to be followed in the preparation of pease-sausage. Enviable -is he who discovers a hole in his fur coat which he can mend; but -happiest of all are those who can sleep day and night. Of these latter -some have stowed themselves away under the rowing seats, and above them -reposes a second layer of sleepers, but nothing is visible of either -party but the soles of their feet. No paradise of bliss! Noon comes: a -little tea is made over the train-oil fire, each gets one cup of it and -a handful of hard bread-crumbs—a kind of dog’s food which the impartial -‘committee of provisions’ measures out with Argus-eyes. The fourth part -of the skin of a seal is thrown into each of the four boats, and the -blubber on it is eagerly devoured. Some, for the sake of the fins, the -ribs, or the head, become guests of the dogs. Flocks of gulls settle -impudently near us, screaming and fighting for every morsel they can -reach. Some of us try to catch them with nets, but no sooner are the nets -up than the gulls disappear. - -“The formality of dinner is over, and we have come to such a pass that -even the tea excites the nerves of the community, and some Troubadour -will then raise his voice with a _bravura_ such as might have been -heard on San Marco. The end of the Franklin expedition, and the history -of the two skeletons which were found in the boat, is told again for -the twentieth time—a story which never fails to produce a harrowing -effect, and to rouse the firm and resolute to yet greater efforts and -self-command. - -“The most animated conversation, however, or rather a constant -chattering, is going on meantime in the soot-begrimed tent of the cook. A -difference of opinion arises about the precise time when the kettle was -to be scraped out, or about the curtailing of the allowance in the last -distribution of salt, or as to the delinquent who made a wood-fire on a -cask of spirit, or who, instead of untying, cut the string of the sledge -packing; many flourishes of speech are bandied to and fro, which at any -rate speak well for the oratorical gifts of the disputants. - -“There is still, however, one solace left us, the solace of smoking. Some -indeed have already exhausted their whole stock of tobacco. He who has -half a pouch of it at his disposal is the object of general respect, and -the man who can invite his neighbour to a pipe of tobacco and a pot of -water is considered to do an act of profuse liberality. Tobacco becomes -a medium of exchange among us, and provisions are bought and paid for -with it, its value rising every day. There is no difference between day -and night, and Sundays are only distinguished by dressing the boats with -flags.” - -17. In this enforced idleness passed away the days between the 9th and -15th inst., save that on the 14th we changed our place by three hundred -yards, in order to select a more convenient spot for seal-hunting and to -keep up the appearance of travelling—but in truth only the appearance, -for in reality our situation had become truly dreadful. There were no -events of sudden occurrence either to excite or alarm us, but time flowed -on, and our constantly diminishing stock of provisions, like the steady -movement of the hands of a clock, spoke with a plainness of speech, -that could not be resisted, of the doom impending over us. Hitherto we -had patiently endured the severe labours of dragging our heavily-laden -boats and sledges from floe to floe, of launching the boats in the small -fissures, and again drawing them on to the floes, when the ice became -closely packed, often too carrying all the provisions and baggage as we -slowly crept along. The least progress was sufficient to fill us with -joy and thankfulness. Meanwhile the ice on all sides lay closely packed, -and many times we had to wait for a week in our boats on a floe, till -the “leads” were pleased to open, while every empty tin case proclaimed, -with fearful distinctness, the diminishing of our provisions and the -gloominess of our prospects; and now a steady wind from the south -destroyed the little progress we had made. _After the lapse of two months -of indescribable efforts, the distance between us and the ship was not -more than nine English miles!_ The heights of Wilczek Island were still -distinctly visible, and its lines of rocks shone with mocking brilliance -in the ever-growing day-light. All things seemed to say that after a -long struggle with the supremacy of the ice there remained for us but a -despairing return to the ship and a third winter there, stript of every -hope, and the Frozen Ocean for our grave! - -18. Such reflections and prospects were not calculated to raise our -spirits or promote calm and deliberate thought, and it was happy for us -that the earth was round, and that we were thus prevented from seeing how -much ice lay between us and the open sea. No measures were left untried -which promised to facilitate our progress or prolong our lives. We ceased -to cook with oil, and used spirit instead, in order to lighten the boats. -The rations of bread were diminished; even our faithful companion little -Pekel fell a victim to necessity. Seals played a greater part still in -our _cuisine_, and everything seemed to depend on the successful use of -the four hundred ball-cartridges which still remained in store. On the -15th of July a walrus showed himself close to the boats, but when we -made a rush upon him to finish him he disappeared under the waters, and -heavy rain drove us back again into the boats. Up to this time all signs -of a happy termination of our venture seemed to have disappeared; but the -hour of our liberation and escape was nearer than we thought. - -19. On the evening of the 15th of July, after finishing our supper, a -line of small “leads” running to the south-west opened itself, and we -forced our way for about a mile against wind and current coming from the -same direction. Next day, July 16, the wind blew from the north-west, -and after our boats had been nearly crushed by the ice closing in some -smaller “ice-holes,” we ran into a broader and longer “lead.” At noon -of this day our latitude was 79° 39′, and we had gone so far that -the highest points of Cape Tegetthoff and Wilczek Island were barely -discernible—blue shadows surrounded by an edge of yellow vapour, and over -the whole a heavy water sky. - -20. Up to this date we had been compelled to cross every fissure, a -procedure as exhausting for us as it was detrimental to the boats. The -least impediment, such as the stoppage of a “lead” by some pieces of ice, -had sufficed to cause us hours of laborious efforts. The ice lay thick -and close, and its floes were firmly frozen together. But now it was not -only somewhat opened, but seldom cemented by frost, and the efforts of -fifteen or twenty men generally sufficed to shove apart any two floes -with long poles, or remove any barrier which closed a “lead.” If the -“leads” closed in so that there was danger lest the boats should be -crushed, the crew jumped out and hauled them up on the ice. - -The accompanying sketch exhibits one of the scenes that occurred almost -daily—the pushing the floes asunder with long poles, in order that the -boat might pass between them, while the rotatory motion of the floe -closes the fissure in the foreground, so that another boat has to be -drawn on the ice as quickly as possible. The baggage of the boat is -represented partly as packed on a sledge, or partly lying on the snow, -and the men and dogs stand ready to drag it over the floe to the next -place of launching. Two other boats, which have found the “lead” open, -are on before, and one of them is lying at an ice-field which has to be -crossed, waiting for the others to come up. - -[Illustration: SCENE ON THE ICE.] - -21. It sometimes happened that we could not push the floes asunder, and -we were then compelled to cross them; and in those cases where the floes -were a mile or more in diameter, our progress took the form of sledging. -The provision was sent on for some distance to the nearest water, and -the boats, which remained behind under the care of the less able-bodied -of our party, were lifted on to the sledge when it returned by the rest -of the crew, and firmly secured. The smallest of our boats was shoved -through the snow while the dogs with their sledge transported the bags of -bread and the spirit. - -22. An advance of four miles a day now sufficed to satisfy us, and we had -acquired such precision in our arrangements before starting that three -hours sufficed to accomplish them. If the sledges came on obstacles from -the ice, the pioneers hurried on with picks and shovels to remove them. -Lakes on the ice were made little of; we waded through them with much -equanimity, and any one who fell into a “lead” while the day’s labour was -going on seemed to take the accident very coolly. On the 17th of July -we had passed, in the way I have described, three ice-fields and three -small “ice-holes;” but on the following day we made very little progress, -because a wind, setting in from the west, packed the ice closely. We -were therefore overjoyed to find our latitude to-day 79° 22′, a result -which could only be ascribed to the late north winds; but we could not -quiet our fears, lest a wind from the south should deprive us of our -dearly-bought advance. - -23. We now penetrated into a region full of icebergs, many of which -were covered with earth and moraine dirt, which made them look at a -distance, amid the dazzling uniformity of the ice, like rocky cliffs. In -the evening a she-bear was seen close to us, which came full tilt at our -dogs; at thirty paces off she was hit, but not mortally, and fell; but -getting up again, ran off to an ice-hole, and remained long enough on its -surface to be secured by the harpooners. She afforded us as much food as -four small seals, and some of our party, with the voracity of beasts of -prey, scraping the flesh off the bones for their private use, carried it -about with them wrapped in their pocket-handkerchiefs, and ate about a -pound of it raw every day at noon, as long as it lasted, after merely -washing the carrion in sea-water. - -24. On the 19th of July we again passed over several small ice-fields, -and on the 20th and 21st one several miles in diameter. We were favoured -with a north-west wind, and on the 20th of July our latitude was 79° -11′, our longitude 61° 3′, and our progress was so brilliant on the 22nd -(79° 1′ L.), that we were compelled to draw the boats twice only out -of the water, and warping through narrow “leads,” came again to larger -“ice-holes,” over which we were able to sail. Our spirits were greatly -raised, and we went on full of hope that we should soon come into longer -water-ways, which would exempt us from the toils of crossing floes with -the sledges. On the 23rd sudden squalls from the E.N.E., accompanied with -heavy showers of rain, detained us in our covered boats, and our whole -business on this day was collecting the rainwater in an empty spirit-cask -and drinking it as grog. On the 24th we again made good progress. The -rain fell in torrents, and we were wet through and through, and at night -we lay down to rest reeking. The rain continued, but good progress was -made almost without interruption during the next three days. We bore -all the discomforts with joy, because the rain powerfully and rapidly -dissolved the ice.[55] Our clothes were constantly wet, but we eagerly -snatched every gleam of sunshine to dry our stockings or our saturated -boots. - -25. The cooks, when they called us in the morning, now constantly drew -such pictures of the day’s prospects, that we might have been tempted -to believe that during the night all the ice had disappeared; but this -pleasing illusion was rudely dispelled whenever we stepped out of the -boats into the open air. These good men, having no compass to consult, -always flattered themselves with the notion that where water was to be -seen, there also lay the south. But, alas! there lay the ice-hummocks, -and there, too, lay the boats and sledges to be dragged as before. Klotz -went a little further; it was his opinion that we ought always to take to -the water without fear, even if it stretched to the north, in order, as -he said, to get home round the North Pole. - -26. On the 27th we had reached 78° 48′ N. L., but a wind from the -south-west set in, and after two days of constant toil, alternately -launching and drawing up the boats, we found, on the 29th, that we had -been driven back to 78° 50′ N. L. But in many cases the movement of ice -is unaccountable, and on the 30th this was verified; for, notwithstanding -the prevalence of the south-west wind, we had drifted to 78° 32′ N. L., -61° 3′ E. L. The weather at this time was thicker and duller than usual, -and the horizon from our boats extended but a few hundred paces, so that -we had considerable difficulty in choosing the most navigable “leads.” -The view did not extend above two miles, even when we climbed to the top -of one of the hummocks, and mists generally lay on its outskirts. In -clear weather we had always steered in the direction of a water-sky which -promised open sea, even though we had to make _détours_ to the south-west -or south-east. But now such a foggy obscurity lay over every “ice-hole,” -however small, that the outline of its edges was hardly discernible at -a few paces off, and, under these circumstances, we could only pull the -boats round, till we came to the first opening in the enclosing ice. - -27. Winds from the south continued during the following week, and heavy -rains again fell, and we had much laborious dragging through the fog -on the 31st of July and the 1st of August. Our stock of bread, which -had been reduced to powder by the constant lading and unlading, was -meanwhile so thoroughly soaked that on the 2nd of August we stopped for -half a day on a floe (78° 28′ N. L., 61° 49′ E. L.) to dry it in the -sun, which, after a long absence, gladdened us by showing himself. We -took the opportunity also to dry our clothes and our stockings. On such -a day as this the scene around us entirely lost its gloomy sepulchral -character; the heavens were brilliantly blue, the ice lay around us in -dazzling light, and the deep ultramarine of the sea-water peeped forth -from the “leads.” Henceforward we had less occasion to cross large floes. -Our route gradually changed its character; “leads” and “ice-holes” -occurred far more frequently, and the channels between them, winding -through drifting islands of ice, were sometimes three or four miles in -extent. Along these we glided under sail and oars, and when we came -to a temporary halt, Weyprecht, with his compass, mounted one of the -ice-hummocks to examine the water-ways and determine which we should -follow. Our rate of progress was much increased, an acceleration due to -the change in the ice, effected slowly but surely by sunshine and rain. -The enormous masses of snow were wasting away; the thaw-water, gathering -in countless streams, spread as lakes on the hollows of the floes, and -oozed through fissures in the ice into the sea. The edges of the floes, -undermined by the action of the waves, fell in, or were worn away by the -pressure, and a single warm day or shower of rain sufficed to dissolve -what remained of them. Hence, if the difficulty of drawing boats on to -the ice was lessened, the danger of breaking through it in the process -was greater, and we ran the risk of seeing all the cases containing our -provisions sink in the sea before our eyes. As the ice-fields diminished -in size and thickness, the number and breadth of the “leads” increased. -The alternation of heavy south-east winds and calms helped on the -destruction of the ice, and our progress was great in proportion. From -the 3rd to the 7th of August each day we accomplished greater distances. -The ice gradually changed from pack-ice to drift-ice, impenetrable only -where it lay in thicker masses. When fogs came on, we generally decided, -after wandering about for a little, to wait on or near a floe for finer -weather. We no longer restricted our labours to certain times of the day. -In the highest spirits, we toiled incessantly at rowing or dragging the -boats, or shoving the floes asunder with our long poles. - -28. On the 7th our progress might be estimated at twelve miles. It was -the first day we had got on without dragging the sledges and crossing -floes, and when we halted at noon amid some loose ice, we saw, to the -south, a fluctuation in the sea level, and the ice alternately rising and -falling. “The swell of the ocean!” exclaimed all with joy: “we are close -to the open sea”—the open sea, being to us at that moment deliverance. -Our amazement at finding it at such a latitude, 78° N. L., was so great -that, notwithstanding that indisputable sign, we could scarcely believe -our eyes, and we were filled with indescribable excitement. For a moment -only that excitement was diverted to other and very different objects—two -bears suddenly appeared on the scene, swimming about 100 paces from -us. Two boats were at once manned, and the chase began. But the bears -swam faster than the boats could be pulled by the four men in each boat; -sometimes they raised themselves high out of the water as they turned to -look at their pursuers. Suddenly one of them disappeared, while the other -made for a floe and climbed on to it. As he stood and impudently stared -at us, a shot was fired at him, and he immediately decamped, swimming -with great rapidity to another distant floe. But as no trace of blood -was to be seen on the ice, and our companions drinking their mid-day tea -were scarcely to be distinguished, we considered it unsafe to pursue him -further. In the evening we stopped again before a dense group of small -floes, which like the rest of the ice had become rotten; the one whereon -we were preparing to encamp for the night broke into several pieces just -as we were raising our boat on to it. We were, however, fortunate enough -to save our provisions. - -[Illustration: BEARS IN THE WATER.] - -29. Though we had been accustomed so long to oscillate between extremes, -we now felt that the hour had come, when we might count with certainty -on being liberated from the fetters of the ice, and all our hopes gained -new life. Yet once more they seemed doomed to be disappointed. On the -7th, before we turned into sleep, the prevailing north wind had gathered -so much ice around us that we were fairly shut in. Next day (August 8), -after the efforts of many hours to force through the multitude of small -floes by which we were jammed in, we discovered that we should be unable -to move, unless the wind changed to the south-west. Our exertions on the -9th were equally unsuccessful. It was not dense masses of ice, under -whose walls we had so often felt ourselves imprisoned, that now held -us captive, but miserable flat floes. Their diameter was from fifty to -sixty paces, and though they hardly appeared above water, they were not -the less impenetrable hindrances. The movement in the sea, that had so -elevated us, was scarcely perceptible, and our faith in the nearness of -the ocean was consequently much shaken. - -30. Again rain fell in abundance, and we remained in the boats waiting -for the breaking-up of the ice. It was scarcely possible to go any -distance from them, for the ice of the surrounding floes was so thin, -that we could not venture to walk on them lest we should break through. -Fissures abounded, but no seals were to be seen in them. This forced -abode in our boats was almost unendurable. We could not always sleep, and -only a frugal few had any tobacco left to smoke. Some of our party had -for a long time smoked dry tea-leaves in the form of cigarettes, or had -filled their pipes with match paper. All the tinder had been long used -up in this way, and a dreadful trial it had been to the olfactory nerves -of those who would not so indulge. Haller went further still, and smoked -paper in the close covered boat! besides many leaves of his note-books, -he still had a quantity of packing-paper, but, in the interest of the -community, I was compelled to interfere against its use in this fashion. -He found some compensation in another occupation, which had the merit at -least of being inoffensive to others—mixing together his rations of tea, -salt, and bread-dust, he converted the mixture into a soup. These days -seemed as though they would never end; there was a continual taking off -and pulling on of boots; some sat in the boats gaping about vacantly in -all directions; some standing on the ice gaped as vacantly; all mental -activity was concentrated in two wishes, that the ice would break up, and -that the time for the next meal would come round. No one had any private -reserve of provision. The days were gone when a stocking filled with -bread might be seen hanging from the belt of one, or the ribs of a bear -in the hand of another. And yet amidst all the hunger, which we felt the -more acutely from our abundant leisure, some among us had actually become -as plump as quails, and if we had been found dead on the floes, it would -have been thought, that we had died in consequence of over-eating, so -stout had most of us become. But dreadful was the solemn lapse of time. -August was well advanced; the knowledge that we had provisions for only -one month more, and the shortness of the season for action that still -remained, failed not to impress upon us all that the crisis of our fate -was at hand. For three weeks past the formation of young ice had begun, -both on the ice and on the sweet-water lakes on the floes. Even during -these summer months, the temperature in the night had frequently fallen -two or three degrees below freezing-point, and the cold now began to join -the fragments of old floes into formidable obstacles. The caprice of a -wind might again carry us off towards the north, as it had done two years -ago, but carry us too, to certain inevitable destruction. On the 9th of -August we found our latitude 78° 9′—a higher degree than we had expected. -But what would a lower degree have availed us, had not the open sea been -near us—the open sea, on which hung all our hopes, ever since the word -had been uttered? The joy of that day’s discovery was fed and sustained -by the low murmur of a distant surf, which either imagination or our -senses, rendered acute by the presence of danger, continued to hear in -the south. - -31. Thus passed the days from the 10th to the 13th of August, the calking -of our boats forming our only distraction. Eagerly and earnestly we gazed -on the water-sky in the south and on every change in the ice.[56] On the -10th our latitude was 78° 6′ and our longitude 60° 45′, E.; on the 13th -our latitude was 77° 58′, and our longitude 61° 10′ E. On the 12th the -ice had become somewhat looser. We advanced a mile to the south, but -were then again beset. It rained during the whole day, and in the night, -the temperature fell several degrees below freezing-point. Ice an inch -thick was formed on the 13th over the surface of the fresh-water lakes, -and when we went, either to drink from them or to perform our toilet, we -had to break through a coating of ice. All these were so many signs that -Summer had bid us adieu and that the short Autumn of the north had begun. -This day, too, we had the first impression of the returning cold. - -[Illustration: CALKING THE BOATS.] - -32. At last during the night of the 14th, the ice somewhat opened and -we could go on our way. Just before we started, in the early morning, -a seal was shot which the dogs had discovered and attacked: it was the -eighteenth and last we shot since we abandoned the ship. With much labour -in shoving we forced a passage through a long succession of “leads” and -halted for a short rest at midnight in front of a larger “ice-hole,” to -refresh our strength with some pieces of blubber, seasoned with alcohol -and thaw-water. Drift ice lay all round us, and we had the presentiment, -that the hour at last had come which was to set us free from the ice. All -things rise in our estimation, when we are about to bid them farewell, -and it was with some pain that we felt all at once, that in a few minutes -we should bid adieu to the realm of ice, which lay behind us in all its -magical grandeur. We now moved on under sail: the “ice-holes” increased -in size, the ice diminished, and the swell of the ocean was perceptibly -greater. Our latitude at noon next day was 77° 49′. A large “ice-hole” -opened before us, and with a sea running high, the boats, making a good -deal of water, we sailed into it—it was the last ice-hole. The last line -of ice lay ahead of us, and beyond it the boundless open sea! - -[Illustration: FAREWELL TO THE FROZEN OCEAN.] - -33. About six o’clock in the evening we had reached the extreme edge of -the ice-barrier, and once more, but for the last time, drew our boats on -a floe. Again our ears heard the noise of the waves—the voice of life -to us. Again we saw the white foam of the surge, and felt, as if we had -awoke from a death-like slumber of years to a new existence. But if our -joy at deliverance was great, not less great was our astonishment to have -reached the ice-barrier in the high latitude of 77° 40′, and with it the -hope of final escape. We went to rest for some hours, but were roused by -the watch about two o’clock in the morning. The east wind had gathered -some heavy masses of ice around us, which rose and fell with the swell -of the ocean, and we were already several hundred yards from the water’s -edge. Any delay in escaping as quickly as possible would require the -labours of many days to set us free again. After much shoving with the -poles, and lading and unlading, we again got beyond the line of ice. The -frozen ocean lay behind us, and on our last floe we made preparations for -our voyage on the open sea. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ON THE OPEN SEA. - - -1. There lay the open Ocean before us; never were its sparkling waves -beheld with more sincere joy, than by the small band of men, who, -escaping from the prison house of the ice after fearful struggles, now -raised their arms on high to greet its glad waters. The 15th of August -was the day of our liberation—the festival of the Assumption of the -Virgin—and our boats were dressed with flags in its commemoration. But -it was no time for the rest and recreation of a Holy Day: graver duties -pressed upon us. The boats had to be ballasted, and were with difficulty -made to take on board the baggage, the water-casks, and the crews. Our -four sledges, to which we owed so much of our success so far, were of -course left behind. The dogs too were put on board, not, however, without -much hesitation, when the contingencies of the voyage were considered. - -2. With three hurrahs, we pushed off from the ice, and our voyage -commenced. Its happy issue depended on the weather and on incessant -rowing. If a storm should arise, the boats, laden as they were, must -sink. We were soon convinced that the dogs, which suffered greatly from -sea-sickness, would dangerously incommode us in the boats by destroying -their trim. There was, in fact, no room for them in our over-crowded -boats, nor water, nor provisions. We could not bring ourselves to abandon -them, and our only form of gratitude for their services was, alas! the -painful one of putting them to death. A floe, by which we passed, became -the grave of these our true friends, our companions in all situations, -and our helpers in all dangers! It was indeed a painful moment, when -Jubinal was taken out of the boat to meet his death. It was the loss of a -true comrade, who had never departed from my side, and who had patiently -borne all the labours and toils imposed on him. Poor Torossy too, born in -the Arctic regions, amid the ice-pressures, was not a little lamented. - -3. With boundless satisfaction, we saw the white edge of the ice -gradually become a line, and at last disappear. Every one felt, that -finding the ice-barrier in so high a latitude, was the crowning blessing -to which we must ascribe our liberation. At the distance of a mile from -the edge of the ice, the temperature of the water had risen to 30° F., -and that of the air to 39° F. The sunbeams were reflected with such -intensity from the smooth surface of the sea, that we felt the long -unknown sensation of heat, and were obliged to cast off some of our -garments. - -4. We shaped our course south-by-west, towards the Barentz Islands, -intending to take in supplies of provisions from the depôt formed by -Count Wilczek, and then to coast along Novaya Zemlya in search of a ship -engaged in the fisheries, which we hoped to find either at Admiralty -Peninsula, or Matoschkin Straits, or in Dunen Bay. Norwegian vessels, -engaged in the capture of the walrus, might be looked for as far south -as Matoschkin Straits, and the Russian salmon-fishers still further to -the south. The nearest land was fifty miles off, and everything depended -on our reaching its friendly shores before the weather changed for the -worse. In the event of stormy weather there would be no other alternative -than to throw our provisions overboard in order to lighten the boats. - -5. Putting forth all our strength, we rowed steadily for some days. -Weyprecht took the lead in his boat, and the others followed him as -quickly as possible. The crew of each boat was divided into two watches, -who were relieved every four hours. It frequently happened that one boat -fell behind the others, and was lost sight of in a fog or mist. Trumpets -and horns were then sounded, till the laggard boat, by renewed efforts -of her crew, came up with the others. On the 16th, a breeze from the -north sprang up, and we used our sails with good effect for some hours. -At last Novaya Zemlya was sighted—some silvery points above the level of -the sea, which our people took at first for the reappearance of the ice -in the south; they proved to be the snowy summits near Cape Nassau. At -this headland the mountains running along the coast suddenly cease, and -the land trending to the north-east, assumes the monotonous character of -glaciation almost without mountains, as far as the lonely shores where -three centuries ago Barentz slept his last sleep. - -6. Our progress had no longer the paralysing insignificance of former -days. This day at noon our latitude was 76° 46′, and on the 17th, the -picturesque range of mountains south of Cape Nassau, rose through the -morning mists close before us steeped in violet and crimson hues. A fog -arising, we rowed along by compass in the midst of it, the boats seemed -to float in the air amid the fog. During its continuance a current caused -us to deviate so much to the south-west, that when at noon the land was -again visible, we discovered that we had gone beyond the place where the -depôt had been formed, and found by the chart, that we were in 75° 40′ -lat. and 58° long. But as the loss of time, in going back a distance of a -hundred miles, was out of all proportion to the amount of provisions we -could have taken in our overladen boats, we determined at all risks to -hold on our course. - -7. Before us, in the far distance, now rose above the horizon the higher -parts of Admiralty Peninsula; to these we now steered. As we passed along -we made a vain attempt to land on the north of Gwosdarew Bay. We found -the shores full of cliffs, between which a heavy surf was breaking, and -could thus form some notion of the perils we should have encountered, had -we attempted to land on the Barentz Islands. Two years ago the edge of -this coast had been covered with firm ice, and the depôt had been formed -by the aid of sledges. But now not a fragment of ice was to be seen -on the west coast of Novaya Zemlya, and the rocky shore could only be -approached by boats. - -8. The differences between the climate in the years 1872 and 1874, were -also in other respects very remarkable. In 1872 the mountains of the -country were mostly covered with snow, but in 1874, it lay only on the -higher parts of its glaciers, and in latitude 76° N., where we had found -thick ice, the temperature of the sea was 39° F., and of the air 43° -F. The phenomena of the climate of 1871, as we observed them in the -voyage of the _Isbjörn_, were similar to those of 1874; and this peculiar -mildness was experienced on the eastern coasts of Novaya Zemlya by -Captain Wiggins, who when navigating the sea of Cara as far as the mouth -of the Ob, was shut in there by the ice for a few weeks only. - -[Illustration: LANDING ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA.] - -9. The inaccessibility of most of the places on the coast had hitherto -obliged us to continue our course without going on shore to rest, -although our arms were stiff and swollen with our exertions in rowing. -No vessels as yet had been seen, and what we thought to be a ship turned -out, when we rowed closer to it, to be only a small iceberg. There -was therefore no other alternative than to coast along in a southerly -direction, cutting across the bays, and keeping as near the shore as -possible. On the night of the 17th we pulled over the broad Gwosdarew -Bay, which was filled with countless fragments of glaciers. Some of -the smallest of these we took on board our boats to replenish our fast -decreasing supplies of water. Ever since our coming under the coast of -Novaya Zemlya, we had entered a region where auks abounded which whizzed -over our heads with small crayfish in their bills in their flight to the -land, or sat so indolently on the water, that they seemed determined -not to get out of the way of the boats. Many were bagged, but we made no -halt to shoot them. Twice only in the day we rested for about ten minutes -to take our food. Onwards we pressed, each boat striving to get before -the others. On August 17 the sun set for the first time about midnight, -and in the afternoon of the 18th we landed at a spot to the south of -black Cape, remarkable for the luxuriance of its vegetation. To our eyes, -accustomed to the monotonous white of snow and ice, it appeared like a -garden. There was nothing to remind us of a polar region either in the -land, or in the temperature, or in the weather. Its broad bay, if it had -been without its circle of glaciers, would have appeared like an Italian -gulf. It was now ebb-tide, and wading in the water we shoved our boats, -using the oars as rollers, over the muddy shore. It was the birthday of -our gracious monarch, which we celebrated in the best manner we could—we -dressed the boats with flags, washed ourselves in a little fresh-water -lake, and flavoured our weak tea with a small quantity of alcohol. - -10. This was the first land on which we had set foot for months. -Completely exhausted we lay down on its damp turf and listened to the -pleasant sound of the surf. Flames soon rose from the pile of drift -wood we collected, while some of us ascended the neighbouring ravines, -and even gathered flowers.[57] There were quantities of forget-me-nots, -and of coltsfoot (_Tusselago farfara_), which was dried and smoked, and -pronounced to be excellent tobacco. But our paradisiacal happiness could -not be of long duration. The necessity of finding a ship as quickly as -possible was urgent, and soon roused us from our deep sleep, while the -thunders of the glaciers of Novaya Zemlya proclaimed to us that bad -weather was not far off. - -11. On the 19th, we coasted along Admiralty Peninsula; the thermometer -giving 50° F. in the air, and 43° F. in the sea. Its shores rising in -a succession of terraces were indisputable evidence of its gradual -elevation above the sea-level,[58] and the flatness of the shores and -the shallowness of the sea, interspersed with rocks, easily explain why -they have so often been dangerous to ships approaching them in a fog. -As we came further south the charts proved more trustworthy. At noon of -the 20th at Cape Tischernitzky we reached latitude 74° 21′. We passed a -number of picturesque bights on the coast, with mountains, whose tops -were covered with clouds, and whose green banks extended along the -shores. These are the favourite wintering spots of Russian expeditions, -and in some places we saw ruined huts. On the 21st a fresh wind sprung -up from the east. The sea rose, and as we sailed fast before the wind -the boats took in a good deal of water, and we were thoroughly wet; the -boats too got separated. We accordingly ran into the bay under “Suchoi -Nos” (73° 47′ L.) to wait till the wind fell and the other boats should -join us. The boat commanded by Lieutenant Brosch, was exposed to much -danger from the lowness of its gunwale, when the sea was at all high; an -addition made to it by a strip of canvas stretched round the boat proved -ineffectual. We quickly dried our clothes at a fire made of drift-wood -and erratics of brown coal which we found, but were much disappointed -that no reindeer were to be seen, though we were surrounded by excellent -feeding-grounds for these animals. The stew, which we made from the -spoonwort we gathered, and some pemmican, was but a poor substitute for -the venison we had hoped to enjoy. Neither were there any auks to be -seen, and the divers shot under the water like stones whenever we came -within distance. The other boats having joined us we again put to sea, -though the weather was threatening and a high sea running. In latitude -73° 20′ we ran into Matoschkin Bay, hoping and expecting to find a vessel -engaged in the fisheries. But no vessel was to be seen, nothing but the -outlines of an Arctic mountain-land. Carlsen also, whom Weyprecht had -despatched to explore the straits so full of turnings and windings, -returned without the intelligence we hoped for. Before Carlsen rejoined -us we ran into a cove—Altgläubigen Bucht—and erected, on a conspicuous -headland, a cairn, on which we placed a signal post made of drift-wood. -In this cairn we deposited a document, briefly describing the course -of our expedition up to that date, in order to leave some trace of it -in a region which is visited annually by ships. The discovery of this -statement in the course of the next summer would prevent our countrymen -at home from sending out vessels to rescue us in higher latitudes, if we -meanwhile should perish. - -12. The prospects of our being saved had, in fact, considerably -diminished, for all our hopes had been centred in finding a vessel in -Matoschkin Straits, and these, as I have just said, were doomed to be -disappointed. Carlsen now returned with the information, that, in the -narrow seas he had visited, he had met with nothing but a whale-boat, -lying keel upwards, round which were footmarks of not very recent date. -There was no doubt, therefore, that the fishing vessels had withdrawn -from our high latitudes. At night a storm from the north-east roared -over the cliffs surrounding the cove, and the surf breaking on the rocks -reached our boats. - -13. It was noon on the 23rd before we could continue our voyage. Our -provisions would last for only ten days more, so that our fate must -shortly be decided. Further delay was out of the question; there was but -one hope for us—to press on and find a ship in Dunen-Bai (the Bay of -Dunes). Should this too prove deceptive, we must then make the desperate -venture of crossing the White Sea, direct to Lapland—a distance of 520 -miles. To follow the vast circuit of the coast-line would have been -impossible to us with our stock of provisions, and at that season of the -year. The next days too plainly taught us what would have become of our -small boats had we been forced to attempt that passage. - -14. We now rowed and sailed alternately down the flat coasts towards -“Gänseland,” amid stormy weather, during which the boats were often -separated, and we almost exhausted our strength in baling out the water. -We lost sight completely of Weyprecht’s boat on the open sea, and of the -others under the coast. That in which Orel and I were, appeared to have -out-sailed them, and we, therefore, on the morning of the 24th drew to -shore in a dark rocky cove to await the approach of our missing friends. -Wet through and through we sprang into the shallow water, and by a great -effort drew the boat to land. We then kindled a fire with the drift-wood -we gathered, and after making and eating a kind of dumpling we sank down -to sleep on the wet stones, amid the smoke from our fire, thoroughly -exhausted. So passed away four hours. When we awoke we ascended a height, -and as there was not a single vestige of a boat to be seen, we determined -to put to sea again. Near Cape Britwin (Lat. 72° 40′), the wind and sea -fell, and the boats again joined company. It was now deemed necessary -to make an equitable division among the crews of the provisions that -remained, and this being done, we took to our oars once more, and pulled -into the boundless waste of waters—into the mystery that hung over our -destiny. - -15. But the hour of our deliverance was nearer than we thought. It was -evening as we glided past the black weather-worn rocks of Cape Britwin, -the ledges of which were covered with flocks of birds, revelling in the -spray of the surf. Then about seven o’clock a cry of joy as from one -voice arose from the boats. A fifth small boat with two men in it lay -before us, apparently engaged in bird catching. They pulled towards us, -not less amazed than we ourselves were, and before either party could -explain itself, we turned a corner of the rock—there lay two ships. - -16. It is with a certain kind of awe and reverence that a shipwrecked -man approaches a ship, whose slender build is to deliver him from the -capricious power of the elements. To him it is no lifeless machine, but -a friend in need, yea, a higher creation than himself. Such were our -feelings as we neared the two schooners which lay a few hundred yards off -in a rock-encircled bay. To us at that moment these vessels were the sum -total of the whole world! Dressing our boats with flags, we followed the -strangers in their boat, and made fast to the schooner _Nikolai_, whose -deck was in a moment crowded with bearded Russians, who stared at us -with mingled feelings of wonder and sympathy, and whose captain, Feodor -Voronin, stood like a patriarch among them to welcome us. Ten days sooner -and our poor dogs might have gambolled on the deck with us! - -[Illustration: THE BAY OF DUNES. THE RUSSIAN SCHOONERS.] - -17. No grandees could have been received with more dignity than we -were. At the sight of the two Ukases, which we had received from St. -Petersburg, and which required all inhabitants of the Russian Empire to -furnish us with all the help we needed, these humble seamen bared their -heads and bowed themselves to the earth. We had an example before us to -show how orders are obeyed by the subjects of that Empire a thousand -miles from the place where they were issued. But we were received not -only in this reverential manner, but were welcomed with the greatest -heartiness, and the best of everything on board was spread before -us—salmon, reindeer flesh, Eider-geese eggs, tea, bread, butter, brandy. -The second skipper then came on board, and invited us to visit him: the -first of a series of invitations. Dr. Kepes was very pressingly invited, -for he had a sick man on board his vessel, and our doctor returned with -an _honorarium_ of tobacco in his hand. These simple Russian seamen of -the Arctic seas freely produced their little stock of good things to give -us pleasure, and one of them after observing me for a long time, and -thinking that I did not express myself sufficiently strongly for a happy -man, persuaded himself that something was the matter with me, and that I -wanted something. Forthwith he went to his chest, and brought me all the -white bread he had and the whole remaining stock of his tobacco. Though I -did not understand a word he said, his address was full of unmistakable -heartiness, and so far needed no interpreter. - -18. Since we abandoned the _Tegetthoff_ we had passed ninety-six days -in the open air, and, including the sledge journeys which preceded the -abandonment of the ship, about five months. The impressions of a return -to life were felt by us with silent yet deep thankfulness of heart, for -as the poet says:— - - “Das Schweigen ist ihr bester Herold.” - -It gave us infinite satisfaction to gaze on things the most -insignificant, and as we thought of our adventures, our discoveries, and -our deliverance, many of us asked his heart in a whisper: What will -be said of this in Austria? Lusina, as the only one among us who spoke -Russian, was constituted our interpreter, and through him we learnt that -great events had happened during our absence: that there was general -peace in Europe; that Napoleon was dead; and we learnt too that the -greatest interest in our destiny had been excited in Austria; that the -Russian government had issued orders to all their vessels employed in -the Arctic fisheries to do their utmost to find us, and contribute to -our rescue; that Count Wilczek had returned in safety—the skipper of our -schooner having met him at the mouth of the Petschora, just as he was -setting out for Obdorsk, and lastly, that a Norwegian fishing vessel had -been beset in the ice in the autumn of 1872 at the Barentz islands—very -near to where we were, and had been crushed; that four of the crew had -escaped in a boat, and after the most dreadful sufferings, had travelled -over land to the country of the Samoyedes in the extreme north of the -Ural Mountains. - -19. The ships we found in “Dunen Bai,”—the Bay of Dunes—came from -Archangel, and were engaged in the salmon fishery, at the mouth of the -Puhova River. They had taken very little, and their purpose was to remain -where we found them for fourteen days’ longer, and to spend about the -same number in fishing and hunting at the southern extremity of Novaya -Zemlya. This programme was not exactly to our taste. To spend a month in -a fishing-vessel, just as we awoke to the remembrance of all the comforts -and pleasures there are in the world, to sleep in the hold where cholera -lurked among bear and reindeer hides, amid heaps of salmon and reindeer -flesh, among nets and oil casks—such a prospect was not to be thought of. -Accordingly, we agreed with Captain Voronin, that he should leave off his -fishing and take us without delay to Vardö, in Norway, that we should -give him in return for his services three of our boats, two Lefaucheur -rifles, and guarantee him the further compensation of 1,200 silver -roubles. - -20. At last we could go to sleep, the much-needed, much-desired sleep, -undisturbed by the fear lest we should be starved to death at last. On -that evening, when I opened my journal, I found these words: “Shall -we be saved this day? shall we be alive? Fifteenth May on board the -_Tegetthoff_.” I had written these words by the merest chance on the -blank leaf reserved for the 24th of August, and it was singular that we -should be rescued on that very day. For a long time I could not sleep -amid the murmur of Russian words, which I mechanically endeavoured to -imitate and to interpret as I lay amid the dead salmon, till at last -I fell asleep, my last connected thought being, that I had not to row -any more. Next day Voronin and his trusty harpooner, Maximin Iwanoff, -insisted on Weyprecht and myself occupying their own cabin, and as we -could utter no other Russian word than ‘khorosho’ (good), we were obliged -to do as they wished. The ship was now watered, and the nets which had -been stretched out were hauled on board, the crew, as they worked, -singing their wild “Volkslieder” excellently well. - -21. On the 26th we left the small quiet bay, the scene of our happy -rescue, and with a favourable wind from the north, the vessel ploughed -her way through the waves of the White Sea. Now began the time of letter -writing; many of us, indeed, had commenced this employment even before -we left the boats. On the 27th and 28th, we had stormy weather from -the north-west, and the high seas we saw told us what our fate would -have been had we tried to cross this sea in our small boats. On the -29th, we sighted Black Cape on the “Murmann coast,” and for two hundred -miles we ran under the low, rocky coast of Lapland. We often fell in -with ships sailing from or to Archangel, and in our own eyes we seemed -the only barbarians amid the commerce and civilization of the world. -We sent deputations to every ship that came within hailing distance to -beg tobacco or sheets of writing paper, without, however, betraying our -incognito. We desired to be the first to give news of ourselves by the -telegraph. Contrary winds compelled our captain to tack often, and the -delay seemed to our impatience purgatory itself. - -22. At length on the 3rd of September—the 812th day from the day we -sailed from Bremerhaven—we sighted the little seaport of Vardö. Forthwith -the Austrian flag was displayed at the foretop of the _Nikolai_, while -each of us, clad in his fur-coat, stood with beating hearts on deck ready -to land. Soon she ran into the little harbour, and about three o’clock -in the afternoon of that same day we put our feet on Norwegian soil with -the glad thought that our dangers and our toils were over at last. While -Weyprecht attended to our money affairs, I hastened, amid the wondering -looks of the inhabitants, to the telegraph station to despatch the news -of our happy rescue and safe arrival, and as each message sped on its -way, our hearts glowed with joy as we thought that in a few minutes -friends and countrymen would learn the good tidings and share in our joy. - -23. On the 5th the mail steamer from Vardö to Hamburg took us on board, -and stopping at Tromsö, we put ashore, with many adieus, our friend -and companion Captain Carlsen. He had been one of those who believed -that we should return home by Behring Straits; but here he landed, a -touching instance of the vanity of human hopes. Apart from his linguistic -acquirements—for he had learnt to speak several languages on board -the _Tegetthoff_—the hardy old Arctic voyager went ashore with three -things only; his carefully preserved reindeer coat, his wig, and trusty -walrus spear. But all our hearts burned to reach home—home for its own -sake; for no presentiment had any of us of the honours that awaited our -arrival there. The favours shown to us by our monarch, the enthusiasm -which greeted the news of the discoveries we had so marvellously made, -the sympathy so abundantly expressed for our sufferings, made us feel -that we were rewarded far beyond our deserts, and that we had gained -the highest men can gain—the recognition of their services by their -fellow-countrymen. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -I. - -METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. - - -The meteorological observations were always taken by the officers of -the watch, by Lieutenant Brosch, Midshipman Orel, the boatswain Lusina, -and Captain Carlsen. Krisch, our engineer, who shared in this labour -during the first winter was exempted from it in the second year, owing -to his failing health. Readings of the thermometers were taken every -two hours; observations to ascertain the moisture of the air were made -by the psychrometer during the summer months; the direction and force -of the winds, the amount of precipitation, the form and character of -the clouds were carefully noted down. As their labours were zealously -and conscientiously carried out for one year and a half, and chiefly in -regions never before visited, the results are of peculiar importance.[59] -The direction and force of the winds seemed in the first year to be -nearly in equilibrium, save that in the south air-currents from the -south-west generally prevailed, while in the north the prevailing -air-currents were from the north-east. - -Thunder-storms never occurred; even on the northern shores of Siberia -they are seldom experienced. The forms of the clouds in Arctic regions -have never the sharply-defined contours of those in more southerly -latitudes. In summer they increase in fulness, and in winter they consist -chiefly of vapours and frosty mists which throw dark inky hues over the -brightness of the nights. The proverbial clearness of the heavens, of -which Koldewey, Kane, Middendorf, and Wrangel speak, is found in the -high north, as also in the tropics only over the greater masses of land. -“The clouds,” says Weyprecht, “have either the uniform dull grey aspect -of elevated fog, or they assume the cirrus form, and the latter is not -as with us the fleecy mass rising high above the horizon, but consists -of masses of mist rising little above it, which very seldom assume the -sharply-defined forms which are seen in more southern regions. Instead -of clouds gloomy fogs prevail, sometimes rising high, sometimes also -close to the ground as if they were nailed to it. Four-and-twenty hours -of clear weather rarely occur in summer; generally after shining for a -few hours the sun disappears behind dense fogs. Dull and gloomy as these -fogs are, they maintain the conditions which we find in the regions of -ice,—they prevent the escape of the sun’s heat and they act more potently -on the ice than its direct rays.” With respect to the winds he adds: -“Until the autumn of the second year, the winds were of a very variable -nature. In the neighbourhood of Novaya Zemlya we had many south-east and -south-west winds; in the spring the winds were more from the north-east. -A prevailing direction of the wind was only discernible when we lay in -our second winter under Franz-Josef Land. Here all snow-storms and about -50 per cent. of the winds come from east-north-east. These winds were -mostly accompanied by clouds, which were dispersed only when the wind -veered more to the north. The force of the wind is mitigated by the ice. -Very frequently fog masses are seen driving rapidly at no very great -height above the ice, while below them there is almost a calm. In the -January of the two years we passed in the north, it was very interesting -to observe the struggle between the cold winds from the north and the -warmer winds of the south. The approach of warm winds from the south and -south-west brought masses of snow, and in a short time produced a rise of -temperature amounting to 67° to 79° F.” - -Falls of snow take place at all seasons of the year; but as they -generally occur accompanied with strong winds, it is not very easy -to determine the depth of the layers. Apart from extreme cases of -snow-drifts the mean depth of the snow on the ice during winter was about -three feet, and it is more considerable under the land than at a distance -from it. Rain falls almost exclusively only during the few months of -summer, and generally in fine showers, never in the sudden torrents of -southern latitudes. More rain fell with us in our second than in our -first summer. - -I was impossible, owing to our continual change of place, to give the -barometrical means for any particular locality; in the following table, -therefore, the monthly mean only is noted. The thermometers we used were -placed at the distance of five-and-twenty paces from the ship, so that -they were pretty well isolated from any influence due to it, and they -were raised four feet above the surface of the snow.[60] - -Readings of the minimum thermometer were taken at noon every day in the -year, and of the black-bulb thermometer at different times of the day -during the summer. The time of the day when the temperature reached its -maximum was irregular during the winter; it occurred about two o’clock -in the afternoon when the spring was well advanced. As I have already -inserted in the course of the narrative the temperatures of each day in -the month, it will be enough for the purposes of a general survey to give -here a summary of the mean monthly temperatures and of the maximum and -minimum extremes:— - - +-------------+--------------+------------+---------+--------+ - | | Mean of the |Mean of the |Maximum. |Minimum.| - | |Barometrical | Monthly | R. | R. | - | |Measurements. |Temperature.| | | - +-------------+--------------+------------+---------+--------+ - | 1872. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |July | — | — | — | -2·4 | - |August | 750·99 | +0·41 | +6·5 | -5·6 | - |September | 748·92 | -7·34 | +0·4 | -18·6 | - |October | 751·8 | -13·5 | +2·0 | -26·5 | - |November | 757·27 | -19·52 | -2·3 | -28·7 | - |December | 757·11 | -23·95 | -14·9 | -28·7 | - | | | | | | - | 1873. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |January | 753·69 | -18·1 | -2·1 | -35·1 | - |February | 741·62 | -27·95 | -1·8 | -36·9 | - |March | 748·21 | -25·52 | -14·4 | -33·9 | - |April | 753·04 | -17·49 | -6·8 | -30·9 | - |May | 756·58 | -7·12 | -1·9 | -18·4 | - |June | 751·3 | -0·41 | +8·1 | -8·6 | - |July | 750·23 | +1·26 | +6·4 | -1·8 | - |August | 749·33 | +0·32 | +4·4 | -4·6 | - |September | 747·79 | -3·32 | +1·3 | -12·4 | - |October | 745·64 | -13·93 | -2·9 | -23·1 | - |November | 748·2 | -21·21 | -6·2 | -31·8 | - |December | 744·98 | -23·08 | -10·1 | -34 | - | | | | | | - | 1874. | | | | | - | | | | | | - |January | 732·97 | -19·6 | -1·7 | -36·7 | - |February | 744·92 | -22·83 | -1·7 | -35·5 | - |March | 742·25 | -18·46 | -1·0 | -36·9 | - |April | 751·15 | -12·32 | -2·8 | -22·8 | - +-------------+--------------+------------+---------+--------+ - -_Note._—The temperatures are given in Réaumur degrees. By adding -one-fourth, the numbers given in the three last columns will be reduced -to Centigrade degrees. - - - - -II. - -DIRECTION AND FORCE OF THE WIND, FROM OBSERVATIONS ON BOARD THE -“TEGETTHOFF.” - - - +------------+------------------+ - | |Mean Direction and| - | | Force. | - | +----------+-------+ - | |Direction.| Force.| - +------------+----------+-------+ - | | | | - |1872. | | | - | | | | - |July 15 | N53°E | 1·36 | - |August 31 | S56°W | 1·15 | - |September 30| S45°W | 0·54 | - |October 31 | S23°E | 0·43 | - |November 30 | S71°E | 0·26 | - |December 31 | S44°E | 0·64 | - | | | | - |1873. | | | - | | | | - |January 31 | S64°W | 1·24 | - |February 28 | N32°E | 0·26 | - |March 31 | N37°E | 0·63 | - |April 30 | N61°E | 0·53 | - |May 31 | N5°W | 0·53 | - |June 30 | S79°E | 0·97 | - |July 31 | N74°W | 0·82 | - |August 31 | S48°E | 0·31 | - |September 30| S53°E | 0·14 | - |October 31 | N42°E | 1·82 | - |November 30 | N54°E | 1·10 | - |December 31 | N66°E | 1·21 | - | | | | - | 1874. | | | - | | | | - |January 31 | S70°E | 0·93 | - |February 28 | N47°E | 1·16 | - |March 31 | N59°W | 0·83 | - |April 30 | N80°E | 0·94 | - +------------+----------+-------+ - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] _Polynia_, a Russian term for an open water space.—Glossary in Kane’s -_Arctic Explorations_, vol. i., p. 14. - -[2] Ice-fields have been seen there equal to the superficial extent of a -German principality, or even to the Duchy of Salzburg. - -[3] Geikie’s _Great Ice Age_, pp. 38, 39. - -[4] In the North Atlantic Ocean down to 40° N. L. - -[5] Parry’s _Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West -Passage_, 1819-20, p. 298. 4to. London, 1821. - -[6] Sir J. C. Ross’s _Southern Antarctic Voyage_, vol. ii., p. 151. - -[7] Sir John Ross—_Second Voyage of Discovery to the Arctic Ocean_, p. -180; 4to. London, 1835. - -[8] The nautical mile or “knot,” which is about an ordinary mile and a -sixth, is meant. - -[9] _Dock_, an opening in the ice, artificial or natural, offering -protection. Kane’s _Glossary of Arctic Terms_, vol. i., p. 13. - -[10] Mercator was not an Englishman; he was a Dutchman, born 1512, died -1594. - -[11] Three centuries ago, Plancius, the Dutch geographer, devised this -for the North Pole, while Barros, the Portuguese historiographer, did the -same for the South Pole. - -[12] As a corrective to this rather extreme statement, see Clement -Markham’s _Threshold of the Unknown Region_, 4th Edition, pp. 383-393. - -[13] A decoction prepared by Dr. Kepes, the physician of the _Tegetthoff_. - -[14] Lieutenant Brosch had the entire care of the victualling department, -and deserved our heartiest thanks for the skill and self-sacrifice with -which he performed his duty. - -[15] Formerly Captain in the Austrian Merchant Service. - -[16] Our position was then in 76° 22′ N. Lat., 63° 3′ E. Long. - -[17] A decoction prepared by Kepes. - -[18] Parry mentions, as a fact illustrative of the increase of moisture -and its condensation into ice, that about a hundred hundredweights of -ice were once removed from the lower quarters of the _Hecla_, which had -accumulated there from the breath, the steam caused by cooking, and the -moisture brought down by the clothes of the men. - -[19] The noise produced by such collisions cannot be more fittingly -expressed. - -[20] Hall’s contemporaneous expedition excepted. - -[21] See Appendix. - -[22] I take this opportunity of stating that the originals of nearly all -the illustrations of this book were drawn on the spot from nature, and -that they have been reproduced as they were drawn. - -[23] On the 24th of November the thermometer marked -14° F. in the ship’s -hole. The screw propeller had been fast frozen a month before. - -[24] We had brought 1,400 lbs. of it from Bremerhaven. - -[25] Parry’s winter night of 1819-20 lasted eighty-four days; Ross’s, -in the Gulf of Boothia, fifty days; Kane’s, in Rennssalaer harbour, 113 -days, and Hayes’ 123. In the latter case, however, the mountains on his -southern horizon were the cause why the sun was not earlier visible. - -[26] It has often been asserted that sound accompanying the Aurora has -been heard in the Shetland Isles, and in Siberia; but all scientific -travellers protest against this. Franklin, who at first believed in this -alleged phenomenon, afterwards retracted his opinion, and was convinced -that the noise proceeded from terrestrial causes. - -[27] Experience acquired both in Greenland and in Franz-Josef Land -convinces me that autumn is to be preferred to spring for sledge-journeys. - -[28] This is the reason why the English North Pole Expedition has engaged -the services of two mountaineers accustomed to glacier travelling. - -[29] I take this opportunity of fulfilling a duty of gratitude, when I -add that in our equipment we followed, in every respect, the tried and -tested advice of Admiral McClintock, and that to this we owed for the -most part such successes as we achieved. - -[30] Broad runners facilitate progress through deep snow. March 7, 1874, -we scarcely could move a sledge of medium size with its load, though we -afterwards transported the same load easily with a sledge with broader -runners; and the former became available when we fastened a pair of Lapp -snow-shoes on its runners. - -[31] _Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole_, pp. 145, 146, -4to. London: 1828. - -[32] _Narrative_, &c. Intro. p. xiv. - -[33] See description of Parry’s Boats—_Narrative_, &c. Intro. pp. xi.-xii. - -[34] This was the maximum of cold I observed during my three Polar -expeditions. - -[35] Hayes mentions a storm occurring at -27° F.; but this is probably an -error of the press. - -[36] In Greenland I once heard at the distance of 800 paces a -conversation between Börgen and Copeland carried on in the usual tone. - -[37] Sir John Ross frequently did this, sending the bullet through a -solid board. The freezing point of quicksilver is -40° F. It varies -however between -40° and -45° F., according to the purity of the metal. - -[38] It may easily happen in such weather that travellers on the ice -should have great difficulty in finding the ship, though they should -pass by it at less than 200 paces distant. The direction of the wind -contributes but little towards the ascertaining of their position; amid -hummocks of ice the wind constantly changes. On the 6th of March, Haller -and I wandered about for hours amid drifting snow-storms. Pekel, who came -to us from the ship, guided us rightly. - -[39] There are no glaciers on the coast of Siberia, and the glaciers -of Spitzbergen are not, it seems, large enough to detach icebergs. May -not, therefore, the icebergs which gather at Hope Island, as well as -those which are met with on the northern coasts of Siberia, originate in -the glaciers of Franz-Josef Land? Barentz saw, in August, 1596, on the -northern coasts of Novaya Zemlya, as many as 400 icebergs. - -[40] This of course does not exclude the possibility of finding -appropriate winter harbours in those Sounds we were unable to visit; most -probably such occur in Markham Sound, which abounds in fiords. - -[41] This applies especially to the region lying to the north of 81° 10′. - -[42] Schönau, near Teplitz in Bohemia, my birthplace. - -[43] Sumbu and Pekel were my own dogs. - -[44] Named after Dove, the celebrated German physicist. - -[45] Parry reached, on the frozen sea to the north of Spitzbergen, 82° -45′ N.L. - -[46] Kane’s dogs died principally in consequence of being fed chiefly on -salt meat, and Hayes’s from a disease among dogs which spreads over all -West Greenland. Epidemics of this kind break out among the dogs of the -Eskimos and of the Siberian tribes. Middendorf mentions, however, that -canine madness never occurs among the dogs of the latter. - -[47] Snow-water was for two years the only water we used, and as none of -us became goîtred, we were a living refutation of the opinion shared by -many that its constant use generates this disease in the inhabitants of -the Alps. - -[48] On board the ship the temperature at the same time was -20° F. - -[49] It might have been expected that seamen would have been acquainted -with the use of the compass, though the instruments they had at their -command were too small to determine the declination with precision. - -[50] Franklin, speaking of his experience during his first journey, says -that their diet of animal food had rather weakened than strengthened -their powers. An Eskimo, on the other hand, often consumes 20 lbs. of the -flesh of a seal in a day, and seems to thrive on it—a proof how the mode -of living of a savage is no rule for civilized man. - -[51] Our food, which we always took as hot as possible, had made our -tongues and gums as hard as leather, so that we could not discriminate -what we ate. Our great desire was not for flesh, but for white bread, -potatoes, and milk. - -[52] On May 5 a bear got away from us through a bad shot, but a second -was killed just as he had attacked Torossy. May 9, again, a bad shot -scared away a bear; on the eleventh one was killed by Herr Orel. This -bear had already received a ball in his shoulder, and a second in his -head an inch and a half under the right eye. - -[53] With three boats, two of which were whale-boats, each 26 feet long -and 7 feet broad. His crew wore Eskimo clothing, and, strange to say, -some of them had gutta-percha masks. Parry’s towards the North Pole in -1827, Kane’s in 1855, and our own, have much in common: but the greatest -difficulties were on our side. - -[54] “Aussingen” is a sailor’s word for a particular rhythm to which they -pull in time. - -[55] It was Parry’s experience also that nothing melts the ice like rain. - -[56] The wind maintained its westerly character, and we drifted, as we -had so often before, to the _right_ of its direction. - -[57] Baer brought home from Novaya Zemlya ninety species of Phanerogams. -According to an observation of Mojssejew, June 18, 1839, the thermometer -in the sun stood at 93° F., and 59° F. in the shade. - -[58] On older charts it is still separated by a sound from the mainland. -The layers of drift-wood, which we found everywhere at a considerable -height above the level of the sea, show beyond a doubt that the coast of -Novaya Zemlya has gradually risen; but as in those latitudes this wood -rots only after centuries, we have no measure to estimate the rate of -this movement. - -[59] These have not as yet been published. - -[60] Thermometers should always hang freely; when they are enclosed -in cases they give false values, especially if the cases should be -filled with snow. In our first winter we were obliged on account of the -ice-pressures to suspend our thermometers on the ship in such cases, -and there can be no doubt that their readings were too high. Sometimes, -however, they were too low, when the thermometers came in contact with -the snow on the ship. Scoresby, Parry, and we ourselves observed that the -temperature of the snow-covering sometimes sunk in clear winter nights -some degrees below the temperature of the air. - - - - -INDEX. - - - A - - Actiniæ, 269 - - Alcohol, the best fuel, 225 - - Amphipoda, 268 - - Amygdaloids, 261 - - Annelides, 270 - - Antlers of reindeer, superstition respecting, 107 - - Arctic petrel, 267 - - Arctic sea, temperature of, 6, 68, 93 - - Ascent of Cape Brünn, 338 - - Auk, the, 267, 290, 380; - Cape, 306, 308 - - Aulis, the harbour of, 352 - - Auroras, 64, 120, 154, 179; - described, 202; - sign of bad weather, 203; - influence of, on the magnetic needle, 205; - described by Weyprecht, 206 - - Austria Sound, 271, 281, 289, 292 - - - B - - Balloon, use of, recommended, 36 - - Barentz, referred to, 12, 28; - food of his party, 288; - islands, described by Prof. Höfer, 86; - incorrect maps of, 100; - sighted, 378 - - Basaltic formation of Franz-Josef Land, 260 - - Bay-ice, 2 - - Beaches, raised, 264, 381 - - Bear Island, 56 - - Bears, 97, 119, 144, 151, 154, 158, 238, 240, 272, 276; - winter hole, 276, 282, 285, 288, 293, 318, 334, 337, 344, 353, 360, - 367, 370 - - Bears’ flesh, 338 - - Bessels, Dr., 51 - - Birds, 93, 154, 162, 179, 232, 266, 290, 306, 315, 320, 334 - - Black Cape, Novaya Zemlya, 381 - - Books in _Tegetthoff_, 129, 186 - - Boots, sail-cloth, 232 - - Bottles, thrown out, 148 - - Britwin, Cape, 384 - - Bryopogon jubatus, 265 - - Buellia stigmatea, 265 - - Bunting, snow, 267 - - - C - - Cairn erected, 383 - - Calking the boats, 373 - - Cape Look-out, 58; - Frankfurt, 280; - Nassau, 64; - North, 65 - - Carlsen, Captain Olaf, 29, 77, 124, 132, 182, 360, 389 - - Cartridges, 130 - - Catabrosa algida, 265 - - Cattarinich, 255 - - Cerastium alpinum, 265 - - Cetraria nivalis, 265, 313 - - Climate of Novaya Zemlya, 379 - - Clothes, suitable, 45, 232 - - Coal, consumption of, in _Tegetthoff_, 128; - brown, 61, 260, 282; - house broken up, 119 - - Coast-water, navigating in, 12 - - Coffins, the three, 89 - - Cold, 246, _et seqq._; - effect on man, 250, 251 - - Colour of ice, 5; - of sea, 14 - - Coltsfoot, gathered in Novaya Zemlya, 381 - - Commander, qualities requisite for, 37 - - Condensation, 44, 127, 195 - - Cooking apparatus for sledging, 224 - - Cost of Polar expedition, 45, 46 - - Constants, magnetic, 271 - - Course of _Tegetthoff_, 147 - - Crevasse, fall of sledge into, 300 - - Crew of _Tegetthoff_, 76, 135, 136, 137, 195 - - Crinoidæ, 270 - - Crown Prince Rudolf’s Land, 294 - - Crow’s-nest, erected in _Tegetthoff_, 18 - - Crustaceæ, 268 - - Currents, sea, 18; - of the Obi and Jenisej, 68; - air and equatorial, meeting of, 64; - warm, 67 - - Cyperacites, grass of, as foot-coverings, 233 - - - D - - Darkness, effects of, 133, 149, 190 - - Deflection on coast of Greenland, 18 - - Depôt of provisions, 327, 330 - - Diarrhœa, a consequence of extreme cold, 251 - - Divers, 290, 320 - - Divine service celebrated in _Tegetthoff_, 131 - - Docks in ice, 19 - - Dogs, 89, 103, 118, 161, 191, 193, 220, 233, 237, 297, 330, 337, 340, - 346, 359, 360; - death of, 377 - - Dolerite rocks, 181, 261, 276, 282, 305, 312, 318 - - Dove, Greenland, 267 - - Dove, Prof., on the temperature at the Pole, 27; - glaciers named after, 290 - - Dress of the Arctic sledger, 231 - - Driftwood, 61, 63, 66, 265, 383 - - Dunen Bay, 383, 387 - - - E - - Easter Sunday, 285 - - Eclipse of the sun, 160 - - Eider duck, 267 - - Equipment for return journey, 345 - - Erratics, 261, 308 - - Evaporation from ice, 7 - - Expedition, second German, 13; - cost of various expeditions, 45; - equipment of, 34 - - - F - - Fables of old navigators, 23, 26 - - Fenzl, Prof., 265 - - Finnmark, 52 - - Fish described, 266 - - Flag, Austro-Hungarian, planted, 82·5° N. L., 312 - - Flea crab, 268 - - Fligely, Cape, 311 - - Floe, or field-ice, 2, 3, 4; - age of, 4; - colour of, 5 - - Food, allowance, 42, 130, 131 - - Forget-me-nots in Novaya Zemlya, 381 - - Fossils in Spitzbergen, 60 - - Fox, white, as food, 288 - - Franklin, diet of his party, 288 - - Franz-Josef Land surveyed, 237; - climate, 260 - - Frost-bite, 151, 241, 252; - remedies for, 252 - - Fugloe, 54 - - Furs, 231 - - _Fury_, the, 42 - - - G - - Gadus, 266 - - Geikie’s _Great Ice Age_, extract from, 8 - - _Germania_, 15; - Cape, 310 - - Geological formation, Spitzbergen, 60 - - Gillis’ Land, 66 - - Glacier, Dove, 263; - Forbes, 264; - Middendorf, 263; - insects, 264 - - Glaciers, of Novaya Zemlya, 17; - of Spitzbergen, 60; - calving of, 8; - in Franz-Josef Land, 262; - height of, _ib._; - colour of, _ib._; - motion of, observed, 344 - - Gloves, 231 - - Grasses, 265 - - Greenland, described, 259 - - Grog, necessary, 245, 255, 329 - - Gulf stream, 28, 50, 51, 67, 68 - - Gull, burgomaster, 160, 267, 354; - robber, 162, 267; - Ross’s, 179, 267 - - Gulyas, soup, 362 - - Gyrophora anthracina, 265 - - - H - - Haller, 255, 304 - - _Hansa_, the, 15 - - Health in _Tegetthoff_, 134, 151, 154, 173, 201 - - Hellwald, Cape, 320 - - Hippolyte (Payeri), 267 - - Höfer, Prof., his description of Barentz Isles, 86 - - Hohenlohe Island, 295 - - Holothuriæ, 270 - - Hoods, knitted, 231 - - Hope Island, 57, 60 - - Horizon visible from _Tegetthoff_, 18 - - Hornsundstind, 58, 60 - - Hyalonema, 268 - - Hydrochloric acid as remedy for frost-bite, 252 - - Hyperstenite rocks, 261 - - - I - - Ice, bay, 2; - barrier, 62, 63; - blink, 7; - birds, 160; - bergs, height of, 9; - places where they collect, _ib._; - oversetting of, 10, 331; - drift southwards like biers, 81; - forty feet high, 84, 166; - in Austria Sound, 258; - detachment of, 264; - in Rudolf’s Land, 299, 308 - - Ice-fields, 2, 4 - - Ice-foot, 2 - - Ice-holes, 1, 28 - - Ice-needles, 5 - - Ice-pressures, 102, 103, 111, 139 - - Ice (sea), specific gravity of, 6 - - Ice-sheet over Arctic regions, 1 - - Iceland Knot, 267 - - Iceland moss, 88 - - Imbricaria stygia, 265 - - Instruments required for sledge journey, 221 - - _Isbjörn_, description of, 51; - beset, 55; - meets _Tegetthoff_, 85, 89 - - Isopoda, 268 - - - J - - Journal, passages from, 106, 356-359 - - Jurassic formation in Spitzbergen, 60 - - - K - - Kaiser Franz-Josef’s Land discovered, 175; - explored, 213, 253, 258-270 - - Kepes, Dr., 267 - - Kittiwake, 267 - - Klotz, his singular appearance, 334 - - Knot (Iceland), 267 - - Korethrastes, 270 - - Krisch, death of, 215, 255 - - - L - - Lamp used, 45 - - Land, new, discovered, 175; - visited, 181 - - Land-ice, 3 - - Languages, four, spoken in _Tegetthoff_, 132 - - Leads or waterways, 1 - - Leigh Smith, Mr., his photographs, 261 - - Lichens, 265, 276; - used as tobacco, 322 - - Lignite, 322 - - Liparis gelatinosus, 266 - - Littrow, Cape, 244 - - Lumme, the, 267 - - Lütke, 29 - - - M - - M’Clintock, on sledge travelling, 24; - his adventures related to the men, 330 - - Magnetic constants observed, 271 - - Magnetic readings, 343 - - Mallemoke, 267 - - Matoschkin Schar, 64 - - Meals, usual, 130 - - Medusæ (Beroë) found, 63 - - Mess-room described, 130 - - Meteorological observations, 343 - - Middendorf Glacier, 263, 299 - - Moss, 265 - - - N - - Navigation, in coast water, 12; - only possible in summer, 13; - best season for, 14 - - Nassau, Cape, 64 - - Night, the Polar, 190 - - _Nikolai_, rescue by the, 384 - - Noise made by ice-pressures, 110, 141, 178 - - Noon, December 21st 1873, 189 - - Nordenskjöld, Prof., 261; - Fiord, 244 - - Normans, the, the first Polar navigators, 21 - - North-East Passage, 21-23 - - North-West Passage, 21-24 - - Novaya Zemlya Sea, 65, 66, 67, 80, 99, 171; - survey of necessary, 99; - coast of, 379; - climate of, _ib._ - - Novaya Zemlya, glaciers of, 9 - - - O - - Orel, 274, 280, 281, 282, 295, 301, 308, 313, 314, 320, 326 - - Ostjak dogs, 234 - - Owl, snowy, 267 - - - P - - Pachtussow, 29, 228 - - Pack-ice, 2 - - Papaver nudicale, 265, 322 - - Paper smoked instead of tobacco, 372 - - Parhelia, 99, 156, 178, 329 - - Parry referred to and quoted, 12, 288, 317 - - Pay of different Arctic crews, 39 - - Penny, 29 - - Petermann, Dr., on the influence of the Gulf Stream, 28 - - Petroleum used, 128; - frozen in lamp, 146 - - Plancius, his theory of an open Polar sea, 28 - - Plants, collection of, 265; - tropical, found in Spitzbergen, 28 - - Plasticity of glacier ice, 263 - - Polar question, 33 - - Polar sea (open), its existence questioned, 25, 28; - Seas, North and South compared, 14 - - Pole, North, 20, 27 - - Polynia, 312 - - Polypes, hydroid, 270 - - Provisions fail, 373; - remnant of, divided, 384 - - Prince Charles’s foreland, 58 - - Pycnogonida, 268 - - Pyrites formed, 167 - - - R - - Rain, its effect in breaking up the ice, 368, 370 - - Return to Europe resolved on, 179, 200 - - Reward offered by the English and Dutch for the discovery of the - North-West Passage, 33 - - Rhizocarpon geographicum, 265, 313 - - Rocks of Franz-Josef Land, 261 - - Rorqual (whale), 63 - - Ross, Sir James, 13, 16 - - Ross, Sir John, 42, 44, 288 - - Rotge, 267 - - Russians, kindness of, 386 - - - S - - Salm Island, 275 - - Sandoe, Island of, 54 - - Saxifrage on the Barentz Isles, 87; - in Franz-Josef Land, 265 - - School on the _Tegetthoff_, 137 - - Scoresby, 29, 32 - - Scurvy, causes of, 134; - signs of, 196; - in various expeditions compared, 197 - - Sea-ice, specific gravity of, 6 - - Sea-swallow, 267 - - Sea-temperature, 5, 68 - - Seals, 173, 266, 356, 364, 374 - - Ship, best shape of, 15; - small preferred, 16; - tonnage of different Arctic ships, 41 - - Shrimps, 267 - - Silene acaulis, 265, 322 - - Sketches, 343 - - Sketching on the ice, 156 - - Sledge journey, first, 235; - second, 271; - third, 336 - - Sledge travelling, 216-221; - clothing for, 230 - - Sledges drawn by men and dogs, 219; - equipment of, 222-234; - description of, 223; - loading of, 226; - boats for, 229; - in a snow-storm, 327; - abandoned, 377 - - Sleeping bag described, 225 - - Smith’s Sound, route through, 35 - - Snow-blindness, 317 - - Snow-eaters, 253 - - Snow-huts described, 225 - - Snow-line, 60, 262 - - Snow, fallen, described, 5; - block, 254; - constant downfall of, 188; - in extreme cold, 250 - - Snow, red, 60 - - Sonklar glacier, 253 - - Sound propagated freely in Polar regions, 250 - - Sound, crackling at edge of ice, 6 - - Soundings, table of, 172 - - Speed, rate of, 15 - - Spitzbergen, 58, 259 - - Sponges, 268 - - Sporastatia Morio, 265 - - Spring (1873), 153 - - Stove used on _Tegetthoff_, 128 - - Summer (1873), 162; - end of second, 174 - - Sun-rise (1873), 149; - (1874), 219 - - Sun, power of, 163 - - Sweet-water ice, 2 - - Swell of the ocean, 13; - heard, 370 - - - T - - Tactics of a ship in ice, 15 - - Tea recommended, 228; - comfort of, 355 - - _Tegetthoff_, 15, 75; - leaves Bremerhaven, 74; - crew of, described, 76; - at Tromsoe, _ib._; - beset, 82; - meets the _Isbjörn_, 85; - finally beset, 92; - table of course of, 147; - shored up, 165; - abandoned, 348 - - Tegetthoff, Cape, 235, 239, 241, 254, 353 - - Temperature of sea, 5, 68, 93; - variations of, in ship, 128; - low, 188, 316 - - Thaw water, 263, 370 - - Thirst, Arctic, 253 - - Tobacco, valuable, 353, 363 - - Tonnage of different Arctic ships, 41 - - Torossy, 3, 234, 276 - - Trace for each sledge-dog, 233 - - Tromsoe, 54, 76, 77 - - Tropical plants found in Spitzbergen, 28 - - Tusselago farfara, 381 - - Tyrol, Cape, 265 - - - U - - Ukase granted by the Russian government, 77 - - Umbellula, 269 - - Umbilicaria arctica, 265, 313 - - Usnea melaxantha, 265, 321 - - - V - - Vegetation of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land, 264 - - _Victory_, stores of the, in 1829, 42 - - Vienna, Cape, 312 - - Volcanic formation of Arctic regions, 260 - - Voronin, Feodor, Captain of the _Nikolai_, 384, 388 - - - W - - Walrus, the, 266 - - Water-sky, 7 - - Weyprecht, Lieut., 65, 68, 259, 271, 334 - - Whales, 62, 63; - white, 266 - - White Sea crossed, 388 - - Willoughby, 26 - - Wilczek, Graf, 49, 69, 85; - Island, 181, 183, 255, 257, 275 - - Wine necessary, 43, 135; - chemical, 43; - increased allowance of, 214 - - Winter harbour, 19 - - Winter night, length of, 200; - darkness of, 186 - - Wintering spots of Russian expeditions, 382 - - Wüllersdorf, Urbair, Admiral, his remarks on the course of the - _Tegetthoff_, 168 - - - Z - - Zaninovich falls into a crevasse, 300 - - Zoological collection, 343 - - -THE END. - - - - -MR. 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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 -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: New lands within the Arctic circle - Narrative of the discoveries of the Austrian ship - "Tegetthoff" in the years 1872-1874 - -Author: Julius Payer - -Release Date: September 7, 2019 [EBook #60258] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW LANDS WITHIN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE *** - - - - -Produced by Albert László, Greg Bergquist and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus1"> -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">TWILIGHT AT MIDDAY, FEBRUARY 1874.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<h1>NEW LANDS<br /> -WITHIN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.</h1> - -<p class="titlepage"><i>NARRATIVE OF THE DISCOVERIES<br /> -OF THE AUSTRIAN SHIP “TEGETTHOFF”<br /> -IN THE YEARS 1872-1874.</i></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -<span class="larger">JULIUS PAYER,</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">ONE OF THE COMMANDERS OF THE EXPEDITION.</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage">WITH MAPS AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS<br /> -BY THE AUTHOR.</p> - -<p class="titlepage gothic">Translated from the German, with the Author’s Approbation.</p> - -<p class="titlepage">NEW YORK:<br /> -D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,<br /> -<span class="smaller">549 AND 551 BROADWAY.<br /> -1877.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>AUTHOR’S PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>In laying this book before the Public I desire, in the first -instance, to acknowledge without reserve my sense of the -great merits of my colleague, Lieutenant Weyprecht. The -reader of the following pages will learn with what unwearied, -though fruitless, energy he struggled to free the <i>Tegetthoff</i> -from her icy prison, and what dauntless courage and unfailing -command of resources he displayed in our hazardous retreat -from the abandoned ship, till the moment of our happy rescue. -The order and discipline maintained on board ship, and in the -terrible march over the Frozen Ocean, as well as in the perilous -boat voyage after leaving the ice-barrier, were mainly due -to his distinguished abilities. He had supreme command of -the expedition, as long as its duties were strictly nautical; -when the operations of sledging and surveying began, I had -the responsibility of a separate and independent command.</p> - -<p>Nor ought I to be slow to pay my tribute of respect to the -perseverance and constant self-denial of Lieutenant Brosch -and Midshipman Orel. It would be difficult to determine, -whether they shone more as officers of the ship, or as -observers of scientific phenomena. The highly important -duty of managing the stores and provisions was discharged -also by Lieutenant Brosch with a conscientiousness that -secured the confidence of all.</p> - -<p>To the watchful skill of Dr. Kepes we owed it, that the -health and constitution of the members of the expedition -suffered so little from all their hardships and privations.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span></p> - -<p>The conduct of the crew was on the whole praiseworthy. -Their obedience to command, their perseverance and resolution -shown on every occasion, will be cited as an example of -what these virtues and qualities can achieve amid the most -appalling dangers and trials.</p> - -<p>With regard to my narrative, I make no claim for it founded -on its literary excellence; rather I sue for indulgence to its -manifold shortcomings. I have not written for the man of -science, though I have not shunned a few scientific details. -Nor have I aimed at presenting a record, which might be profitable -to those who shall follow us in the same career of -discovery, though some hints will be found in my pages which -will not be without their use to those who may consult them -for information and guidance. Rather I have endeavoured to -narrate our sufferings, adventures, and discoveries in a manner -which shall be interesting to the general reader who reads to -amuse himself.</p> - -<p>The magnetical and meteorological observations, so carefully -taken and tabulated by Weyprecht, Brosch, and Orel, -together with the sketches of the Fauna of the Frozen Ocean, -drawn by myself from the collection of Dr. Kepes, were -presented to the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, -and will in due time be published under the auspices of -that august body.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PRELIMINARY NOTICE BY THE TRANSLATOR.</h2> - -<p>It will be interesting to English readers to learn a few particulars -concerning the two leaders of the Austrian North -Polar Expeditions. Carl Weyprecht was born in Hesse-Darmstadt -in 1838, and in his eighteenth year entered the -Austrian navy. Ten years afterwards he was present at the -action between the Austrian and Italian fleets at Lissa—July -20, 1866; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant of the -second class, and <i>decorated</i> with the order of the Iron Cross -in recognition of his services in that battle. It was shortly -after this, that Weyprecht volunteered to take the command -of a small vessel, manned by only four seamen, which was to -sail from Hammerfest to explore the Arctic Ocean. This -dauntless offer was the basis of the first German North Polar -expedition. When, however, permission to act in this capacity -was obtained, Lieutenant Weyprecht was serving on board -the Austrian frigate <i>Elizabeth</i>, which formed one of the -squadron sent by the Austrian Government to bring home the -body of the ill-fated Maximilian. Immediately on his return -to Europe he repaired to Gotha, eager to place his services at -the command of the expedition which had meantime been -planned by Petermann and a committee of patrons of Arctic -exploration. But unhappily, just at this moment his health, -which had suffered from fever caught at New Orleans, failed, -and the command of the expedition, known as the first -German North Polar Expedition (May 24-October 10, 1868), -was undertaken by Captain Koldewey. It was only in 1871 -that he recovered his health, and in the June of that year<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> -began, in the <i>Isbjörn</i>, his life of Arctic experience and discovery. -In the following year, 1872, he was appointed to the -naval command of the expedition which sailed in the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, -whose strange and eventful history is recorded in the following -pages.</p> - -<p>His companion and colleague, Julius Payer, was born at -Schönau in Teplitz, Bohemia, in 1841, and received his education -as a soldier at the Wiener-Neustadt Military Academy, -1856-59, where General Sonnklar was his teacher in geographical -science, and early imbued his mind with a love for -the grandeurs of the glacier world. With the rank of “Ober-Lieutenant” -he served in the campaign of 1866 in Italy, and -was <i>decorated</i> for his distinguished services at the battle of -Custozza. Afterwards, while serving with his regiment in -Tyrol, he gained great celebrity as one of the most successful -Alpine climbers, and turned his experience as a mountaineer -to profit in his surveys of the Orteler Alps and glaciers. -Payer gained his first experience as an Arctic discoverer in -the second German North Polar Expedition, under Koldewey -and Hegemann—June 15, 1869-Sept. 11, 1870. His services -during that expedition were of a most distinguished character. -He shared in the most important discoveries which were then -made, specially those of König Wilhelm’s Land, and of the -noble Franz-Josef Fjord. He acquired in East Greenland -the experience of sledging, which was of such eminent use in -his explorations of the great discovery of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> -Expedition—Kaiser Franz-Joseph Land. He shines too as -an author in his descriptions of Greenland scenes, in the <i>Second -German North Polar Voyage</i>, published in 1874 by Brockhaus -of Leipzig, and partially reproduced in an English translation -by the Rev. L. Mercier and Mr. H. W. Bates. For these -services, on the return of the expedition, he was again <i>decorated</i>, -receiving the order of the Iron Crown.</p> - -<p>In the voyage of the <i>Isbjörn</i>, June 21-Oct. 4, 1871, we -find him associated with Weyprecht in the pioneering voyage -described in the earlier part of this work, and lastly as joint -commander of the renowned <i>Tegetthoff</i> expedition, June, 1872-September, -1874.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Gold Medals entrusted to the Royal Geographical -Society were awarded in 1875: the Founder’s Medal to -Lieutenant Weyprecht, and the Patron’s Medal to Lieutenant -Julius Payer.</p> - -<p class="tb">As these pages are passing through the Press, the country -has been deeply moved by the unexpected intelligence of the -return of the Arctic Expedition. Gratulations on its safe and -happy return have been unanimously and eagerly expressed -by all the organs of public opinion. Disappointment, however, -has, we fear, fallen on many minds as, after the first -feelings of joy at the safe arrival of the officers and crews of -the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i>, they read the brief telegraphic -summary sent by Captain Nares: “Pole impracticable,”—“No -land to northward.” Popular enthusiasm looked rather -for the conquest of the Pole; expected, perhaps, to read, one -day, that the Union Jack had been hoisted there, to commemorate -the triumph of England’s perseverance at last -rewarded. Few, we apprehend, would pass through the -chill of these two clauses of the message to mark the hope -contained in the third—“voyage otherwise successful.” In -what special respects the success proclaimed was achieved, we -must patiently wait for a future record to reveal; but while -awaiting the history which no doubt will be written to justify -and prove this announcement, let us exercise our loyal belief -in the skill and courage of our countrymen, and feel persuaded -that what men could do under their circumstances no doubt -was done by them.</p> - -<p>The interest which will be excited afresh in Arctic discovery -and adventure, will doubtless sharpen the interest in the -volumes which record the fortunes of the Austrian expedition; -and we venture to affirm—without undue partiality—that, -though the history of Arctic exploration and discovery -abounds in records of lofty resolution and patient endurance -of almost incredible hardships, the narrative of the voyage of -the <i>Tegetthoff</i> will be found to fall below none in these high -qualities. The mere destiny of the vessel itself equals, if it -does not exceed, in the element of the marvellous, anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> -which has before been recorded. Surely this is borne out -when we think, that on August 20, 1872, the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was -beset off the coast of Novaya Zemlya; remained a fast -prisoner in the ice, spite of all the efforts made by her officers -and crew to release her; drifted during the autumn and the -terrible winter of 1872—amid profound darkness—whither -they knew not; drifted to the 30th of August in the following -year (1873), till, as if by magic, the mists lifted, and lo! a -high, bold, rocky coast—lat. 79° 43′ E., long. 59° 33′—loomed -out of the fog straight ahead of them. Close to this land—which -could be visited with safety only twice, on the 1st and -3rd of November of that year—the ship remained still fast -bound in the ice. Not till the winter of 1873 had passed, -and the sun had again returned, was it possible to explore -the land, which had been so marvellously discovered. On the -10th of March, 1874, the sledge journeys commenced, and -terminated May 3rd, after 450 miles had been passed over, -and the surveys and explorations completed, which enabled -Payer to write the description of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land -(pp. 258-270), which shows that other still undefined lands, -with an archipelago of islands, have been added to the -geography of the earth.</p> - -<p>But the perils of the expedition did not end here. On -the 20th of August, 1874, it was resolved to abandon the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> in the ice, and to return in sledges and boats to -Europe. Captain Nares tells us, in his telegraphic despatch, -that the sledging parties of the <i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i> compassed -on an average one-and-a-quarter mile per day on the -terrible “Sea of Ancient Ice,” and discovered, after the -experience gained in seventy miles passed under these conditions, -that the “Pole was impracticable.” If our readers -wish to have a conception of the toils and perils of the -Austrian sledge parties on their return from the <i>Tegetthoff</i> let -them mark the single image presented to the mind by the -statement (p. 364):—“After the lapse of two months of -indescribable efforts, the distance between us and the ship -was not more than nine English miles.” Had the ice on the -Novaya Zemlya seas remained as obstinate as it seems to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> -have done in the new desolation, the “Sea of Ancient Ice,” -escape would have been as impossible to the <i>Tegetthoff’s</i> crew, -as advance towards the Pole was to the sledge parties of our -last Arctic expedition. But fortunately, soon after, “leads” -opened out in the ice; the boats were launched, and after -about another month of alternate rowing and sledging, the -ice barrier was happily reached in the unusually high latitude -77° 40′; and the brave men who three months before had left -the <i>Tegetthoff</i> were saved.</p> - -<p>This is perhaps the most marked analogy between the perils -of the two expeditions; so far as those of our own are yet -known. But the scientific conclusions of Lieutenant Payer, -as set forth in the general Introduction to his narrative, strikingly -harmonize with the actual discoveries of the <i>Alert</i> and -<i>Discovery</i>. Already it is authoritatively announced, that there -is no open Polar Sea; that this hypothesis is as baseless as -the existence of President’s Land. In the fourth chapter of -that Introduction (pp. 25-31), our author has analysed with -great sagacity the various theories on which that hypothesis -was made to rest, working up to the conclusion, that no such -sea exists. The demonstration of experience now takes the -place of enlightened argument and opinion; fact and theory -are here at one.</p> - -<p>Nor can we forbear to direct attention to another statement -in the same chapter. Let our readers mark the prophetic -spirit of the following passage: “All the changes and phenomena -of this mighty network lead us to infer the existence of -frozen seas up to the Pole itself; and according to my own -experience, gained in three expeditions, I consider that the -states of the ice between 82° and 90° N. L. will not essentially -differ from those which have been observed south of latitude -82°; I incline rather to the belief that they will be found -worse instead of better” (p. 30). And “worse instead of -better” they have been found, as we cannot doubt, when we -weigh the ominous significance of the designation the “Sea -of Ancient Ice.”</p> - -<p>History may or may not verify the position which the -telegram so briefly resumes—“The Pole impracticable.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> -Impracticable no doubt it was, if the condition of the ice seen -by our expedition in that awful sea be its normal condition. -All that it was possible for men to dare and achieve, England -will feel that her officers and sailors dared and achieved under -the circumstances they encountered. It may be, that later -experience will show, that even that Sea may present to -future explorers an aspect less tremendous; yea, that in some -seasons, which science may yet predict, when her theories of -the sun-spots are matured and formulated, open water will be -found, as perhaps it was found in the year of the expedition -of the <i>Polaris</i>, where the heroic sledging parties from the -<i>Alert</i> and <i>Discovery</i> saw nothing and found nothing, but -piled-up barriers of ice rising to the height of 150 feet.</p> - -<p>It would be idle to predict, in the face of these results, that -the Pole shall yet be reached. Any confident prediction in -this spirit would, at the present moment, be singularly -inopportune, as well as unwise. But despair would be equally -unjustifiable, while its influence would be most hurtful and -depressing, especially if Arctic exploration and the attainment -of the Pole were supposed to be identical propositions. -There are two things: reaching the North Pole, and the -exploration of the Polar region. If the former appeals more -to the imagination, and readily calls forth the emotions which -are fed by the love of the marvellous, the latter enlists the -sympathies of those who take a broader view of the necessities -of Arctic exploration. These have found a powerful representative -in one whose services entitle him to speak with -authority, in the naval chief of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> expedition. At a -meeting of the German Scientific and Medical Association -held at Gratz in September of 1875, Weyprecht read a paper -on the principles of Arctic exploration, in which, according -to the summary of its contents, which appeared in <i>Nature</i>, -October 11, 1875, he maintains, that the Polar regions offer, in -certain important respects, greater advantages than any other -part of the globe for the observation of natural phenomena—Magnetism, -the Aurora, Meteorology, Geology, Zoölogy, and -Botany. He deplores, that while large sums have been spent -and much hardship endured for geographical knowledge,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span> -strictly scientific observations have been regarded as holding -a secondary place. Though not denying the importance of -geographical discovery, he maintains, that the main purpose -of future Arctic expeditions should be the extension of our -knowledge of the various natural phenomena which may be -studied with so great advantage in those regions. He insists -in that paper on the following propositions:—“1. Arctic exploration -is of the highest importance to a knowledge of the -laws of nature. 2. Geographical discovery in those regions is -of superior importance only in so far as it extends the field -of scientific investigation in its strict sense. 3. Minute Arctic -topography is of secondary importance. 4. The geographical -Pole has for science no greater significance than any other -point in high latitude. 5. Observation stations should be -selected without reference to the latitude, but for the advantages -they offer for the investigation of the phenomena to be -studied. 6. Interrupted series of observations have only a -relative value.” The suggestions thrown out by Lieutenant -Weyprecht have been taken up by one whose mind seems to -rise instinctively to all high aims and objects. Prince Bismarck -forthwith appointed a German Commission of Arctic Exploration, -consisting of some of the most eminent men of science -of whom Germany can boast, who reported to the Bundesrath -in a memoir, the recommendations of which were unanimously -adopted. From <i>Nature</i>, November 11, 1875, which we have -already quoted, we borrow the following <i>résumé</i> of that -report:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“1. The exploration of the Arctic regions is of great -importance for all branches of science. The Commission -recommends for such exploration the establishment of fixed -observing stations. From the principal station, and supported -by it, exploring expeditions are to be made by sea and by land.</p> - -<p>“The Commission is of opinion that the region to be -explored by organised German Arctic explorers is the great -inlet to the higher Arctic regions situated between the eastern -shore of Greenland and the western shore of Spitzbergen....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span></p> - -<p>“3. It appears desirable, and, so far as scientific preparations -are concerned, possible, to commence these Arctic -expeditions in 1877.”</p> - -<p>“4. The Commission is convinced that an exploration of -the Arctic regions, based on such principles, will furnish valuable -results, even if limited to the region between Greenland -and Spitzbergen; but it is also of opinion, that an exhaustive -solution of the problems to be solved can only be expected -when exploration is extended over the whole Arctic zone, and -when other countries take their share in the undertaking.</p> - -<p>“The Commission recommends, therefore, that the principles -adopted for the German undertaking be commended to the -governments of the states which take interest in Arctic inquiry, -in order to establish, if possible, a complete circle of observing -stations in the Arctic zones.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus we are brought face to face with two different purposes, -which may be termed, respectively, the romantic and the -scientific purposes of Arctic discovery. To the former the -attainment of the Pole has hitherto been the all in all of a -geographical discovery. “The Pole impracticable,” telegraphed -by Captain Nares, as the result of the expedition -which has returned baffled to our shores, is a stern reproof -to all who would still advocate a dash at the Pole as the -worthiest purpose of Arctic discovery. Aims and endeavours -not so glaring, nor appealing in the same degree to the love -of the marvellous, are suggested in the sagacious proposals -of Lieutenant Weyprecht, to whom science will not refuse -her calmer and more measured respect, and in whom, as -Captain of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, all who love deeds of daring and -energy will find a congenial spirit.</p> - -<p>To Lieutenant Payer has fallen the distinguished honour of -being not only the colleague in command and friend of -Weyprecht, but the historian of their common sufferings and -common glory in an enterprise, the fame of which the world, -we believe, will not willingly let die.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table class="contents" summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="part" colspan="2"><a href="#PART_I"><i>INTRODUCTION.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_I"><i>page</i> 1-10</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The ice-sheet of the Arctic region.—2. “Leads” and “ice-holes” defined.—3. - Pack-ice and drift-ice.—4, 5, 6. Various designations of ice-forms.—7. - Estimate of the thickness of ice.—8. Rate of its formation.—9. Old ice.—10, - 11. Characteristics of young ice.—12. Results of the unrest in Arctic - seas.—13. The snow-sheet described.—14. Colour of field-ice.—15. Characteristics - of sea-ice.—16. Specific gravity of ice.—17. Irregularity of the - forms of ice.—18. Temperature of the Arctic Sea.—19. Noise caused by disruption.—20. - The ice-blink.—21. The water-sky.—22. Evaporation.—23. - Calmness of the sea beneath the ice.—24. Overturning of icebergs.—25. - Change of the sea’s colour near ice.—26. Icebergs described.—27. Noise - caused by the overturning of icebergs.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>NAVIGATION IN THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_II"><i>page</i> 11-19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Preparatory study necessary for Polar navigators.—2. Choice of a favourable - year necessary.—3. Navigation in coast-water recommended.—4. Failure - often caused by leaving the coast-water.—5. Distance possible to accomplish - in one summer.—6. The best time of year.—7. Steam-power recommended.—8. - The rate of speed.—9. The build of Arctic ships.—10. Tactics of a ship - in the ice.—11. Small vessels preferred.—12. Iron ships not suitable.—13. - Two vessels to be employed.—14. “Besetment” and how to avoid it.—15. - The use of a balloon recommended.—16. The “crow’s-nest.”—17. Winds - and calms.—18. A winter harbour or “dock.”</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE PENETRATION OF THE REGIONS WITHIN THE POLAR CIRCLE; - THE PERIOD OF THE NORTH-WEST AND NORTH-EAST PASSAGES</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_III"><i>page</i> 20-24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The Pole.—2. Old fancy of reaching India through the ice.—3, 4, 5. The first - Polar navigators.—6-10. The North-West and North-East Passages.—11. - Strange tales of the old discoverers.—12. The Polar world becomes the object - of scientific investigation.—13. M’Clintock perfects the art of sledging.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE INNER POLAR SEA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_IV"><i>page</i> 25-31</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The Arctic Sea compared to the glaciers of the Alps.—2, 3. Old fancies respecting - an Inner Polar Sea.—4. Improbability of such a sea existing.—5. - Influence of the Gulf Stream.—6. The Polynjii seen by Wrangel.—7. - State of the ice in different years as found by various expeditions.—8. Probability - that the most northerly regions do not differ from those already - discovered.—9. Improbability that the Pole can be reached by a ship.—10. - The English expedition to penetrate Smith’s Sound.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE FUTURE OF THE POLAR QUESTION</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_V"><i>page</i> 32-36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Material advantage from Arctic voyages.—2. The commercial value of the - North-West and North-East Passages no longer thought of.—3. The Polar - question a problem of science.—4. The increase of the safety and convenience - with which the ice-navigation is now performed.—5. The means of conducting - Polar expeditions perfected.—6. Sledge expeditions afford the chief hope - of success.—7. Not much more to be expected from ships.—8. The route by - Smith’s Sound recommended.—9. The English expedition.—10. Lieutenant - Weyprecht’s plan for united scientific investigation.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>POLAR EQUIPMENTS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_VI"><i>page</i> 37-46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Past experience to be consulted.—2. The commander.—3. Selection of the - crew.—4. Discipline and pay.—5. The best men to be obtained.—6. Special - qualifications.—7. The medical man.—8. An artist or photographer desirable.—9. - Old ideas of equipment.—10. The greatest possible comfort necessary.—11. - A table of the sizes of the vessels in various expeditions.—12. The - best kind of ships.—13. The allowance of food.—14. Spirituous liquors.—15. - The ship becomes a house in the winter.—16. The quarters of the men.—17. - Lamps and candles.—18. Clothing of the crew.—19. Instruments and - ammunition.—20. The cost of different expeditions.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><i><span class="smcap">The Pioneer Voyage of the Isbjörn</span></i></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II"><i>page</i> 49-69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. A pioneer expedition resolved on.—2, 3. Route to the east of Spitzbergen.—4. - The <i>Isbjörn</i> chartered for the service.—5. Attempts to gain information - on the probable state of the ice.—6. An unfavourable ice-year predicted.—7. - The expedition leaves Tromsoe.—8. The coast of Norway described.—9. - The <i>Isbjörn</i> in the ice.—10. Seeking a harbour.—11. Cape Look-out.—12. - Two ships met with.—13. In the ice.—14. The return to the ice-barrier.—15. - The geological formation of the western coast.—16. Arrive at Hope - Island.—17. Ice disappeared.—18. Whales abound.—19. Splendid effects of - colour.—20. In a sea.—21. A run along the west coast of Novaya Zemlya.—22. - Storms compel us to keep to sea.—23. Object of the voyage.—24. The - Austro-Hungarian Expedition of 1872.-25. The plan of the Austro-Hungarian - Expedition.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="part" colspan="2"><a href="#PART_III"><i>VOYAGE OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FROM BREMERHAVEN TO TROMSOE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_I"><i>page</i> 73-77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The qualities requisite for a Polar navigator.—2. The crew of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>—3. - The <i>Tegetthoff</i> lifts her anchor.—4. The vessel.—5. Crossing the sea.—6. - The languages spoken on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>.—7. The officers and crew of - the <i>Tegetthoff</i>.—8. Arrive at Tromsoe.—9. The first and last voyage of the - <i>Tegetthoff</i> begins.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ON THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_II"><i>page</i> 78-92</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Within the frozen ocean.—2. The sea of Novaya Zemlya.—3. We continue - our course by steam.—4. The decay of ice.—5. Effects of light.—6. We - meet the <i>Isbjörn</i>.—8-10. The Barentz Islands described by Professor Höfer.—11. - Preparations for future contests with the ice.—12. Inclosed in the land-ice.—13. - We celebrate the birthday of Francis Joseph I.—14. Our prospects - do not improve.—15. The <i>Tegetthoff</i> finally beset.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DRIFTING IN THE NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEAS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_III"><i>page</i> 93-100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Winter begins.—2. The impossibility of reaching the coast of Siberia.—3. - Unsuccessful efforts to get free.—4. The name-day of the Emperor Francis - Joseph I.—5. Encounters with polar bears.—6. A “snow-finch” visits the - ship.—7. Novaya Zemlya recedes gradually from our gaze.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” FAST BESET IN THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_IV"><i>page</i> 101-113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Signs indicate the insecurity of our position.—2. A dreadful Sunday.—3. We - make ready to abandon the ship.—4. The dogs.—5. We return to the ship.—6. - We drift in the Frozen Sea.—7. Our alarms.—8. Our constant state of - readiness to meet destruction.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>OUR FIRST WINTER (1872) IN THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_V"><i>page</i> 114-125</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Surrounded by deep twilight.—2. Our preparations for winter.—3. The difficulty - of sledge-travelling.—4. Sumbu mistaken for a fox—5. The rending of the - ice.—6. Our short expeditions.—7. The continual threatening of the ice.—8. - A bear shot.—9. The effect of the long Polar night.—10. The middle of the - long night.—11. Christmas feasts.—12. The first hour of the new year.—13. - The dogs allowed in the cabin.—14. Carlsen writes in the log-book.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>LIFE ON BOARD THE “TEGETTHOFF”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_VI"><i>page</i> 126-138</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The <i>Tegetthoff</i> covered with snow.—2. The excessive condensation of moisture.—3. - The destruction of the snow wall.—4. The removal of the tent roof.—5. - The stove of Meidingen of Carlsruhe.—6. The arrangements of the officers’ - mess-room.—7. Those who occupied the mess-room.—8. Our meals.—9. - Divine service on deck.—10. After dinner.—11. The monotony of our life.—12. - After supper.—13. Middendorf contrasting the influence of climate - on men.—14. Our sanitary condition.—15. Baths.—16. Passages from my - journal.—17. A school instituted.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ICE-PRESSURES</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_VII"><i>page</i> 139-142</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Preparations for leaving the ship.—2. Extracts from journal.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE WANE OF THE LONG POLAR NIGHT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_VIII"><i>page</i> 143-148</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The light increases.—2. A bear hunt.—3. Table of the course of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>.—4. - Throw out bottles inclosing an account of the events of the expedition.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE RETURN OF LIGHT.—THE SPRING OF 1873</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_IX"><i>page</i> 149-161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The sunrise.—2. Our first look at each other.—3. Visits from bears.—4. The - carnival.—5. Continual fall of snow.—6. Return of birds.—7. Ill health of - Dr. Kepes.—8. Bear shot.—9. A road constructed.—10. Reading without - artificial light.—11. Accumulation of rubbish round the ship.—12. Begin to - dig out the ship.—13. Surprised by bears.—14. Our hopes to reach Siberia.—15. - Snow continues to fall.—16. Visited by birds.—17. The steam machinery - put in working order.—18. A partial eclipse of the sun.—19. Birth of four - Newfoundland puppies.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SUMMER OF 1873</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_X"><i>page</i> 162-172</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Decay of the walls of the ice.—2. The blaze of light on clear days.—3. Our - constant digging.—4. Continual sinking of the ship.—5. Nothing but ice.—6. - Short expeditions.—7. Feast on the birthday of the Emperor.—8. Table - showing our change of place.—9. Some paragraphs from the Admiral’s report - of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>—10. Sounding the depth of the sea.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER XI.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>NEW LANDS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_XI"><i>page</i> 173-177</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Seal-hunting.—2. Sunset at midnight.—3. The second summer gone.—4. Land - at last.—5. Kaiser Franz-Josef’s Land.—6. Hochstetter Island.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE AUTUMN OF 1873.—THE STRANGE LAND VISITED</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_XII"><i>page</i> 178-184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Autumn of 1873.—2. Resolve to abandon the vessel.—3. Daylight begins to - fail.—4. Everything in readiness to leave the ship.—5. Wilczek Island.—6. - Our joy at reaching land.—7. Exploring the island.—8. An expedition.—9. - The silence of Arctic Regions.—10. The island continues a mystery.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>OUR SECOND WINTER IN THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_XIII"><i>page</i> 185-198</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Night begins to reign.—2. Leisure for study.—3. Complete darkness.—4. - Continual fall of snow.—5. The middle of the second Polar night.—6. Ill - temper of the dogs.—7. The dogs.—8. Pekel, Sumbu, and Jubinal.—9. - Christmas time.—10. Our life in the ship.—11. Improvement in health.—12. - Scurvy.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SUNRISE OF 1874</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_XIV"><i>page</i> 199-201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Return of the moon.—2. Sun appears above the horizon.—3. Lieutenant - Weyprecht and I resolve to abandon the ship after the sledge journeys.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE AURORA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_III_CHAPTER_XV"><i>page</i> 202-210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The northern lights.—2-4. The appearance of the aurora.—5. The influence on - the magnetic needle.—6. Description of the aurora by Lieutenant Weyprecht.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="part" colspan="2"><a href="#PART_IV"><i>THE SLEDGE JOURNEYS.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE EXPLORATION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND RESOLVED ON</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_I"><i>page</i> 213-215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Necessity of exploration.—2. Plan of the sledge journeys.—3. Eagerness to - begin.—4. Illness of Krisch.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>OF SLEDGE TRAVELLING IN GENERAL</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_II"><i>page</i> 216-221</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The sledge the best means of exploration.—2. The coast line to be followed.—3. - Best season for sledging.—4. State of the snow-road.—5. The formation - of depôts.—6. Sledges dragged by men and dogs—7. Sledging best performed - by dogs.—8. The instruments required on a sledge journey.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE EQUIPMENT OF A SLEDGE EXPEDITION</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_III"><i>page</i> 222-234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The equipment of a sledge.—2. Construction of our sledges.—3. The cooking - apparatus.—4. Fuel.—5. Tents used at night.—6. The sleeping bag.—7. - Arms and ammunition.—8. Chest for instruments, &c.—9, 10, 11. The provisions.—12. - Boats in sledge expeditions.—13. Articles of clothing.—14. - Furs.—15. Covering for the feet.—16. Drawing the sledge.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_IV"><i>page</i> 235-245</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Qualities of a leader.—2. Object of our first expedition.—3. My party.—4. We - begin our journey.—5. Violent motion of the ice.—6. Conduct of the dogs.—7. - Death of the bear.—8. The driving snow.—9. Reach the plateau of Cape - Tegetthoff.—10. Ascending the plateau.—11. Night in the sleeping bag.—12. - Difficulty of dragging the sledge.—13. Ascend a mountain, Cape Littrow.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE COLD</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_V"><i>page</i> 246-257</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The Sonklar glacier.—2. Effect of cold.—3. The frightful cold of North - America.—4. Effect of low temperature on the human frame.—5. The voice - in cold weather.—6. Hardness of everything.—7. Effect of cold on the senses.—8. - Protection against cold.—9. Danger of frost-bite.—10. Thirst.—11. A - block of snow.—12. Return to the ship.—13. Death of Krisch.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_VI"><i>page</i> 258-270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Size of the country.—2. Surface of ice.—3. Map of the country.—4. Naming of - discoveries.—5. Comparison of Arctic lands.—6. The existence of volcanic - formations.—7, 8. Geology of Franz-Josef Land.—9. Glaciers of Spitzbergen.—10. - Ice of Franz-Josef Land.—11. Temperature of the air.—12. The - plasticity of the glaciers.—13. North-east of Greenland and Siberia.—14. The - vegetation.—15. Finding drift-wood.—16. Impossibility of inhabiting Franz-Josef - Land.—17. The absence of animal life.—18. Seals abound.—19. Species - of fish seen.—20. Birds.—21. The collection of Dr. Kepes.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SECOND SLEDGE EXPEDITION.—AUSTRIA SOUND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_VII"><i>page</i> 271-294</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Plan of second expedition.—2. Danger of leaving the ship.—3. Visited by - bears.—4. Our preparations finished.—5. The sledge party.—6. Our march.—7. - Torossy wounded by a bear.—8. Danger of frost-bite.—9. Arrive at - Cape Frankfurt.—10. The configuration of the country.—11. We penetrate - to Cape Hansa.—12. A bear killed.—13. I examine the beach.—14. Loss of - the dog Sumbu.—15. Easter Sunday.—16. Approach of a bear.—17. Our - canvas boots worn out.—18. We reach Becker Island.—19. We lose a bear.—20. - Direct our course towards Cape Rath.—21. A bear shot.—22. Difficulty - of advancing.—23. We arrive at Cape Schrötter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IN THE EXTREME NORTH</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_VIII"><i>page</i> 295-313</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. We ascend the summit of the Dolerite Rock.—2. Our expedition to the extreme - north.—3. We divide the provisions.—4. The merits of our dogs.—5. - Klotz has to return.—6. Zaninovich and the sledge fall into a crevasse.—7. - Reach Cape Habermann.—8. Cape Brorock.—9. The enormous flocks of - birds.—10. Difficulty of travelling.—11. Cape Säulen.—12. Reach Cape - Germania.—13. Cape Fligely.—14. We plant the Austro-Hungarian flag.—15. - Document inclosed in a bottle.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE RETURN TO THE SHIP</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_IX"><i>page</i> 314-335</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Our return journey.—2. Observations of temperature.—3. Snow-blindness.—4. - A bear shot.—5. Reach Cape Hellwald.—6. Orel continues to march - southwards.—7. Reach Cape Tyrol.—8. Grandeur of the scenery.—9. Find - our companions.—10. We sink in the snow.—11. Arrive at open sea.—12. - Over the glaciers of Wilczek Land.—13. Enveloped in whirling snow.—14. - Digging out our depôt.—15. The difficulty of advancing.—16. Reach Schönau - Island.—17. I find the ship.—18. The ship in our absence.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE THIRD SLEDGE JOURNEY</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_IV_CHAPTER_X"><i>page</i> 336-340</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Our wish to explore Franz-Josef Land.—2. We leave the ship.—3. The dogs - and the bears.—4. A bear killed.—5. Ascent of the pyramid-like Cape - Brünn.—6. The extreme difficulty of the ascent.—7. Return to the ship.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="part" colspan="2"><a href="#PART_V"><i>THE “TEGETTHOFF” ABANDONED.—RETURN TO EUROPE.</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>LAST DAYS ON THE “TEGETTHOFF”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_V_CHAPTER_I"><i>page</i> 343-347</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. “Plundering the ship.”—2. Appearance of the ship.—3. Short expeditions.—4. - Rapid decrease of the cold.—5. The boats and their contents.—6. The - dogs, Gillis and Semlja, shot.—7. Our stock of clothes.—8. Our plan of - escape.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ON THE FROZEN SEA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_V_CHAPTER_II"><i>page</i> 348-376</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. The day for abandoning the ship comes.—2. We start.—3. The dogs.—4. We - return to the ship to replenish the stores.—5. Shooting bears.—6. Reach - Lamont Island.—7. Return to the ship for the jolly boat.—8. Impatience to - launch our boats.—9. Launch at last.—10. Shoot a seal.—11. Quotations - from the journal.—12. Crossing fissures.—13. Disheartening efforts.—14. - From one floe to another.—15. Carlsen.—16. Life in the boats.—17. Our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span> - dreadful situation.—18. Our rations diminished.—19. Forcing our way.—20. - Pushing floes asunder.—21. No advance, but great efforts.—22. Delight - caused by an advance of four miles a day.—23. Secure a bear.—24. Our - progress greatly increases.—25. Ice-hummocks everywhere.—26. Alternate - launching and drawing up the boats.—27. Increased progress.—28. The - swell of the ocean.—29. Shut in once more.—30. Contrivances to pass away - the time.—31. Calking the boats.—32. We reach the open sea.—33. Farewell - to the Frozen Ocean.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="chapter" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ON THE OPEN SEA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_V_CHAPTER_III"><i>page</i> 377-389</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="details" colspan="2">1. Sight of the open sea.—2. Compelled to kill the dogs.—3. We take a last look - at the ice.—4. Fifty miles from land.—5. We sight Novaya Zemlya.—6. We - hold on our course.—7. Vain attempt to land on Novaya Zemlya.—8. Difference - in the climate in various years.—9. Land in Gwosdarew Bay.—10. Step on - land once more.—11. Coast of Novaya Zemlya.—12. Look in vain for a sail.—13. - Our provisions nearly exhausted.—14. We divide the remnant of food.—15. - Deliverance at last.—16. The schooner <i>Nikolai</i>.—17. Our reception on - board.—18. We hear the news from Europe.—19. Captain Voronin agrees to - take us to Norway.—20. The crew of the <i>Nikolai</i>.—21. We run along the - coast of Lapland.—22. Landing at Vardö.—23. Reception.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="part" colspan="2"><a href="#APPENDIX">APPENDIX.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>I. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_I"><i>page</i> 391-393</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>II. DIRECTION AND FORCE OF THE WIND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_II"><i>page</i> 394</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>INDEX</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#INDEX"><i>page</i> 395</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -<table class="contents" summary="List of illustrations"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>TWILIGHT AT MIDDAY—FEBRUARY, 1874</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE FIRST ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus2">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>STILL LIFE IN THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus3">79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>GWOSDAREW INLET</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus4">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FORMATION OF THE DEPÔT AT “THE THREE COFFINS”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus5">89</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” AND “ISBJÖRN” SEPARATE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus6">90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” FINALLY BESET</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus7">91</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ATTEMPTS TO GET FREE IN SEPTEMBER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus8">94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SEAL-HUNTING—SEPTEMBER 1872</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus9">96</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SHOOTING AT A TARGET, OCTOBER 1872</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus10">97</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>PARHELIA ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus11">99</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>AN OCTOBER NIGHT IN THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus12">105</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE MOON WITH ITS HALO</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus13">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>OUR COAL-HOUSE ON THE FLOE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus14">111</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE TWILIGHT IN NOVEMBER 1872</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus15">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SUMBU CHASED FOR A FOX</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus16">116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>WANDERINGS ON THE ICE IN OUR FIRST WINTER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus17">117</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ENCOUNTER WITH A POLAR BEAR</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus18">120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ICE-HOLE COVERED WITH YOUNG ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus19">121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CARLSEN MAKES THE ENTRY IN THE LOG</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus20">124</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” IN THE FULL MOON</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus21">127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DIVINE SERVICE ON DECK</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus22">131</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ICE-PRESSURE IN THE POLAR NIGHT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus23">140</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FRUITLESS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE MATOSCHKIN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus24">145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SUNRISE (1873)</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus25">150</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE CARNIVAL ON THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus26">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” DRIFTING IN PACK-ICE—MARCH 1873</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus27">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SOUNDING IN THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus28">171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>APPROACHING THE LAND BY MOONLIGHT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus29">183</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DEPARTURE OF THE SUN IN THE SECOND WINTER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus30">187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>NOON ON DECEMBER 21, 1873</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus31">189</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>PEKEL, SUMBU, AND JUBINAL</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus32">193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IN THE MESS-ROOM</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus33">196</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE AURORA DURING THE ICE-PRESSURE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus34">204</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KRISCH, THE ENGINEER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus35">215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>TEAM OF SEVEN MEN AND THREE DOGS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus36">224</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE COOKING APPARATUS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus37">224</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SLEDGE WITH ITS LOAD</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus38">229</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE DRESS OF THE ARCTIC SLEDGER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus39">231</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>TOROSSY IN HARNESS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus40">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAPE TEGETTHOFF</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus41">242</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MELTING SNOW DURING A HALT NEAR CAPE BERGHAUS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus42">244</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[xxiv]</a></span>ON THE SONKLAR-GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus43">247</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>BLOCK OF SNOW</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus44">254</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE BURIAL OF KRISCH</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus45">256</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>LIPARIS GELATINOSUS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus46">266</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HIPPOLYTE PAYERI</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus47">268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HYALONEMA LONGISSIMUM</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus48">268</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>UMBELLULA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus49">269</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KORETHRASTES HISPIDUS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus50">270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>NEPHTHYS LONGISETOSA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus51">270</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE DOGS DIFFER AS TO THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG BEARS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus52">273</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE WINTER HOLE OF A BEAR</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus53">277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>LIFE IN THE TENT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus54">279</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAPE FRANKFURT, AUSTRIA SOUND, AND THE WÜLLERSDORF MOUNTAINS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus55">280</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HOW SUMBU WAS LOST</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus56">284</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAPE EASTER AND STERNEK SOUND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus57">285</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HOW WE RECEIVED BEARS. CAPE TYROL IN THE BACKGROUND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus58">286</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DINING ON BEARS’ FLESH</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus59">287</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CUTTING UP THE BEARS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus60">292</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ICEBERGS AT THE BASE OF THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus61">298</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SLEDGE FALLS INTO A CREVASSE ON THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus62">300</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KLOTZ’S AMAZEMENT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus63">302</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE ALARM OF THE HOHENLOHE PARTY</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus64">303</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HALT UNDER CROWN-PRINCE RUDOLF’S LAND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus65">305</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAPE AUK</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus66">307</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CAPE SÄULEN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus67">309</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE AUSTRIAN FLAG PLANTED AT CAPE FLIGELY</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus68">311</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MELTING SNOW ON CAPE GERMANIA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus69">315</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ENCAMPING ON ONE OF THE COBURG ISLANDS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus70">318</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE VIEW FROM CAPE TYROL. COLLINSON FIORD—WIENER NEUSTADT ISLAND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus71">321</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>BREAKING IN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus72">323</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ARRIVAL BEFORE THE OPEN SEA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus73">325</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DRAGGING THE SLEDGE UNDER THE GLACIERS OF WILCZEK LAND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus74">326</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE SLEDGE IN A SNOW-STORM</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus75">328</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>DIGGING OUT THE DEPÔT</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus76">329</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE MIDNIGHT SUN BETWEEN CAPE BERGHAUS AND KOLDEWEY ISLAND</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus77">331</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE “TEGETTHOFF” DESCRIED</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus78">332</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>KLOTZ</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus79">333</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MARKHAM SOUND, RICHTHOFEN PEAK FROM CAPE BRÜNN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus80">338</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FIRST ABANDONMENT OF THE “TEGETTHOFF”</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus81">348</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>IN THE HARBOUR OF AULIS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus82">352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>WE LAUNCH AT LAST</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus83">355</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>MARCHING THROUGH ICE-HUMMOCKS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus84">357</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>HALT AT NOON</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus85">358</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CROSSING A FISSURE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus86">359</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CARLSEN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus87">361</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>SCENE ON THE ICE</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus88">366</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>BEARS IN THE WATER</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus89">371</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>CALKING THE BOATS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus90">374</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>FAREWELL TO THE FROZEN OCEAN</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus91">375</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>LANDING ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus92">380</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>THE BAY OF DUNES. THE RUSSIAN SCHOONERS</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus93">385</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map1"> -<p>Transcriber’s Note: The map is clickable for a larger version, if -the device you’re reading this on supports that.</p> -<a href="images/map1.jpg"><img src="images/map1-small.jpg" width="250" height="190" alt="" /></a> -<p class="caption">MAP<br /> -<span class="smaller">of the</span><br /> -<span class="larger">NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEA</span><br /> -<span class="smaller">for the</span><br /> -Austro-Hungarian<br /> -Expeditions.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_I">AUSTRIAN ARCTIC VOYAGES.<br /> -INTRODUCTION.</h2> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE FROZEN OCEAN.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The ice-sheet spread over the Arctic region is the effect -and sign of the low temperature which prevails within it. -During nine or ten months of the year this congealing force -continues to act, and if the frozen mass were not broken up -by the effects of sun and wind, of rain, waves, and currents, -and by the rents produced in it from the sudden increase of -cold, the result would necessarily be an absolutely impenetrable -covering of ice. The parts of this enormous envelope -of ice sundered by these various causes now become capable -of movement, and are widely dispersed in the form of ice-fields -and floes.</p> - -<p>2. The water-ways which separate these parts are called -“leads,” or, when their extent is considerable, “ice-holes.” -The meshes of this vast net, which is constantly in motion, -open and close under the action of winds and currents in -summer; and it is only in its southern parts that the action -of waves, rain, and thaw produces any considerable detachments. -Towards the end of autumn, the ice, forming anew, -consolidates the interior portions, while its outer edge pushes -forward, like the end of a glacier, into lower regions, until<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -about the end of February the culminating point of congelation -is attained. Motionless adhesion of the fields, which -naturally reach their greatest size in winter, does not, however, -exist even then; for during this period they are -incessantly exposed to displacement and pressure from the -currents of the sea and the air.</p> - -<p>3. When the ice is more or less closed, so as to render -navigation impossible, it is called “pack-ice,” and “drift-ice” -when it appears in detached pieces amid predominating water. -Since there are forces operating which promote the loosening -process at its outer edge, and its consolidation within, it is -self-evident, that the interior portions tend to the character of -“pack-ice,” and its outer margin to that of “drift-ice.” This -general rule, however, is so modified in many places, by local -causes, currents, and winds, that we find not unfrequently at -the outer margin of the ice thick barriers of pack-ice, and in -the inner ice, ice-holes (polynia<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>) and drift-ice.</p> - -<p>4. Ice navigation, during its course of three hundred years, -has created a number of terms to designate the external forms -of ice, the meaning of which must be clearly defined. Ice -formed from salt-water is called “field-ice;” that from the -waters of rivers and lakes “sweet-water ice.” The latter is -as hard as iron, and so transparent that it is scarcely to be -distinguished from water. Icebergs are masses detached from -glaciers. The words “patch,” “floe,” “field,” express relative -magnitude, descriptive of the smallest ice-table up to the ice-field -of many miles in diameter. The term “floe,” however, is -generally applied to every kind of field-ice, without reference -to its size. The ice which lies along coasts, or which adheres -to a group of islands within a sound, is called “land-ice.” -Sledge expeditions depend on its existence and character. -Along the coast-edge land-ice is broken by the waves and -tide, and the forms of its upheaval and deposition on the -shore constitute the so-called “ice-foot.” Broken ice, or -“brash,” is an accumulation of the smaller fragments of ice -which are found only on the extreme edge of the ice-belt. -“Bay-ice” is ice of recent formation, and its vertical depth is -inconsiderable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. Land-ice is less exposed to powerful disturbances, and -its surface, therefore, is comparatively level, and is only here -and there traversed by small hillocks called “hummocks” or -“torrosy.” These are the results of former pressures, and -they are gradually reduced to the common level by evaporation, -by thawing, and by the snow drifting over them.</p> - -<p>6. But ice-floes exposed to constant motion from winds -and currents, and to reciprocal pressure, have a more or less -undulating character. On these are found piles of ice heaped -one upon another, rising to a height of twenty or even fifty -feet, alternating with depressions, which collect the thawed -water in clear ice-lakes during the few weeks of summer in -which the temperature rises above the freezing point. The -specific gravity of this water, where it does not communicate -with the sea by cracks, is in all cases the same with the -specific gravity of pure sweet water; and as the salt is gradually -eliminated from the ice, the water produced is perfectly -drinkable. In the East Greenland Sea ice-floes frequently -measure more than twelve nautical miles across—these are -ice-fields properly so called.<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> In the Spitzbergen and Novaya -Zemlya Seas, they are much smaller, as Parry also found.</p> - -<p>7. The thickness which ice acquires in the course of a -winter, when its formation is not disturbed, is about eight -feet. In the Gulf of Boothia, Sir John Ross found the -greatest thickness about the end of May; it was then ten -feet on the sea and eleven feet on the lakes. In his winter -harbour in Melville Island, Parry met with ice seven or -seven-and-a-half feet thick; and Wrangel gives the thickness -of a floe on the Siberian coast, which had been formed in the -course of a winter, at nine-and-a-half feet. According to the -observations of Hayes the ice measured nine feet two inches -in thickness in Port Foulke. He estimates it, however, by -implication, far higher in Smith’s Sound: “I have never -seen,” he says, “an ice-table formed by direct freezing which -exceeded the depth of eighteen feet.”</p> - -<p>8. The rate at which ice is formed decreases as the thickness -of the floe increases, and it ceases to be formed as soon -as the floe becomes a non-conductor of the temperature of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -the air by the increase of its mass, or when the driving of the -ice-tables one over the other, or the enormous and constantly -accumulating covering of snow, places limits to the penetration -of the cold.</p> - -<p>9. While therefore the thickness which ice in free formation -attains is comparatively small, fields of ice from thirty to -forty feet high are met with in the Arctic Seas; but these -are the result of the forcing of ice-tables one over the other -by pressure, and are designated by the name of “old ice,” -which differs from young ice by its greater density, and has a -still greater affinity with the ice of the glacier when it exhibits -coloured veins.</p> - -<p>10. When the cold is excessive a sheet of ice several inches -thick is formed on open water in a few hours; this, however, -is not pure ice, but contains a considerable amount of sea-salt -not yet eliminated; complete elimination of the saline matter -takes place only after continuous additions of ice to its under -surface. A newly-formed sheet of ice is flexible like leather, -and as it becomes harder by the continued cold, its saline -contents come to the surface in a white frosty efflorescence.</p> - -<p>11. Hayes mentions that he met with fields of ice from -twenty to a hundred feet thick in Smith’s Sound. But if -it is difficult in many cases to distinguish glacier-ice, when -found in small fragments, from detached portions of field-ice, -it is often still more difficult to distinguish between old and -new ice, and the attempt to do so is merely arbitrary, because -their masses depend not on their age alone, but on other processes -to which they are exposed. A floe of normal thickness -is never more than two or three years old; and if it is to -exist and preserve its size for a longer period, it must somewhere -attach itself to land-ice, so as to escape destruction -from mechanical causes, and dissolution from drifting southwards. -Many floes run their course from freezing to melting -within a year.</p> - -<p>12. The perpetual unrest in the Arctic Sea, which continues -undiminished even in the severest winter, and the -incessant change in the “leads” and “ice-holes,” are the main -causes of the increase of the ice, both in its area and in its -vertical depth. Were this constant movement to cease, -the result would be the formation of a sheet of ice of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -uniform thickness of about eight feet over the whole Polar -region.</p> - -<p>13. A layer of snow, which, like the ice itself, is at a -minimum in autumn, covers the whole surface of all the ice-fields. -This snow, which in winter is sometimes as hard as a -rock, sometimes as fine as dust, takes, towards the end of -summer, more and more the character of the glacier snow of -our lofty Alpine ranges. Its grains, in a humid state, exceed -the size of beans, and when in motion they make a rustling -noise like sand. This granular snow is the residuum of the -incomplete evaporation of what fell in the winter, and of the -surface of the ice which has become “rotten” and porous. -Its crystals are frequently from a third to a sixth of an inch -in length, and firm ice is found even in autumn only at the -depth of one or two feet. In the North of Spitzbergen, -Parry observed that the surface of the ice was frequently -cut up into ice-needles of more than a foot long by the -drops of rain, which in summer fall upon it, and in some -places he found it overspread with red snow. We ourselves -never saw the phenomenon observed by Parry, and the -ice-crystals we met with seldom exceeded the length given -above.</p> - -<p>14. Field-ice is of a delicate azure-blue colour, and of great -density, and there is, in these respects, no difference between -that of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Cook, indeed, calls -the South Polar ice colourless, though Sir James Clark Ross -speaks expressly of the blueness of its ice-masses. Sea-ice -surpasses the ice of the Alps both in the beauty of its colour -and in its density. The glorious blue of the fissures is due -to the incidence of light, the blue rays of which only are -reflected, while the other rays are absorbed. A spectrum -observation made in 1869 on a Greenland ice-field gave -brownish red, yellow, green and blue. The yellowish spots -observed in ice are due to the presence of innumerable -microscopic animalculæ.</p> - -<p>15. Sea-ice, which, when the cold is intense, is hard and -brittle, loses this quality with the increase of temperature till -it acquires an incredible toughness, far exceeding that of -glaciers; and floes several feet thick bend under mutual -pressure before they split. Hence the fruitlessness, especially<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -in summer, of all attempts to loosen the connexion of its parts -by blasting with gunpowder.</p> - -<p>16. The specific gravity of sea-ice is 0.91, and accordingly -about nine parts of a cubical block of ice are under water, -while one part only rises above the surface. If, however, -the ice of a floe be irregularly formed and full of bubbles, -the specific gravity will be correspondingly reduced, and the -volume submerged may diminish to two-thirds of the whole -mass.</p> - -<p>17. The irregularity of the forms of ice is so great, that no -deduction can safely be drawn from them; cases may occur -where a recently-formed ice-floe, which has been attached to -old ice, is forced by its neighbour to sink under the normal -level; hence the submergence of floes beneath the level of the -sea is often overstated.</p> - -<p>18. The temperature of the Arctic Sea at the surface is -generally below the freezing point, and then increases slightly -with the depth. Sir James Ross observed that the temperature -in all oceans does not alter at great depths, and placed -this constant temperature at 39° F. In summer the temperature -of the atmosphere rises little above freezing point, and, -according to Sir James Ross, it is still less at the South -Pole, because he saw no thaw-water streaming down from -the icebergs there as he did in the North. It was first -observed in Forster’s days, that is about a century ago, that -the salt was gradually eliminated from frozen sea-water. Of -this fact Cook knew nothing; and even Sir James Ross -endorses Davis’s remark that “the deep sea freezes not.” -But the fact that ice is formed on the open sea, and far -from the vicinity of land, was first asserted by Scoresby, and -has been confirmed by all subsequent observers, though it -was long disputed.</p> - -<p>19. The crackling sound so commonly heard along the -outer edge of the ice exposed to the action of the waves, is a -consequence of the penetration of its pores by the sea-water, -which is then immediately frozen, and disruption follows at -once. But disruption on a far grander scale is due to a cause -the very opposite of this, the sudden contraction and splitting -of the ice, even in the great ice-fields, which is produced -usually in winter by the sudden fall of the temperature.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<p>20. When light falls on a field of pack-ice, it is reflected in -the stratum of air above it, and this span of light, called the -“ice-blink,” just above the horizon, warns the navigator of the -impossibility of penetrating further. This phenomenon is often -observed also over drift-ice, although not so intense nor so -yellow in colour as over pack-ice.</p> - -<p>21. Water spaces, on the other hand, show their presence -by dark spots on the horizon, produced by the formation of -clouds from ascending mists. These are the so-called -“water-sky,” and faithfully indicate the “leads” beneath -them. Above the larger “ice-holes,” they assume the dark -colours of a thunder-sky, though they are never so strongly -defined.</p> - -<p>22. The annual evaporation from the surface of the ice, -which even in winter is never entirely interrupted during the -severest frost, and the destruction of ice by the action of rain -and waves, are balanced, to speak generally, by its re-formation -by frost. The maximum accumulation of ice takes place in -spring, its minimum in the beginning of autumn. We observed -in the autumn of 1873 not only the evaporation of the -snow of the preceding winter, but also a vertical decrease of -ice of about four feet. Evaporation is, therefore, the most -potent regulator of the balance between waste and growth -in the accumulation of ice; and next in importance is the -drifting of its masses towards the south through all those -openings by which the Polar waters mingle with the waters -of lower latitudes.</p> - -<p>23. However great the agitation of the sea may be in the -open ocean, and though it may dash its waves with wild fury -on the edge of the ice, within the icy girdle it is undisturbed, -in consequence of the enormous weight of the superincumbent -masses. It is only in the large “ice-holes,” and when the -winds are very high, that the action of waves is discernible. -An isolated accumulation of floes in a circular form, suffices to -produce a calm interior sea, and its outer edge only encounters -the beat of the ocean.</p> - -<p>24. The ceaseless attack to which the ice is exposed on its -outer edge is the cause of its excavation and undermining. -Hence its centre of gravity is constantly displaced; and the -overturning of its masses and its strange transformations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -are the consequences of this instability. The smaller the -masses of the ice, the more fantastic are the shapes they -assume.</p> - -<p>25. Change of colour in the sea as we enter the ice-region -is frequently, though not invariably, observed. Almost immediately -on entering the ice, its normal dull green colour gives -place to a deep ultramarine blue, especially in the East Greenland -seas, and this colour is maintained under all changes of -the weather, and is only modified by local currents. Two -hundred and fifty years ago it appeared to Hudson, on the -coast of Spitzbergen, that the sea, whenever it was free from -ice, was green, and that its being covered with ice and its -blueness of colour were intimately connected. Sir James -Ross states that in both Polar oceans the colour of the sea -changes in the neighbourhood of ice, and that the dull brownish -colour sometimes seen near pack-ice in the Antarctic -Ocean is owing to an infinite number of animalculæ. The -rapid fall of the temperature of the water to the zero point is -another indication that ice is near.</p> - -<p>26. Of all the ice-formations in the Arctic Seas, icebergs -are the most enormous. “It is well known that ice is not -by any means so heavy as water, but readily floats upon its -surface. Consequently whenever a glacier enters the sea, the -dense salt water tends to buoy it up. But the great tenacity -of the frozen mass enables it to resist the pressure for a time. -By and by, however, as the glacier reaches deeper water, its -cohesion is overcome, and large fragments are forced from its -terminal front and floated up from the bed of the sea to sail -away as icebergs.”<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> This process is sometimes called “the -calving” of the glaciers; and the direction of the cleavage is -a pre-indication of the forms of the masses when detached. -The characteristic features of icebergs are their simple outline, -differing widely from the fantastic shapes which the fragments -of sea-ice tend to assume; their great height as compared with -their breadth—their greenish-blue colour—their distinct stratification—their -slight transparency—and the roughly-granulated -character of their ice. Icebergs with long, sharp-pointed -peaks, like those exhibited in numerous illustrations, have no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -real existence. It is only fragments of field-ice, raised up by -pressure, exposed to the action of waves and the process of -evaporation which are transformed into fantastic shapes. Icebergs -are generally of a pyramidal or tabular shape, and in -time they are usually rounded off into irregular cones. They -vary in height from 20 to 300 feet. Sir John Ross (1818) mentions -an iceberg of 51 feet; Baffin (1615) of 240 feet; Parry -(1819) of 258 feet; Kane (1853) of 300 feet; and Hayes -(1861) one 315 feet high, the depth of which below the water-line -he estimated at half a mile. On the coast of East Greenland, -Scoresby once counted 500 icebergs, some of which -reached the height of 200 feet; and during the second German -North-Pole expedition, we saw many at the mouth of the -Kaiser Franz-Josef fiord which measured 220 feet in height. -In Austria Sound, and on the east coast of Kron-Prinz -Rudolph’s land, their altitude varied from 80 to 200 feet. -From the covering of mist which envelops them, icebergs -generally appear much higher than they really are, and their -depth below the surface is not so considerable as is generally -supposed. In an iceberg 200 feet above the water, a total -height of 600 to 800 feet may, as a mean, be inferred. It is -only glaciers of a very great size which shed icebergs; smaller -glaciers, like those of Novaya Zemlya, only strew the sea with -a multitude of fragments which resemble broken sea-ice. -Hence the appearance of icebergs is connected with the proximity -to glacier-covered lands, and with the currents which -prevail along their coasts. Baffin’s Bay, Smith’s Sound, East -Greenland, the South-East of Greenland, Austria Sound, are -the principal places where they collect together and lie like -fleets before the entrances of bays and gulfs. Under-currents -of the sea take them not unfrequently in directions contrary -to the drift of the field-ice, which depends only on upper-currents; -and abnormal winds may sometimes carry them out -to seas where they have been seldom or never seen.<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> This -appears to be the case even with those met with on the north-west -coast of Novaya Zemlya. On the other hand, they have -never been seen on the coasts of Siberia, which have no -glaciers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p>27. The constant displacement of the centre of gravity -of an iceberg, resulting from the unsymmetrical decrease -of its form, causes its periodical oversetting; and the -different temperature of the internal and external ice is the -principal cause of its rending asunder with a noise like -thunder; a process which occurs generally in the height of -summer.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">NAVIGATION IN THE FROZEN OCEAN.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Although it be impossible to give any one, who has not -with his own eyes seen the Arctic Sea, a perfectly clear -conception of its character, the phenomena described in the -preceding chapter are sufficient to indicate the difficulties -and dangers to which its navigation is necessarily exposed. -And to these difficulties and dangers, formidable enough in -themselves, are often added the evil influences of preconceived -theories and exaggerated expectations, usually followed by -bitter disillusions. The calm judgment, which, to all the bold -plans of navigation within the Polar basin, opposes distrust in -their feasibility, while it points to the hundred expeditions -which have at last returned home after penetrating but a -little way into the frozen sea, is an attainment of slow growth. -Years, too, must be devoted to the theoretical study of the -Polar question, to the examination of all that predecessors -have experienced and recorded. But this study is very -important to Polar navigators; for the discoveries which they -too readily regard as exclusively their own prove sometimes -to have been made centuries before them.</p> - -<p>2. A most essential element of success is the choice of a -favourable ice year; and the commander of an expedition -must possess sufficient self-control to return, as soon as he -becomes convinced of the existence of conditions unfavourable -for navigation. It is better to repeat the same attempt on a -second or even a third summer, than with conscious impotence -to fight against the supremacy of the ice.</p> - -<p>3. Polar navigators have learnt in the school of experience -to distinguish between navigation in the frozen seas remote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -from the land, and navigation in the so called coast-waters. -The former is far more dangerous, entirely dependent on -accident, exposed to grave catastrophes, and without any -definite goal. It affords no certainty of finding a winter -harbour for the long period when cold and darkness render -navigation impossible. On the other hand, a strip of open -water, which retreats before the growth of the land-ice only -in winter, forms itself along coasts, and especially under the -lee of those exposed to marine currents running parallel to -them; and this coast-water does not arise from the thawing -of the ice through the greater heat of the land, but from the -land being an immovable barrier against wind, and therefore -against ice-currents. The inconstancy of the wind, however, -may baffle all the calculations of navigation; for coast-water, -open as far as the eye can reach, may be filled with ice in a -short time by a change of the wind. Land-ice often remains -on the coasts even during summer, and in this case there is -nothing to be done but to find the open navigable waters -between the extreme edge of the fast-ice and the drift-ice. -Should the drift become pack-ice, the moment must be awaited -when winds setting in from the land carry off the masses of -ice blocking the navigation, and open a passage free from ice, -or at least only partially covered with drift-ice. It is evident -that navigation in coast-waters must be slow and gradual, -though it has always been attended with the greatest advantages. -Barentz was the first who tested its value; but it -was Parry, the most distinguished of all Polar navigators, who -discovered its full importance, and from his day it has been -accepted as an incontrovertible canon of ice-navigation. On -this point he himself says: “Our experience, I think, has -clearly shown, that the navigation of the Polar Seas can never -be performed with any degree of certainty without a continuity -of land. It was only by watching the openings -between the ice and the shore that our late progress to the -westward was effected; and had the land continued in the -desired direction, there can be no question that we should -have continued to advance, however slowly, towards the -completion of our enterprise.”<a name="FNanchor_5" id="FNanchor_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - -<p>4. The successes of the English in the North American -Archipelago were the result of this mode of navigation. Its -principle is to search for and sail along the network of narrow -channels when the main passage is blocked by pack-ice, and -to turn to account the narrowest opening between the ice and -the land. In the Siberian coast expeditions also this method -of constantly following the coast-waters has been successfully -observed. Where coast-water does not exist, or only to a -limited extent, as on the East Coast of Greenland, this method -is of course impracticable. The fate of the second German -North Pole expedition is an illustration of this; it was -ordered to penetrate in this direction, and its failure was -inevitable. On the other hand, all the unsuccessful attempts -of expeditions to penetrate northward from Spitzbergen—expeditions -whose course and termination resemble each other -as one egg resembles another—may be reckoned among those -in seas remote from land. To the same category belong -the expeditions for the discovery of a north-east passage, -and simply because of the great extent of frozen sea between -Novaya Zemlya and Cape Tcheljuskin.</p> - -<p>5. In the frozen sea remote from the land, from 200 to 300, -or at the most 400, nautical miles must, according to all past -experience, be regarded as the greatest distance which a vessel -is able to compass, under the most favourable conditions, -during the few weeks of summer in which navigation is -possible. The fact that Sir James Ross at the South Pole, -and Norwegian fishermen in the Sea of Kara, accomplished -still greater distances, only proves that they were little or not -at all impeded by ice. Ross observed that the ice-floes of -the Southern Arctic Seas are smaller than those of the -Northern: “The cause of this is explained by the circumstance -of the ice of the southern regions being so much more -exposed to violent agitations of the ocean, whereas the -northern sea is one of comparative tranquillity.”<a name="FNanchor_6" id="FNanchor_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The rarer -occurrence of land at the South Pole permits freer scope to -the currents of the sea, diminishes the opportunity for the -growth of ice on the coasts, tends to widen the passages in -the network of water-ways, and thus facilitates navigation. -Even the swell of the sea within the ice is observed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -South Polar Ocean, while it is never seen in the North. -Besides the greater hindrances peculiar to the whole North -Polar Sea, there is the specially unfavourable circumstance, -in the case of the North-East passage, that the shallowness of -the Siberian Sea prevents a close navigation of its coasts.</p> - -<p>6. The choice of the most appropriate season is another -important consideration in ice-navigation; for this period does -not fall at the same time in all seas, and the disregard of -season was a common cause of the failures of the expeditions -of earlier centuries. Since the frozen sea remains unbroken -and almost unaffected by the action of the sun even in June, -and at that time extends far to the south, it is evident that all -attempts to force a passage in that month are labour thrown -away. The ice-barrier retreating northward, or the transformation -of pack into drift-ice, leaves free navigable water four -or five weeks later. The month of August is the best time -for ice-navigation in Baffin’s Bay; the end of July or beginning -of August on the East Greenland coasts; the second -half of August and the beginning of September in the -Spitzbergen waters; and in the region of the Parry Islands -the favourable opportunity ends about the beginning of -September. In general, it seems that the time most propitious -for all the coast-water routes, begins some weeks -earlier than the corresponding period in the frozen seas -remote from land. But since, even in the first weeks of -September, the most promising conditions are often succeeded -by a sudden reaction due to storms, to cold setting in rapidly, -or to excessive falls of snow, navigation in the land-remote -frozen seas, in itself so extremely hazardous, becomes specially -critical, just when the ice-sheet at its minimum appears to -promise the greatest results.</p> - -<p>7. The help of steam power is an indispensable requisite, -as by it a vessel is able to defy the capricious changes of the -wind. The movements of a ship amid the ice are made in -interminable curves, and the power to describe an arc with the -least radius enables a vessel to follow up narrow and often -blocked water-ways. As it is incessantly exposed to severe -shocks from the ice, a paddle-wheel steamer is useless; and -even in screw-steamers care must be taken to protect the propeller -by a special construction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<p>8. The rate of speed of a vessel in the ice must necessarily -be moderate. From three to six miles an hour are sufficient: -and a rate of eight or ten miles would soon render her not -seaworthy. But even with this reduced rate, her whole frame-work -is shaken and loosened at last by the incessant shocks -she sustains; and this condition of the ship becomes apparent -when concussion with the ice is followed not by a noise as of -thunder, but by a low, dull, groaning sound. The larger a -vessel, the less her capacity to withstand these shocks, and -the sooner will these signs of her diminished strength betray -themselves.</p> - -<p>9. An Arctic ship should be built with sharp rather than -with full lines, so that when pressed by the ice, she may more -easily escape being nipped and crushed. A ship built with -what is called—in England—full lines, a full, round ship, is -not easily raised but is liable to be crushed by ice-pressure. -The <i>Hansa</i> was built in this manner, and was crushed by the -first squeeze from the ice; the <i>Germania</i> and the <i>Tegetthoff</i> -were both of them sharp-built ships, and stood the test of -the ice excellently well. To protect it from the effects of -grinding on ragged “ice-tongues,” the hull is generally iron-plated -for some feet under water, and the bows are strengthened -as much as possible, because this part of the ship is -exposed to the greatest shocks.</p> - -<p>10. The tactics of a ship in the ice are guided entirely by -the character of the hindrances to be overcome. If the ice-fields -be large and heavy, they are then generally separated -by broader water-ways and “leads,” and a ship may often -amid such ice follow her course for hours with few deviations -subject always to the danger of being “beset” and crushed. -When the passage is blocked by a barrier of ice, the situation -becomes grave and serious; for such fields are not to be displaced -by any force which the ship may exert, and nothing is -left to the navigator but to await their parting asunder in a -position as sheltered as possible. When the ice is loose and -the floes comparatively small, the impeding barriers may be -charged by the ship. She may then force asunder some of -these floes or separate them by the continuous pressure of -steam-power. In cases of this kind, large vessels have the -advantage, and can bring to bear a greater amount of pressure,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -whereas smaller ones stick fast and remain immovable. These -accumulations of ice, while they make a “besetment” more -likely, diminish the danger of pressure.</p> - -<p>11. Hence it is clear that small are to be preferred to large -vessels for ice-navigation, except under circumstances of rare -occurrence; first, because they are more readily handled, and -next, because of their greater power of resistance and of -their being more easily raised under pressure from the ice. -Their one disadvantage of lesser momentum is of comparatively -slight consequence. The experience of all the North -Pole expeditions of this century shows, that ships of 150, or -at the most of 300 tons, are best suited for all purposes.</p> - -<p>12. Iron ships have often been employed, but with no -success; they are far less able to bear pressure than wooden -ships, as was proved, among other things, by the fate of the -<i>River Tay</i> in 1868, in Baffin’s Bay, and of the <i>Sophia</i>, a -Swedish ship of discovery in the north of Spitzbergen.</p> - -<p>13. It admits of no question, that two vessels should be -employed in preference to one, and this should be accepted as -a first principle whenever the means at our disposal admit of -it. Both ships should also be provided with steam-power, for -otherwise their separation is almost inevitable,—a danger, -however, for which, under all circumstances, they must be -prepared.</p> - -<p>14. All that is commonly understood about piercing the ice -by sawing and boring through it is a delusion, and arises from -the misunderstanding of technical expressions. Where there -is navigable water, there any one can sail—where there is none, -no one. In 1869 and 1870, after coming on a <i>cul-de-sac</i> of -ice in Greenland to the east of Shannon Island, we could not -penetrate a yard further; in 1871, in loose, but solid ice, we -drew away only by warping on the smaller floes, without being -able to make the slightest progress, and in 1872 we were twice -“beset,” in heavy ice, in spite of our steam power. The penetration -of close pack-ice is an impossibility: in this case -patient endurance is alone of any avail, and hence Sir John -Ross so emphatically recommends the Polar navigator “never -to lose sight of the two words caution and patience.”<a name="FNanchor_7" id="FNanchor_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> If a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -vessel, therefore, is arrested by impenetrable masses barring its -way, the breaking up of the ice must be patiently awaited, -and this, generally, is effected by calms, although the ebb and -flow of the tide appear to have an influence on the solidity of -the ice. It is then usual with sailing ships to seek the larger -“ice-holes,” or keep in the freest water-ways, in order to guard -against the danger of being completely inclosed. These -precautions, however, are not so requisite for steam-vessels, -as their power to escape quickly and in any direction secures -them against this danger. A steam-vessel may even venture -to fasten on to an ice-floe by means of an ice-anchor, and of -course under its lee, the fires being banked up, so that by -getting up steam she may shift her place as soon as the ice -moves nearer. As a principle, and so far as it is possible without -the exhaustion of her powers, a ship in the ice should -endeavour to be in constant motion, even though this entail -many changes of her course and the temporary return to a -position which had been abandoned. The making fast to a -floe, however, should never be attempted, except when every -hope of navigating in the surrounding waters has been proved -fruitless. The fastening a vessel to an iceberg diminishes, -indeed, its drifting, but is, if possible, to be avoided, because -of the danger of the iceberg overturning or rending asunder, -things which occur far more frequently than we should be led -to expect from their great appearance of stability. When a -ship, notwithstanding every possible caution, is “beset,” it is -then advisable to “ship” the rudder in order to protect it from -injury, to which it is peculiarly liable from its unusual weight -and size. A ship is exposed to considerable danger when she -finds herself among icebergs in a calm; but since these are -over-spread by a dazzling sheen, even in the thickest mist, -the peril of the position is to be avoided at the last moment -by warping.</p> - -<p>15. As the happy choice of a sea-way is one of the essential -conditions of success in ice-navigation, the ability to determine -the ship’s position and to ascertain whether a surface covered -with ice to the horizon, admits of being penetrated, is most -desirable. Hence the employment of a balloon would be of -the last importance in Arctic navigation. The advantage of -being able to ascend from the ship in a balloon secured by a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -rope, to the height of a few hundred feet, is self-evident; and, -undoubtedly, the first vessel which avails herself of this great -resource will derive extraordinary benefit from it.</p> - -<p>16. From the deck of a ship even drift-ice appears to be of -such solidity at a little distance as to defy navigation, while -from the mast-head more water than ice may be descried. -In order then to extend the horizon, a look-out, called “the -crow’s nest,” is fixed on the mast-head, in which an officer is -always on the watch, and from which all the operations of -the vessel are directed. In a ship of the size and height of -the <i>Tegetthoff</i> the horizon visible from “the crow’s nest” -extends to about eleven miles,<a name="FNanchor_8" id="FNanchor_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> but at the distance of even -five miles the possibility of penetrating cannot be determined -with sufficient exactness. It is the business of the officer in -“the crow’s nest” to observe the passages through the ice and -distant objects generally, as he is in the best position to fulfil -this most important duty. It is the special business of the -watch on the forecastle to mark what lies in the immediate -neighbourhood of the vessel, and his constant care is demanded -to avoid isolated ice-floes and prevent collision with them. -The seaman at the helm steers the ship by the signs and -calls which come to him from “the crow’s nest,” and modifies -them according to those of the watch on the forecastle. The -rest of the crew remove the smaller fragments of ice from -the vessel’s course, special care being taken to prevent their -damaging the screw.</p> - -<p>17. While sea-currents move the ice in close and continuous -lines, winds produce great disturbances in their movement, -and open long “leads” in the direction of their course, which -often alternate with strips of the thickest pack-ice. This -movement of the ice varies with each accumulation of floes, -as its rate of motion depends on the height of the ice-field, -which then acts as a sail. It is ascertained by experience -that calms, on the other hand, have the remarkable property -of breaking up the ice. The knowledge and application of -these circumstances are essential to the Arctic navigator. If -the course of a ship lies across or against a current, it is constantly -deflected. The deflection on the coast of East Greenland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -for example, amounted to five, even ten miles, within -twenty-four hours; hence the importance of choosing routes -with and not against the course of currents.</p> - -<p>18. Lastly, it is of the greatest moment to choose betimes -an appropriate winter harbour, and it is therefore necessary to -keep near the coast towards the close of the season for navigation. -To find one suitable for shelter during the winter in -an unknown Arctic region is a matter of great difficulty, for -it very often happens, that the ice drifts out from these -“docks”<a name="FNanchor_9" id="FNanchor_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> in the storms which constantly occur, or perhaps the -“dock” is so sheltered, that the ice, if it breaks up at all, -breaks up only in the following summer. Shallow bays which -freeze almost to the bottom, lying under the lee of a current -or within a fiord, are the most appropriate spots in which to -winter.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE PENETRATION OF THE REGIONS WITHIN THE POLAR -CIRCLE; THE PERIOD OF THE NORTH-WEST AND -NORTH-EAST PASSAGES.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Around the lonely apex of the Pole stand cairns of -stone which serve to mark the points to which the restless -spirit of human enterprise and discovery has penetrated. In -its zenith wheels the sea-gull in its flight, and the harpoon-persecuted -seal finds on its ice-floes an unapproachable -asylum; but the Pole itself remains the goal which no -human effort has yet reached.</p> - -<p>2. As all knowledge is perfected slowly and gradually, so -man’s knowledge of the earth and its configuration forms no -exception to this general rule. Of the few attempts of early -antiquity to enlarge the domain of geographical knowledge, -tradition tells us only of the Argonautic expedition of the -Greeks, of the voyage of the Phœnicians to Ophir, and their -bolder circumnavigation of Africa. With the conception of -the spherical form of the earth the still vague notion of -climatal zones makes its appearance, and to this, four centuries -before Christ, Pytheas of Marseilles gave the first -scientific elucidation and the first approximation to modern -theories by his doctrine of the Polar Circle. Almost contemporaneously -Alexander’s expedition to the wonder-land of -India created a paradise for commerce and navigation, to -secure which a shortened route, <i>the route through the ice</i>—the -most perverse notion that ever entered into the mind of man -to conceive—was one thousand eight hundred years afterwards -eagerly and passionately sought.</p> - -<p>3. Rome had extended her knowledge to Scandinavia, and -Seneca’s prophetical mind foresaw the discovery of new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -worlds. But the deluge of religious strifes, the migrations of -nations in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, the holy zeal -for destruction in the apostles to the heathen, proved formidable -barriers to the extension of geographical knowledge, -which were broken through only by the piratical hordes of -Normans so renowned in story. While the Romans boasted -that Britain had never been circumnavigated, the Normans, -throwing the deeds of the Phœnicians into the shade, discovered -Greenland, and became <i>the first Polar Navigators</i>.</p> - -<p>4. Travels by land were the principal means by which the -geographical knowledge of the world was enriched; but -during the Middle Ages the information which travellers -communicated, uncertain and superficial even for Europe, -served only to supply food for the fancies of map-makers, as -far as the distant parts of the world were concerned.</p> - -<p>5. But the grand moment at length arrived in the history of -mankind when the civilization of the West, looking beyond -the narrow horizon of the Old World, and awaking from the -geographical dreams of centuries, burst the fetters of tradition, -and within three hundred years perfected the knowledge of -our planet up to the Pole.</p> - -<p>6. When by his famous line of partition, Pope Alexander -VI. granted to Spain and Portugal the new countries discovered -in the East and West, the brigantines of these nations -spread themselves over all seas in search of new lands and -fresh glory. To the other maritime nations, to the English -and the Dutch, nothing remained, if they meant to acquire -gold-yielding lands, but to drive the Spaniards and Portuguese -from their conquests, or to seek new Eldorados—yea, by the -discovery of sea routes on the north of Asia and America, to -aspire to India itself. This was the conception first entertained -by both the English and the Dutch, and Geography at -any rate profited by their delusions. These nations were -not to blame if those routes, known afterwards as the <i>North-West</i> -and <i>North-East passages</i>, degenerated into chimeras, if -passages had to be sought in higher and still higher latitudes,—ultimately -in the ice itself, although the Dutch geographer, -Plancius, struck out the consoling theory of the <i>open Polar -Sea</i>.</p> - -<p>7. But who in those days could presuppose that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -continents of Asia and America, just where those passages -were attempted, symmetrically developed the most enormous -longitudinal dimensions? Even the actual discovery of the -vast extent of Siberia exerted but little influence on the -question of the North-East passage, for the achievements of -individuals were not then so quickly disseminated as at -present. A succession of men in vessels poorly equipped -now struggled against the supremacy of the ice, avoiding at -first the dreaded wintering, while they attempted sometimes -the North-East, sometimes the North-West, sometimes the -passage over the Pole itself. In these attempts many lost -their lives; many returned, despairing of but still hoping -for the solution of the problems—<i>but no one reached the goal</i>.</p> - -<p>8. The amazing simplicity of the first adventurers is seen -in Frobisher’s project to erect forts, duly provided with cannons -and men, on the commanding points of the passage, in -the letters of recommendation given by kings of England to -the leaders of the expedition for the small Saracenic states -which were supposed to exist beyond the river Obi; but -these old navigators carried no letter of recommendation to -the great potentate—the ice. Gold, too, they hoped to find -in the North, because the book of Job speaks of gold coming -from thence, and the North-East passage was considered as -free from danger, because Pliny mentions some Indians who -had been driven towards Norway!</p> - -<p>9. When another century and a half had elapsed, a series -of unsuccessful attempts to force the North-East passage put -a decisive check to material interests in Polar expeditions. -The North-East passage belonged henceforward to the history -of the past. The English and Dutch withdrew from the -Novaya Zemlya seas; and after Wood’s retreat no scientific -expedition entered those seas for two hundred years, <i>until the -days of the Austrian Expeditions</i>.</p> - -<p>10. Among the maritime nations of Europe, it was England, -and especially her merchants, who had hitherto largely invested -in the costs and risks of these Argonautic expeditions -“for the glory of God and the good of the country.” The -Dutch soon contented themselves, after Barentz’s death, with -the capture of whales in the Arctic seas; France remained -an unconcerned spectator, while the sylphs of Versailles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -consumed the whalebone of whole fleets of whalers; and Spain -and Portugal early withdrew from seas in which, instead of -ingots of gold, ice-floes only were to be found. But even for -England the days of the prophets had now passed away—the -days of a Cabot, a Mercator,<a name="FNanchor_10" id="FNanchor_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> a Wolstenholme, and a -Walsingham. Men of weight raised their voices against the -chimeras of Arctic commercial routes, and Chillingworth contemptuously -compared an expedition for the discovery of the -North-East passage to the study of the Fathers.</p> - -<p>11. It may be asked why nations struggled with dauntless -ambition for the lost cause of the barren North-West -and North-East passages, while for a century they stretched -forth timid hands after the rich treasures of lands lying in -the more favoured zones? <i>The mighty stimulus of the love of -the marvellous</i> explains this series of efforts taken up by -generation after generation. Frobisher, Davis, Baffin, and -the Novaya Zemlya adventurers, told on their return of gold-lands -far within the domains of the icy Hydra. Their tales of -single combats with spear or matchlock against polar bears, of -the dreadful snow-storms and fearful cold of the Arctic winter, -were heard with grim delight by listeners on whom no hardships -were imposed. Or they spoke of a darkness that continued -for months, of the flaming arches of the northern -lights, of the sun remaining visible for many weeks in the -heavens, of a race of dwarfs, of unheard-of animals, of fish -as big as ships of war, of monsters with long teeth which -precisely resembled the Sphinxes of the plains of the Pyramids, -of white and blue foxes, of floating mountains of -dazzling crystal, of ships seen upside down in the air—when -had ever the mind of man more food to nourish the love of -the marvellous or greater incentives to stimulate the love of -distinction? But besides these appeals to the imagination, -every generation desires new confirmations of its convictions; -and hence geographical questions, after being shelved for a -time, come again to the front as by an inward necessity.</p> - -<p>12. If the earlier Polar expeditions pursued exclusively -material ends, a decided change appears in those of the -present century—the Polar world itself became an object of -scientific investigation. With Sir John Ross (1818) began a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -series of expeditions, at first subservient to the idea of a -North-West passage, but which ultimately derived all their -importance from their attempt—ineffectual as it proved—to -rescue the lives of 139 men, who had fallen far from the fields -and scenes where earthly fame is commonly achieved. It -was these expeditions, still fresh in the memory of this generation, -which, summoning to their aid the modern power of -steam against the ice, succeeded in drawing on our Arctic -maps a circle whose mean distance was 200 (German) miles -from the Pole. Parry on the frozen sea of Spitzbergen had -approached it within 100 miles (German); Kane, Hayes and -Hall on the coast of the Kennedy Channel, the former to -within 116, and the two latter to within 108 miles, and the -Austro-Hungarian expedition to within 109 miles.</p> - -<p>13. M’Clintock, who returned with the relics of the -Franklin expedition, succeeded in perfecting a mode of -discovery independent of the ship—that by means of sledging—admirably -adapted for future Arctic expeditions. But -the North-West passage for which six generations had toiled, -though discovered, was shown to be utterly worthless for all -material purposes—a dreary web of coast lines.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE INNER POLAR SEA.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The Arctic Sea, in some of its features, forcibly impresses -us with its resemblance to the glaciers of the Alps. In both -cases, the ice presses from a region, colder and less favoured -by climate, towards one warmer and more favoured. In the -Alpine glaciers, the movement is from above downwards; -in the Frozen Ocean, the movement is from a higher to a -lower geographical latitude. In both cases, the tongues and -spurs of the masses of ice formed by the configuration of the -land or by currents of the sea, terminate, whenever they reach -an isothermal curve of altitude or latitude, the mean temperature -of which suffices to dissolve them or prevent their -formation. Moraines also have their equivalent in the Arctic -Sea; for it is an established fact that icebergs and ice-fields -laden with the <i>débris</i> and rubbish of Arctic lands, deposit -these burdens round the outer edge of the Frozen Ocean, -and to this process, partially at least, the origin of the Newfoundland -Banks is ascribed. If this comparison between the -phenomena of high latitudes and great altitudes be just, then -we should have as much reason to believe in the existence of -the so-called open Polar Sea, as we should have to maintain, -that in our glacier ranges ice ceases to be formed above a -certain altitude.</p> - -<p>2. The belief of past times<a name="FNanchor_11" id="FNanchor_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> in such a sea shows how -unsatisfactory is the simple to man’s mind, and how old is -his tendency to clothe the remote and the uncommon with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -a garment of the marvellous. What was the open Polar Sea -but the “Harz Sea” of the North, or the legendary zone -of the ever-sunny Eden of the Hyperboreans, far beyond -the land of the Anthropophagi over which was spread an -atmosphere veiled in snow, and through which no light could -penetrate! Who has ever seen this open Polar Sea? Do -the accounts of navigators confirm its existence? Nay—their -accounts are rather a series of counter-statements: -Hudson, Baffin, Phipps, Tschitschagoff, Buchan, Franklin, -Parry, Collinson, Scoresby, M’Clintock, Koldewey, Torell, -Nordenskjöld, have all expressed their disbelief in its existence. -If some have pretended that they have seen it, how -strange it is that they never sailed on it! It has recently -been attempted to make the great champion of the Polar -question, Dr. Petermann, a supporter of this conception; but -in the “Mittheilungen” of this highly meritorious geographer, -there are many passages which most emphatically protest -against it. His views extend only to an inner Polar Sea -navigable under certain circumstances, and every one acquainted -with those regions may adopt his point of view, -though he refuses to admit the existence of the open -Polar Sea.</p> - -<p>3. In those centuries when the Natural Sciences were -little cultivated, when the theories of the Trade Winds, of -Equatorial and Polar sea-currents, were still unknown, and -when as yet the processes in the Frozen Ocean had not -been submitted to scientific investigation, we cannot be surprised -at the preconceptions which were formed concerning -its phenomena. In those times all beyond Norway was a -chaos of ice-filled darkness; the necessity of a scientific -investigation of those wastes was not felt; and down to the -time of Sir John Ross, Polar navigators on their return home -brought with them no kind of scientific knowledge of Nature -in the Arctic regions. To reach India was the main if -not the only end they had in view. The instructions which -Willoughby, the first Polar navigator, received, give us an -insight into the delusions of earlier times. These, for example, -warned adventurers against men-eaters who swam naked in the -sea, and in the rivers. It was the period of fables long since -forgotten. Maldonado, de Fuca, Bernarda, Yelmer, Andrejew,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -Martinière, and the whale-fishers, brought home tales of passages -to India discovered, of new continents, of the ascertained -connexion of Novaya Zemlya with the northernmost point of -Siberia (Yelmerland) or even with Greenland. Two centuries -ago the failure of all attempts at a North-East passage was -attributed to Russia’s commercial policy, inasmuch as it had -been proved to the satisfaction of all, that the heat was -greater in the north, that the seas there ceased to freeze, and -that the country was covered with a luxuriant green!</p> - -<p>4. There was, indeed, a certain logical consequence in the -belief of an inner Polar Sea, as long as it was unknown that -ice is formed on the open sea as well as on the coasts. There -was also one argument, which made the existence of such a -sea not altogether improbable. It might be assumed, that -the formation of ice renewed every year in the Arctic -regions, would necessarily produce eternal bulwarks of congelation -and destroy all organic life, unless sea-currents -modified these extremes of climate. The ice which is formed -round the Pole—it was argued—is not of an unlimited but -of a definite quantity. Since, then, this quantity of ice must -be brought with tolerable uniformity from the innermost Polar -region to lower latitudes by the action of sea-currents, there -are at least one or two months of the summer when the ice -is at a minimum, when no new formation takes place, and -when a sea relatively ice-free may appear in the place of the -sea which had been covered with ice. This sea would be the -more open and navigable, just in proportion as less land -might be found at the Pole. But in this assumption it is -implied, that the ice moves with perfect regularity and in -radial lines from a given point without any disturbance from -winds, or counter-currents, or land, consequently with a quiet -simplicity of hydrography, for which Nature, neither there -nor elsewhere, shows any predilection. Dove makes the -mean annual temperature of the North Pole, 2·5° F.; but -it is probably still less. What, then, is the probability of an -open Polar Sea, if this annual mean only be considered? All -the accounts too of animal life increasing in exuberance as we -advance northwards—from which a more favourable climate -within the innermost Polar region and an open Polar Sea -have been inferred—must be received with caution, for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -appearance of numerous flocks of birds proves only that they -remain where open water prevails for a time and that they -change their abode with its change of place.</p> - -<p>5. In more recent times great influence has been attributed -to the Gulf Stream as a power influencing all the seas, known -and unknown, of the whole Arctic region. Dr. Petermann, -however, in a lately published work, endeavours to show that -its effects are discernible only on the northern seas of Spitzbergen -and Novaya Zemlya. Its action on the coasts of Spitzbergen -has been indisputably established by the Swedes, who -discovered there certain tropical plants (<i>Entada gigalobium</i>); -but the penetration of the warmer waters of this current to -the northern coasts of Novaya Zemlya has not been so positively -ascertained. In the Austrian Expedition of 1873-4, we -discovered no proofs of its existence. We found neither the -constant current, nor the water of a higher temperature, which -characterizes that renowned stream.</p> - -<p>6. For a long time the “ice-holes,” seen by Wrangel and -Morton, were regarded as indications of an ice-free Polar Sea. -With regard to those seen by Morton in 81° 22′, Richardson -very justly remarks: “The open water of the Kennedy Channel -is not of greater extent in the month of June than the open -spaces which have occasionally been seen in summer on the -north of Spitzbergen by whale-fishers.” Wrangel, when he -describes the “Polynjii,” which he saw on the east of the New -Siberian Islands, accounts for them by the action of a local -coast-wind; and yet Wrangel would have been the first to -favour the notion of an inner Polar Sea, for he still thought, -in opposition to Scoresby, that ice could not be formed on the -open sea, because of the absence of land as a support for the -ice in its formation.</p> - -<p>7. The first practical application of the theory of an open -Polar Sea was long ago devised by Plancius; the discovery, -namely, of a route in high latitudes to China. But the -expeditions to the North Pole, properly so termed, sprang -also from this theory, which was held with the greatest -pertinacity. The evidence of unsuccessful undertakings was -always met and outweighed by the counter-experience of one -favourable year in the ice. Thus Barentz, in the exceedingly -propitious summer of 1594, advanced without difficulty one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -degree of latitude beyond the northern extremity of Novaya -Zemlya, while his successors frequently encountered insurmountable -difficulties at Cape Nassau, and he himself in the -following year, 1595, found the state of the ice changed much -for the worse. In the years 1871, 1874, Mack, Carlsen, and -the two Austro-Hungarian expeditions came upon an open -sea in the very places where very few, if any, water-ways were -to be seen in 1872 and 1873. In the summers of 1816, 1817, -the mighty stream of ice on the coast of East Greenland had -decreased to such an extent that Scoresby met with little -ice between 74° and 80° N.L., but since then whalers have -constantly seen the heaviest ice there, heavier than anywhere -else. In 1753 and 1754, the Sea of Kara and the Novaya -Zemlya Sea were free from ice. But in subsequent years the -whale-fishers knocked in vain at their ice-barred entrances. -In 1823 Lütke from a point on the west coast of the Sea -of Kara saw that sea without ice; but, in the middle of -August, 1833, Pachtussow found the western side of that sea -open, while in the previous year he himself could not pass the -Karian Gates. Again in 1743 and 1773, the North Spitzbergen -Sea held out promises the most inviting, which might -possibly have permitted the reaching of a still higher degree -of latitude than that which Nordenskjöld and Koldewey -attained in 1868. Sir John Ross, in the first year of his -second voyage, found all things most favourable for navigation; -but in the following year the very reverse; and -Sir James C. Ross experienced the same alternation of circumstances -in the Southern Polar Sea. In 1850, Penny -found the Wellington Channel free from ice, but in 1852, -Belcher, although he penetrated far further than Penny, -was confronted in the same channel by pack- and drift-ice. -Scoresby the younger, to whose profound faculty of observation -we owe the most significant hints on the nature of -the Polar Sea, although he had navigated the Greenland -ice-ocean for twenty years, landed only once on its coast. -The Swedish expedition (1861) could approach the north-east -of Spitzbergen only in boats; Smith sailed over the -sea there (1871) as far as Cape Smith. The walrus-hunter, -Matilas, sailed round (1864) the north-east island completely, -and Carlsen, an ice navigator, as successful as he was skilful, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -1863 circumnavigated Spitzbergen, and in 1871 Novaya Zemlya, -and discovered there the relics of Barentz’s winter quarters. In -1872, King Karl Land was circumnavigated, although both -Koldewey and Nordenskjöld (1868) as well as the first Austrian -expedition (1871) had in vain attempted to approach it. -How greatly also, in the same year, the state of the ice varies -in different places, is proved by the fact, that Franklin learnt -from the whalers that they never saw the ice so thick and so -strong in Davis Straits as at the end of July 1819, while -Parry, more to the north by some degrees of latitude, pursued -his path of discovery even to Melville Island, and in the following -year returned to England without meeting any special -obstacles. These examples, to which many more might be -added, show how variable are the chances of ice-navigation -from one year to another. But however variable the conditions -of the ice may be, the impediments, even under the -most favourable circumstances, are so very great, that we -have never been able to penetrate the innermost Polar -regions,—<i>penetrate</i>, that is, <i>to where, according to the views -of an earlier time, the open Polar Sea should be found</i>.</p> - -<p>8. Those propitious ice-years amount therefore to nothing -more than a greater recession of the outer ice-barrier—trifling -when compared with the mighty whole—or to an -increased navigability of certain coast-waters, or to a local -loosening of the inner Polar ice-net. In reality the whole -Arctic Sea, with its countless ice-fields and floes, and its web -of fine interlacing water-ways, is nothing but a net constantly -in motion from local, terrestrial, or cosmical causes. All the -changes and phenomena of this mighty network lead us to -infer the existence of frozen seas up to the Pole itself; and -according to my own experience, gained in three expeditions, -I consider <i>that the states of the ice between 82° and 90°</i> N.L. -<i>will not essentially differ from those which have been observed -south of latitude 82°; I incline rather to the belief that they will -be found worse instead of better</i>.</p> - -<p>9. If this view be correct, it will remain an insuperable -difficulty to reach the Pole with a ship. The penetrating -to 82° or 83° exhausts, according to all past experience, the -disposable time for navigation, and presupposes moreover the -most favourable conditions for the attaining of such high<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -latitudes. A ship which reaches 82° N.L. by the beginning -of autumn must risk nothing more, should only navigate -really open water, and the expediency of securing a winter -harbour should then outweigh every other consideration.</p> - -<p>10. He who expects with a ship of the present construction -to reach the Pole in a single summer, necessarily believes in -an ocean at the Pole. But even if an expedition should -penetrate to 84° in Smith’s Sound, or should reach Cape -Tcheljuskin on the north-east route, it would not follow that -such an ocean exists, but only that the Polar Sea presents at -different times and in different places open water-ways, which -may enable a ship to advance beyond a point hitherto reached; -but it is improbable that the circumstances which favoured -this will be repeated the next summer, so as to permit the -ships to penetrate still further—or to return. The last -American expedition returned without being able to speak -decisively as to the possibility of navigating Lincoln Sea, and -since this has not yet been verified by fact, we must suspend -our judgment on the matter. To the English expedition, -which has taken this route to the Pole, is reserved the great -work of throwing light on the region of Upper Smith’s -Sound, and the whole civilized world will hail with joy any -successes which a nation, so long conspicuous for its perseverance -in the cause of discovery, may happily achieve.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE FUTURE OF THE POLAR QUESTION.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The eagerness of human nature for gain and material -prosperity is so great, that we are wont to estimate the value -of all undertakings by the standard of utility; and too often -it is forgotten, that each generation is destined to fulfil the -task of acquiring and collecting the knowledge which is to -benefit only a later generation. If, then, the Polar question -be valueless for our material interests, is it therefore valueless -for science? and assuming that it is for the present worthless -as far as gain and wealth are concerned, must it continue -so for all time? Not that we are entitled, even from this -narrower point of view, to deny the usefulness of Polar -exploration, as Cook seems to have done when he said, “Never -from those regions will any advantage accrue to our race;” -but rather bear in mind what Sir James Ross tells us: “The -profit which accrued to England, in each year after the voyage -(1818) of my uncle (Sir John Ross) in North Baffin’s Bay, from -those rediscovered parts of the Arctic seas, was more than -enough to defray all the expenses of the voyages of discovery -undertaken from 1818 to 1838.” Scoresby with his single ship -made a million thalers by the capture of whales, and the -Americans had for many years a clear profit of eight million -dollars from the fisheries of the frozen seas of Behring’s -Straits. There were also, it is true, very considerable losses; -for, in 1830, nineteen English ships engaged in the whale -fishery were “beset” in the ice of Melville Bay, and nearly -all destroyed; in 1871, twenty-six American ships were -crushed to pieces in Behring’s Straits, and as many as seventy-three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -Dutch vessels sank in one year in the seventeenth -century from the pressure of the ice.</p> - -<p>2. We do not, however, mean to assert, that the progress of -Polar discovery is always followed by a corresponding increase -in the capture of fish in the Arctic seas. On the contrary, -the take of oil-yielding animals is steadily decreasing, and -even if an open sea should be discovered in 82° N.L., in -which whales should be found in as great abundance as ice-floes -unhappily are, the whaler with his poor equipment would -never be able to follow them thither. The fur countries, -once as productive as the mines of Peru, are incapable of -further extension; even the treasures of mammoths’ tusks -have become rare, and in order to bring thirty tons of lignite -from the north-east of Greenland, a ship must expend seventy -tons of sound coal in the transit, besides passing the winter -there. That the teas of China, the silks of Japan, the spices -of the Moluccas will never descend to us from the ice-fields -has long been settled. No one at the present day thinks any -longer of the commercial value of the North-West and North-East -passages. Modes of escape from the perils and caprices -of the ice have grown out of the endeavour to discover routes -of commerce, which lay beyond the reach of the cannon of -the Spaniards at the time when they aspired to the monopoly -of the trade of the world. The reward of 25,000 gulden, -offered by the Dutch government for the discovery of a -North-East passage, and that of £20,000 by the English -parliament for the North-West passage, have never been paid, -because never claimed, nor are they, in the least degree, likely -to be claimed.<a name="FNanchor_12" id="FNanchor_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - -<p>3. Yet, quite independent of material results, Polar exploration -presents no unworthy object for scientific investigation—a -region of the globe 120,000 square miles in extent never -yet entered by man. The Polar question, as <i>a problem of -science</i>, aims at determining the limits of land and water, at -the perfecting of that network of lines with which comparative -science seeks to surround our planet, even to its Poles. -The completion of this labour will serve to discover those -physical laws which regulate climates, the currents of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -atmosphere and sea, and the analogies of geology with the -earth as we see it.</p> - -<p>4. But how is this to be attained? At first it would appear -as if the methods of ice-navigation had been followed by -such success, that their continued application guaranteed still -greater results. The gradual advance by means of ships, -from the Polar Circle to 73°, 75°, 79°, or even to 82° N.L., has -been the result and is the reward of the labours of three -centuries. But to reach higher degrees, from 82° to 90°, -depends on other conditions than mere time. That increased -experience and boldness have removed many of the inconveniences -and dangers attendant on Arctic navigation is -undoubtedly true, but it is also as true, that, upon the whole, -<i>the safely and convenience of ice-navigation have more steadily -increased than its successes</i>. Hudson, Baffin, and especially -Scoresby, and even some whalers of the seventeenth century, -reached latitudes which have scarcely been exceeded since, -and in many cases this progress was due, not to greater boldness -and experience, but rather to chance and the caprices of -the ice, which “to the whaler often permitted glances into its -interior, which were denied to the scientific explorer.”</p> - -<p>5. The greater perfection of our means enables us to conduct -Polar expeditions with greater facility. Instead of -dissipating our strength by sending out several ships, even -small fleets, amounting sometimes to fifteen ships (often not -larger than the boats of a modern Polar ship), since the days -of Sir John Ross, we equip one or two ships only, strongly -built for their “special purpose, provided with steam-power, -and with all that is desirable or requisite; and instead of -despatching them for short summer cruises, we provision them, -send them out for several years, and, by appropriate nourishment -and the aid of medical science, protect the crews from -the scourge of scurvy. In those days, when even the wealthy -lived during the winter on salt beef, and English squires were -obliged at the beginning of winter, on account of the scarcity -of food for the cattle, to kill and salt a portion of their herd, -preserved and antiscorbutic victuals were an impossibility to -a Hudson, a James, a Fox, in their winters amid the ice. Those -introduced by Ross—then called “Donkin’s meat”—have -been greatly improved since, and through them the scurvy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -which used to carry off whole crews of ships, has lost its -former terrors.</p> - -<p>6. In this power to extend our expeditions without danger, -and especially in sledge journeys during the autumn and -spring, which are possible only to expeditions prepared to -winter in the ice, are the grounds why we have not halted at -the barriers “of the bulwarks built for eternity;” in the -Rennselaer harbour, in the Lancaster-Barrow route, or at the -Pendulum islands. It is only sledge expeditions, as Middendorf -says, which have been able to effect results of any -magnitude on the inaccessible coasts of the extreme north; -and the great extent to which the Russians had used sledge -expeditions evidently served as an example both to the -English and to Kane.</p> - -<p>7. In Polar expeditions, therefore, we have probably reached, -so far as the exploration of the highest latitudes by means of -ships is concerned, the limits of possibility. The extraordinary -success which fell to the lot of Hall’s expedition <i>teaches -us only the possibility of encroaching but a little beyond that -limit</i>, even under the most favourable circumstances.</p> - -<p>8. In all cases where the attempt shall be made to reach -the highest latitudes with a ship, I would again recommend -the route through Smith’s Sound, because, in the first place, I -believe that any considerable advance is only to be expected -in coast-water; and in the second place, because the Grant -Coast offers facilities for sledge expeditions on a large scale. -East Greenland in the higher latitudes, 73°-75°, may be -regarded as inaccessible; and the attempt to penetrate northwards -in its coast-water was a delusion of the second German -North-Pole expedition. In the north of Spitzbergen, and in -Behring’s Straits, fifty expeditions and countless whalers have -heard from the ice an imperious <i>ne plus ultra</i>; and the same -prohibition has been uttered to as many expeditions on the -North-East passage. In both these routes the cause of failure -was the disproportion between what could be reached in one -or two summers, and the vast extent of sea blocked by impenetrable -ice. In like manner, the probability of reaching -the Pole itself with our present resources is so small, and the -attempt to do it is so utterly disproportionate to the sacrifices -exacted and the results achieved, that it would be advisable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -to exclude it from Arctic exploration, until, instead of the -impotent vessels of the sea, we can send thither those of -the air.</p> - -<p>9. Be this as it may, the present English North-Pole Expedition -will essentially contribute to solve the question, whether -the Pole can be reached by the route through Upper Smith’s -Sound. This, according to the views of almost all Polar -navigators, holds out the greatest chances for further advance -by sea. Should this expedition, equipped in so effective a -manner, and sent out by a nation of such great experience, -not come nearer to the goal, or, if nearer, only through -sledging—which may very probably be the case—the conviction -will then be strengthened, that all efforts to reach the -Pole by navigation in the Frozen Ocean are hopeless, and -witness only to the glorious persistency of human endeavour.</p> - -<p>10. But until aërial navigation to the Pole shall be -attempted, it would be advisable to follow the example of -the Swedes, and, in the service of Natural History and Geography, -content ourselves with the exploration of those Arctic -lands of which, up to the present moment, we know only the -coast-line, or which, situated on the outermost verge of our -Polar charts, are still untrodden by man; we mean specially -Gillis’, Grinnell’s, Wrangel’s Land, and above all, the interior -of Greenland. The Polar question, hitherto regarded chiefly -as a geographical problem, would thus, for a considerable -time, be taken up in the interest of Natural Science. Lieutenant -Weyprecht, after dwelling on the predominance of -exploration in Polar expeditions, expresses a wish, that the -great civilized nations would unite in contemporaneous Arctic -expeditions for magnetical, electrical, and meteorological -investigations: “In order to attain decisive scientific results, -a number of expeditions should be sent to different places in -the Arctic regions to make observations, at the same time, -with similar instruments, and in accordance with similar -instructions.” They who think such results too insignificant for -the energies and sacrifices which are expended to achieve -them, and who would rather that such efforts should be transferred -to those still unknown regions of the earth, which may -become the dwelling-places of man, will, of course, give their -veto against the further agitation of the Arctic question.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_I_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">POLAR EQUIPMENTS.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Every Arctic expedition should be guided by the experience -of its predecessors, both in its plan and its equipment; and -hence we have often to deplore the negligence of almost all -Polar navigators in failing to inform those who follow them of -what they actually saw, of their modes of procedure, or of -the mistakes which they committed. It will not, therefore, -be labour thrown away, if we state our own experience and -record our own observations for the guidance of others, in -order to show, with the utmost possible clearness, what -future explorers have before them, and how best to meet it.</p> - -<p>2. Undivided command in an expedition is the first of all -rules; but if there be any division of command in a subordinate -expedition by sea or land, the duties and rights of its -commander must be clearly and exactly defined. In recent -times the command of a Polar expedition has sometimes -been conferred not on a seaman, but on a man of science, as -in the cases of Kane, Hayes, Nordenskjöld, and Torell. -Where the investigation of questions connected with Natural -History is the aim and object, this precedent is admissible, -but it should never be observed where the commander has -an important part to fulfil as a navigator. The command of -an expedition has never been conferred on a man of science -by the English government. In the very commencement, -indeed, of Polar discovery, an English expedition was placed -under the command of Sir Hugh Willoughby, who was not -bred a sailor, but down to the seventeenth century, even in -their naval campaigns, such men were appointed to naval -commands. The Dutch expeditions of the sixteenth century<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -generally adopted a destructive division of command, under -supercargoes and pilots, representing the mercantile and -nautical elements: confusion and discord were the inevitable -consequences.</p> - -<p>3. Next to the selection of a commander, the selection of -the crew demands the greatest care. This ought to be made -some time before the expedition starts, in order that those -unfit for the service may be discovered, and their places -supplied by others; this cautious mode of procedure, and not -a preference for any particular nationality, will secure the -most effective crew. Although seamanlike qualities do not -belong in the same degree to every nation, time and pains -only are needed to secure a picked crew for a North-Pole -expedition from almost any nation. Endurance of cold is not -the only test of effectiveness, although this is a very common -assumption; but a sense of duty, perseverance, and resolution -are the virtues of a seaman. Habit soon teaches men to -conquer cold, and inexorable necessity often hardens weaklings -into heroes for Arctic discovery. A certain degree of -intelligence is of high importance in the crew. In many -cases resolution in the midst of dangers depends on their -capacity to observe and think, even on their possessing certain -branches of knowledge. The greater part of the crew of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> had these advantages. But men who, in a heavily-laded -sledge, leave the old and take to recently-formed ice, -without noticing the difference,—who observe a frost-bitten -foot several hours after the mischief has been done,—who lose -their cartridges, know nothing of their rifle, and little more of -their compass, or who pass on without observing the configurations -of the land, possess an indifference indeed, but of a kind -very dangerous to themselves and to the whole party, though -they may despise death as much as Achilles is said to have -done.</p> - -<p>4. An intelligent crew, from their greater feeling of independence, -is, however, more difficult to command than an -ignorant one. Devotion and blind confidence are more rarely -found in an educated crew; their amenability to discipline is -dependent on the good example, the kindness and unalterable -calmness of those who may command them. The law of a -Polar expedition is obedience, and its basis morality. Punishments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -are in such situations a miserable and depressing means -for the preservation of order, and then employment, especially -in a private undertaking, will tend rather to loosen than to -maintain the bonds of discipline. If Parry, in 1820, caused -corporal punishments to be inflicted, this proves the greater -facility with which discipline is maintained on board of a -man-of-war, but not its appropriateness generally. Coercion -and threats produce no effect; and hence the folly of attempting -to secure success by sending out again those who returned -without having achieved anything, which was done last -century by the authorities of St. Petersburg with every -unsuccessful enterprise on the Arctic coasts of Siberia. The -regulation that the most meritorious among the crew shall be -specially rewarded, after the return of the expedition, provides -for the recognition of merit, without exciting ill feeling in the -less worthy. For the officers scientific success may be a -perfect reward of their toils, but for the crew the reward -should consist of more material advantages. Money, indeed, -seems a feeble motive of action to men destined to withstand -for years the inclemency of Arctic winters, and uncertain -whether they shall ever return; but, notwithstanding, it -is the only form by which men without sympathy for the -aims of science can be gained for the attainment of such -objects. The crews of Sir John Ross received for a martyrdom -of four years passed in the ice about £100 a head; -in the second German expedition from eight to twelve -thalers were the monthly pay of each sailor. The pay of -the sledgers in the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was, however, nearly four times -as much; in some sledge journeys it amounted to 3,000 -gulden a man.</p> - -<p>5. Contrary to what might be expected, the re-employment -of those who have served before is not to be recommended as -a rule. The very best only should be re-enlisted. The others -are too much disposed to place their experience on a level -with that of their commanders; and in all cases, where their -opinions differ from those of their officers, they damage by a -kind of passive opposition the fundamental law of an expedition—obedience. -Those who enter the Arctic regions for the -first time are wont to receive the orders of an experienced -commander with an attention as unquestioning as it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -respectful. Married men also should be excluded, as they -were by Barentz in his second (1596) expedition.</p> - -<p>6. Some of the crew should be good shots, good pedestrians -and mountaineers, but all must be of the same -nationality, and in perfect health. The least symptom of -rheumatism, of diseases of the lungs and the eyes, and of -certain chronic maladies only too common among seamen, -unfit them for the endurance of the Polar climate, and especially -for sledge expeditions. Those who are addicted to -drink are peculiarly liable to the scurvy.</p> - -<p>7. The medical man of an expedition, besides professional -skill and experience, must possess the most imperturbable -patience, for to many of his patients he is not less a physician -of the mind than of the body. He should convince himself -of the sanitary condition of the crew before the expedition -starts, although it may have been previously investigated by -medical authorities and declared satisfactory.</p> - -<p>8. Since an expedition, in addition to its scientific functions, -should take up the illustration of Nature at the Pole, the -employment of a photographer, but still better of an artist, is -very desirable, for the former is too much confined to the -immediate neighbourhood of the ship in his operations.</p> - -<p>9. The records of Arctic adventure in former days tell us -of equipments strangely incompatible with the object pursued. -Their commercial purpose constrained them to fill the hold -with bales of silk, instead of provisions for years; but the -letters of recommendation which were given to the explorers -of the North-East passage for the Saracen princes on the -route to Chatai seem peculiarly ludicrous. Some justification -may be discovered for Owczyn taking a priest with him -on his Siberian expedition (1734), but hardly for his wanting -fifty-seven men in a vessel only seventy feet long, and arming -it with eight falconets. The employment of a drummer, -twelve privates and a corporal, on Gmelin’s scientific Siberian -expedition, is still more unintelligible; more so than Davis’s -band of music, which was intended to charm the feelings of -the Eskimos and dispose them to peaceful proceedings, his predecessor -Frobisher having had the saddest experience of their -barbarism. Other expeditions by the too plentiful distribution -of knives and hatchets among the Eskimos placed them in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -position seriously to threaten the white man, and even at the -present day the so-called “Wilden-kiste” often contains -articles little calculated to inspire the natives with a high -opinion of our moral superiority.</p> - -<p>10. In fitting out a Polar expedition, all respect should be -paid to the principle of bestowing on those who are for a time -banished, the greatest possible amount of comfort. The proportions -of a ship, and the space at its disposal, narrow the -limits available for this end; and since the return to the -employment, as at the first, of small vessels, even these limits -have been considerably diminished.</p> - -<p>11. The following table shows that the employment of -small vessels was the principle at first followed, although the -English undertakings even of this present century never -thoroughly adopted the example of a Fotherby, a Baffin, and -a Ross:—</p> - -<table class="borders" summary="Prior expeditions to the region"> - <tr> - <th colspan="2"><span class="smcap">The Expeditions of</span></th> - <th colspan="4"><span class="smcap">Tonnage of the Ships.</span></th> - <th><span class="smcap">Provisioned for</span></th> - <th><span class="smcap">Crew.</span></th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="center bl">A.D.</td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Willoughby</td> - <td class="center bl">1553</td> - <td class="tdr bl">120</td> - <td class="tdr bl">90</td> - <td class="tdr bl">160</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">18 months</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Frobisher</td> - <td class="center bl">1576</td> - <td class="tdr bl">25</td> - <td class="tdr bl">25</td> - <td class="tdr bl">10</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="center bl">1577</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="tdr bl">30</td> - <td class="tdr bl">30</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl" rowspan="14">Mostly for one year only.</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Pett Jackman</td> - <td class="center bl">1580</td> - <td class="tdr bl">40</td> - <td class="tdr bl">20</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Davis</td> - <td class="center bl">1585</td> - <td class="tdr bl">50</td> - <td class="tdr bl">35</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">42</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="center bl">2nd expedn.</td> - <td class="tdr bl">10</td> - <td class="tdr bl">50</td> - <td class="tdr bl">53</td> - <td class="tdr bl">120</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Weymouth</td> - <td class="center bl">1604</td> - <td class="tdr bl">70</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Knight</td> - <td class="center bl">1606</td> - <td class="tdr bl">40</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hudson</td> - <td class="center bl">1607</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="center bl">1608</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>James Poole</td> - <td class="center bl">1609</td> - <td class="tdr bl">70</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hudson</td> - <td class="center bl">1610</td> - <td class="tdr bl">55</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Smith</td> - <td class="center bl">1610</td> - <td class="tdr bl">50</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>James Poole</td> - <td class="center bl">1611</td> - <td class="tdr bl">50</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Fotherby</td> - <td class="center bl">1615</td> - <td class="tdr bl">20</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Baffin</td> - <td class="center bl">1616</td> - <td class="tdr bl">58</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Fox</td> - <td class="center bl">1631</td> - <td class="tdr bl">80</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">18 months</td> - <td class="center bl">20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>James</td> - <td class="center bl">1631</td> - <td class="tdr bl">70</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">18 <span class="ditto1">”</span></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Wood</td> - <td class="center bl">1676</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">16 <span class="ditto1">”</span></td> - <td class="center bl">19</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Moor</td> - <td class="center bl">1746</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="tdr bl">140</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Ross</td> - <td class="center bl">1818</td> - <td class="tdr bl">385</td> - <td class="tdr bl">252</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Parry</td> - <td class="center bl">1819</td> - <td class="tdr bl">375</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">2½ years</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Lütke</td> - <td class="center bl">1821</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="center bl">45</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Hayes</td> - <td class="center bl">1860</td> - <td class="tdr bl">133</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl">1½ <span class="ditto1">”</span></td> - <td class="center bl">15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Koldewey</td> - <td class="center bl">1869</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="bl"><span class="fraction">2</span> <span class="ditto1">”</span></td> - <td class="center bl">29</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>12. The inspection of this table shows that it was the -practice of the sixteenth century to send out fleets of ships<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -of a very small size, that in the seventeenth one small ship -was commissioned, and that the employment of two vessels -has been the rule since; and this would have been still more -evident, if the various Franklin expeditions had been included -in the above table. In 1829 Sir John Ross started -with a ship drawing eighteen feet, but changed afterwards to -one drawing eight feet; and from eight to twelve feet is now -the recognised draught in Polar ships. Large vessels require -a numerous crew, and if they have not been built exclusively -for the purpose of Polar exploration, their small economy of -space prevents their being fitted out for more than two years -and a half. In 1819 Parry’s ship, the large <i>Fury</i>, had, with a -draught of eighteen feet, provisions for only two and a half -years, whereas the <i>Victory</i> (1829) of Ross with only seven feet -draught had on board, besides stores for the same period, a -steam-engine and coals for a thousand hours’ steaming. The -Russian Novaya Zemlya navigators of this century have -adopted vessels of a size which must be destructive of all -comfort and convenience. These vessels are thirty or forty -feet long, with a draught of five or six feet, and a crew of -nine or ten men. But Arctic ships must have a crew above -the ordinary strength and be provided with steam-power; so -that, allowing for the necessary space for the quarters of the -crew, for the engines and the coalbunkers, little room will be -left for the stowage of stores. But this little should be reserved -for well-chosen provisions stowed away so as to avoid -all empty spaces, and secure the greatest amount of resistance -to lateral pressure. The weakest parts of a ship are always -the spaces left for air in the quarters of the men. A crew, -which is exposed to threatening dangers from the ice, will -never regret the strengthening of these void spaces by heavy -horizontal tie-beams, removable when the ship is in the winter -harbour, and so adjusted as not to impede communication. -The mere suspension of heavy beams against the hull of a -ship does not always answer the purpose of protection, since -the pressure of the ice frequently drives away these protecting -timbers. The practice, however, is not absolutely to be -rejected.</p> - -<p>13. The daily allowance of solid food for the effectives in -an Arctic expedition amounts to about two pounds, and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -sledge expeditions to 2¾ pounds, of which half a pound is -bread and one pound preserved meat. Besides the usual -provisions, large supplies of preserved vegetables, of cocoa, of -extract of meat, of rice, of preserved peas, of dried farinaceous -food (such as macaroni), are very desirable. Salted -meat is to be avoided as much as possible. The luxury of -fresh bread twice a week instead of the hard ship’s biscuit is -an essential means of promoting health, and the want of -yeast for its preparation may be supplied by “baking powder.” -Once a day a ration of lemon-juice should be served out as a -preservative against scurvy, and anti-scorbutic victuals should -be laid in abundantly. Plenty of tea and tobacco is indispensable; -the want of these is painfully felt, especially by -the sailors. Cases have actually occurred, where crews have -ground the wooden blocks of the rigging to powder, to serve -as tea, and have used the hoops of casks for tobacco.</p> - -<p>14. The moderate enjoyment of spirituous liquors is much -to be recommended, as their influence on health and sociality -is of great importance. The preservation, however, of a -sufficient stock of wine, especially in winter, is a matter of -much difficulty, since most kinds freeze at 21° F. or 14° F. As -long as the ship is afloat, as it generally is when winters are -passed in the ice, it is advisable to preserve the supply of -wine at the bottom of the hold, and to place all other things -most liable to be frozen in layers above it. But if a ship be -nearly or entirely out of water, it is advisable to keep the -wine, and other indispensable liquids, in the empty spaces of -the cabin, under the cabin table, near the stove, below the -berths, and under the sky-light after it has been closed for the -winter. Only absolute want of space justifies the preparation -of <i>chemical wine</i>,<a name="FNanchor_13" id="FNanchor_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> since the volume of its constituent parts -without water is only a fifth of real wine; and under all -circumstances <i>chemical wine</i> is but a miserable shift, and the -beer (even the spruce beer of Sir John Ross) which the English -used to manufacture on board ship from the essence of malt -and hops is far preferable. The rum and cognac, especially -for sledge expeditions, in order to save weight should contain -the greatest possible amount of alcohol, for its dilution before -use is a matter of no difficulty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>15. During the winter, residence in the ship itself is preferable -to living in log-houses, because the ship can be more -easily heated and suffers less from the accumulation of ice. -But since a ship in the Arctic Sea ceases for ten months of the -year to be a ship and becomes in fact a house, this should be -kept in view when she is being fitted out.</p> - -<p>16. The place where the men live is always in the fore-part -of the ship, but their berths should be changed in a certain -rotation, because of the inequality of the condensation. It is -not advisable to place the kitchen in the quarters of the crew -in order to diminish the consumption of coals, because an -accumulation of moisture is thereby increased. The officers -and <i>savans</i> occupy a common messroom in the after-part of -the ship, and sleep in little cabins ranged round it. The power -to withdraw occasionally from the presence of those who must -be together for years is an important element of harmony. -Sir John Ross and his officers in 1833, even in the miserable -hut built on the Fury coast, did not occupy the common -messroom heated by a stove, but preferred separate cabins, -the temperature of which seldom rose above the freezing point, -and in which they had to suffer much from the accumulation -of ice. All the living rooms should be provided with waterproof -carpets. Their heating by means of the common stoves -is objectionable, because of the unequal distribution of warmth. -An even temperature is best maintained by the use of the -Meidinger “Fullofen,” which has the further advantage of -consuming only a small quantity of coals. Hot-air flues are, -perhaps, preferable even to these, because they better prevent -the freezing of the moisture in the cabins, and indeed in every -part of the ship.</p> - -<p>17. An Arctic ship should be provided with an iron-plated -washing and drying closet, without which the washing of -linen would be restricted to the few weeks of summer weather. -This closet may also be used as a bath-room, an important -means of promoting health. The lighting of the living -rooms by petroleum sufficiently answers all purposes; in the -cabins, however, stearine candles are to be preferred either to -it or any other oil. The construction of the lamps used in -making observations in the open air during the long Arctic -darkness is a matter of the greatest importance. Those used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -in the second German North-Pole Expedition were of peculiar -excellence, and never failed in their difficult service. Massive -lamps, with glass globes protected with wire, and burning -petroleum in preference to common oil, should be used on -deck, and as they are employed for so many purposes and -exposed to so many risks, a plentiful supply of them should -be provided. In the huts on the deck, built over the hatchways, -train-oil may be used with advantage, if the lamps are -so constructed that the flame may heat the reservoir containing -the oil.</p> - -<p>18. So long as the crew remains on board the ship, their -clothing, even in the severest winter, needs but little attention. -Thick close-fitting woollen under-garments, knitted woollen -gloves, outer-garments of strong cloth, are in all cases sufficient -on deck, and in all those parts of the ship which are -kept at a certain temperature. Leather boots lined with -fur were long considered an indispensable requisite for Polar -expeditions, but they have not maintained their character, -as they are very heavy, become unpliable in frost, and -soon quite useless through its action and the wearing off -of the fur.</p> - -<p>19. Before the departure of the expedition, all the instruments -should be thoroughly cleansed from oil by a practical -optician, and the fire-arms should undergo a like operation at -the hands of the gunmaker, and their barrels should be -browned to protect them better from rust. The ammunition, -powder and matches to blast the ice, alcohol and petroleum, -should be stowed in the after-part of the ship, and the two -latter should be reached only through a closely-fitting pump. -A very ample supply of alcohol, flannel, buffalo-skins, strong -cloth, water-proof canvas, felt, leather, reindeer shoes, snow -boots, shovels, cramp irons, poles, &c., articles which are too -often overlooked, should be taken, both from their usefulness -on board ship and also on land expeditions.</p> - -<p>20. The costs of Polar expeditions have relatively rather -diminished than increased. The expenses of Willoughby’s -expedition 300 years ago amounted to the sum—quite enormous -for that day—of £6,000; Moor’s (1746) cost £10,000; -while Back’s difficult but successful undertaking to explore -the great Fish-river (1833-1835), only £5,000. The Siberian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -expedition of Middendorf (1844)—costing only 13,300 rubles -(£1,717)—was a matchless example of extraordinary achievements -with little expenditure. The costs of the various -Franklin Expeditions from 1848 to 1854 amounted, according -to the statement of the English Admiralty, to twenty million -francs (£833,333); those of the second German North-Pole -Expedition to 120,000 thalers (£11,000), and the expenses of -our own Austrian-Hungarian North Pole Expedition to 220,000 -gulden (£18,333).</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_II">PIONEER VOYAGE OF ISBJÖRN.</h2> - -<p class="center larger"><i>JUNE 20-OCTOBER 4, 1871.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<h3>THE PIONEER VOYAGE OF THE “ISBJÖRN.”</h3> - -<p>1. The failure of the second German Arctic expedition -directed the future efforts of Polar exploration to the seas -of Novaya Zemlya. Although the geographical position and -political relations of Austria prevented its Government from -taking any active part in the great geographical problems and -questions of our times, an interest in Polar discovery had -been excited in her statesmen, which gradually ripened into -a determination to send its flag, renowned for its military -fame, to consecrate struggles on the peaceful domain of -scientific exploration. The magnanimous act of Graf Wilczek, -contributing 40,000 florins towards the equipment of an -Austro-Hungarian expedition, not only strengthened but also -endowed the resolve. In order, however, to obviate the -possibility of spending large sums on a plan which might be -unfeasible, or if feasible, of little value, it was determined to -despatch a pioneer expedition to the seas of Novaya Zemlya -under the joint command of Lieutenant Weyprecht and -myself. The knowledge and experience gained in that -voyage—which is described in the following pages—induced -the Austrian Government to send another and more powerful -vessel to those seas, equipped to pass two or more winters -in the ice.</p> - -<p>2. It seemed to be established as the result of many -expeditions, that almost invincible difficulties opposed the -reaching of the central Arctic regions by the routes through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -Baffin’s Bay, Behring’s Straits, along the coast of Greenland, -and from Spitzbergen, mainly because on them all we are met -by the great Arctic currents, which act as channels to carry -off the ice of the Polar basin. These currents carry with -them vast masses of ice, which they deposit on all the coasts -which they strike. On the results of many Norwegian, -Russian, and German voyages, partly in the interests of -science, partly in the interests of commerce, many geographers -maintained that the traces of the Gulf Stream did -not disappear at the North Cape, but rather that it exercised -a considerable influence on places and in latitudes not before -imagined, as, for instance, on the north-east coasts of -Novaya Zemlya. An expedition, therefore, which followed the -course of the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream would find -fewer and less formidable obstacles, than on the routes -exposed to the Arctic currents, carrying with them colossal -masses of ice towards the south. On the east of Spitzbergen -there is a land which has, indeed, been often seen, but never -reached, or even attempted to be reached—Gillis’ Land—lying -in the course of the Gulf Stream; and it is a probable -assumption, that navigable water would be found under its -western coast, as at Spitzbergen, where 80° N. Lat. can be -reached every year without any difficulty. If, then, this -stream extends still further to the north—which is probable -according to the soundings taken by the Swedes—it is reasonable -to expect that higher latitudes may be reached on this -than on any other route.</p> - -<p>3. It is remarkable, that the seas between Spitzbergen and -Novaya Zemlya were utterly unknown to science. No expedition -had ever been sent thither, though many things seemed -to invite and favour the venture, and Dr. Petermann had long -endeavoured to organize a powerful and well-equipped expedition -to explore higher latitudes on this route. At length -Lieutenant Weyprecht and I undertook a voyage of reconnaissance -to those waters, in order to ascertain whether the -climate and the state of the ice were as favourable in reality, -as they seemed to be in theory. No attempt was to be made -to reach high latitudes or to make important geographical -discoveries. The small means at our command forbade -either. Our aims were more limited; they referred to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -temperature of the water and the air, to the currents, to the -state of the ice, to the probability of success in the following -year (1872), and lastly, to opportunities for extended sledge -journeys. We were to sail from Tromsoe about the middle -of June, and return thither by the middle of September.</p> - -<p>4. In order to diminish expenses, we chartered at Tromsoe -a small sailing ship. A steamer would, indeed, have been -more serviceable, but the cost would have been quadrupled, -without any adequate advantage. The <i>Isbjörn</i> (i.e., Ice-bear) -was a vessel of fifty tons, cutter-rigged, 55 feet long, 17 feet -broad, with a draught of 6 feet. Her bows were protected with -sheet-iron, two feet above, and two feet under, water. She -was new and strong, and made with us her first voyage. We -had also two small boats, and a so-called “Fang-boot”—whale-boat. -She was commanded by Captain Kjelsen, and -had as a crew a harpooner, four sailors, a carpenter, and a -cook—all Norwegians. We were provided with the requisite -instruments by the Imperial Geographical Institute, and were -provisioned for four or five months. The Austrian Consul -Aagaard aided us to the utmost of his ability in the equipment -of the vessel. It must be observed, that we had no -direct command or control over the vessel and its crew; the -responsibility for the ship, and the immediate command over -its crew, belonged to the skipper Kjelsen. Weyprecht was, -however, the real commander.</p> - -<p>5. The information we gathered concerning the state of the -ice in the region of our projected exploration, was exceedingly -contradictory. While, for example, Dr. Bessels, in the steamer -<i>Albert</i>, of Rosendal, discovered a branch of the Gulf Stream -with a temperature of 41° F. at the ice-barrier on the south -of Gillis’ Land, Dr. Petermann sent us a letter of Lamont, in -which he said: “Every year the ice appears to me more -formidable.” The whalers of Tromsoe, who knew the ice of -that region only from hearsay, and could give no positive -information as to its limits, uttered many unfavourable prognostications -as to the possibility of penetrating that frozen -sea, or of approaching Gillis’ Land from the south. The region -was utterly unknown, even to many skippers who sailed from -Spitzbergen to Novaya Zemlya. The few attempts to penetrate -to that land, first seen in 1707, and regarded by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -Swedes as a continent, had been unsuccessful. So also their -efforts to reach it from the south-west in 1864 and 1868. -Captain Koldewey’s attempt also, which was made from the -“Thousand Isles” three months before the last-named voyage, -had been attended with the same want of success. None of -these expeditions had passed beyond the ice-barrier, and their -failures contributed greatly to strengthen the opinion, that the -Novaya Zemlya seas were unnavigable.</p> - -<p>6. All our inquiries were met also with the prediction of an -exceedingly unfavourable year for the ice. The spring of -1871 had been unusually severe, and even to the middle of -June the northern parts of Norway were covered with a -mantle of snow reaching down to the sea. It was inferred, -therefore, that there would be an excessive accumulation of -ice in the seas further north. We heard even, that there was -ice at the distance of about twenty (Norwegian) miles from -North Cape. And it was certainly true, that the north winds, -which prevailed for some weeks, kept a number of Norwegian -fishing and seal-hunting vessels weatherbound off the -“Scheeren.” All this notwithstanding, we determined to -keep to our plan of sailing to Hope Island, and of following -from thence the ice-barrier towards the east, our progress, of -course, being dependent on favourable conditions of the ice, -and perhaps on the influences of the Gulf Stream. As it was -within the verge of possibility to make Gillis’ Land during -the season of our operations, we considered it advisable not -to pass beyond 40° E. Long. while we penetrated northward.</p> - -<p>7. On the 20th of June we left Tromsoe during a drizzling -snow-storm, and while we were sailing up the “Qualsund” -without a pilot, we touched the ground—a danger we incurred -from the desire of our married sailors to put their wives -ashore, after leave-taking, as near the land as possible. At -Rysoe we fell in with the fleet of the Tromsoe fishing-boats -at anchor, waiting for a change of weather, and with them -some vessels which, we thought, would have been by this time -in the ice, having left Tromsoe four weeks before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus2"> -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE FIRST ICE</p> -</div> - -<p>8. The rocky islands off the coast of Finnmark are surrounded -by bleak cliffs, rising to the height of 2,500 feet, and -upwards. Trees cease to grow there; occasionally the birch -appears, but never in sufficient numbers to form a wood. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -numerous islands of a gneiss formation show the same landscape -which characterizes Norway—indescribably bleak table-lands, -deep secluded valleys and gorges, interspersed with -lonely mountain lakes. The bold, picturesque outlines of -these islands are exceedingly striking, though their fertility -is meagre in the extreme. The solitary rocky shores are -inhabited by poor families, secluded from the world, and -having little intercourse with each other. They live for the -most part on the fish which they catch. The remains of fish -round these settlements render their approach exceedingly -disagreeable; on the Loffoden Islands a guano manufactory -has been established, which turns this refuse to good account. -Tromsoe or Hammerfest appears in their eyes as the glory -and pride of the world. We were detained two days—June 24 -and 25—by contrary winds, at Sandoe, an island covered with -sea-sand full of small mussel shells, to the height of 600 feet. -Ascending an elevated peak of this island, 2,000 feet high, we -saw a panorama of countless cliffs of all sizes stretching down -to Andeness, and opposite to us, the gloomy, rugged wastes -of Norway, which show iron-bound walls, waterfalls, and bleak -headlands, without woods, meadows, or habitations. For many -hours we were mocked by an eagle, which, now soaring high, -now darting down with rapid flight, gave his unwieldy pursuers -a stiff and exhausting climb. We at last put to sea on -the 26th of June, and passed the enormous rocky pile of -Fugloe, down the precipitous face of which the inhabitants -descend by means of ropes to get the down of the Eider-geese. -Next day we were out of sight of land. The breeze -freshened, and, as we sailed further to the north, we saw many -whales. On the 28th of June we came on the <i>first ice</i>—a -sight which reminds the Polar navigator that he has reached -his home! Driven down by the north wind, its fragments lay -thickly on the misty horizon like gleaming points. We were -now south-east of Bear Island in 73° 40′ N. Lat. and 21° -E. Long., and found the ice so broken up that we did not -hesitate to penetrate it, in order to find out the latitude in -which its closed masses would appear. We passed through -forty miles of this loose drift-ice, and then came on the pack -in 74° 30′ N. Lat. and 23° E. Long. Already, on the 30th of -June, we had experienced the powerlessness of a small sailing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -vessel in such circumstances. The calms which had set in -rendered it impossible to steer the ship, just when the ice was -drifting in wild confusion. In spite of all our efforts to warp, -the ship was inclosed by ice—in fact, <i>beset</i>. During our -captivity of ten days, there was an alternation of fogs and -gales with heavy sea-swells. The neighbourhood of floes -sometimes small, sometimes large, which constantly shifted -their places, kept us in a state of continual watchfulness. -The <i>Isbjörn</i>, on some of these days, sustained such severe -pressures from the ice, that her safety was imperilled. On -the 4th of July we had heavy storms from the south-east, -which packed the ice still closer, and, though the sea is -generally quite calm within the ice, it was otherwise on this -occasion. In the afternoon we heard through the dense fog -the thunder of the ocean breaking on the outer edge of the -ice, and the roar increased as the sea rose. Our attempts to -haul further into the ice and still-water were fruitless; the -ship was pressed too firmly, and was not to be moved from -its place. Our position became more and more critical as the -sea continued to rise. During the whole night the waves -roared and boiled around us. The rudder groaned under the -pressure of the floes, and had to be made fast to prevent its -being broken off. A mass of ice grazing past the davits -utterly destroyed one of our boats. The critical nature of such -a situation is simply the uncertainty as to the amount of -pressure which a ship can sustain. Towards evening the fog -lifted and rolled away, presenting a spectacle of fearful grandeur. -All round us lay the open sea dashing against the ice, -which was itself in wild motion. Floes and icebergs were -driven about by the waves, and their fragments strewed in all -directions. At midnight our little ship sustained shock after -shock, and her timbers strained and creaked. The “brash” -of the crushed ice, which had gathered round the ship, prevented -her destruction. As the storm abated, the larger -masses of ice moved off to the edge of the horizon, so that -in the morning we could not see open water from the deck. -The day broke: what a change in the ice! The sea was -calm, and a long swell died out on its outer edge. Piles of -ice all round us,—a weird and deathlike calm! The heavens -were cloudless; the countless blocks and masses of ice stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -out against the sky in blue neutral shadow, and the more -level fields between them sparkled like silver as they shone in -the sun. The movement of the sea beyond the ice abated, -“leads” within the floes, hitherto scarcely perceptible, widened -out. But again the sky was overcast, the sea assumed the -colour of lead, though it continued quite calm and the -“ice-blink” appeared on the northern horizon.</p> - -<p>9. On the 10th of July the ship under full sail forced her -way through the floes, which were still somewhat close, and -reached open water. The masses of ice through which we -pressed were of considerable size. We now continued our -course, which had been interrupted in the manner described, -along the ice-barrier in a north-easterly direction. After -leaving the Norwegian coast, the depth of the sea decreased considerably. -We were now on the bank of Bear Island, and we -found bottom at 90 metres (49·213 fathoms). Our course was -impeded by calms, currents and winds from the east, and -even in the middle of July by severe storms. We were sometimes -in drift-ice and sometimes outside of it. We soon -discovered that the ice of these seas was not to be compared -with the vast masses of the Greenland seas. The floes we -saw were not more than one year old. As we sailed eastward, -the icebergs were neither so numerous nor so large, and disappeared -almost entirely at 40° E. Long., which we reached on -the 21st of July, after we had followed the ice-barriers from 74° -to 75° 30′ N. Lat. Here we penetrated within them. Though -drift-ice lay on every side, a steamer would have found -nothing to arrest her progress. But the prevalence sometimes -of east winds, sometimes of calms, the constant occurrence of -fogs, the defects of our vessel, the little authority we had over -the crew when extraordinary labour was demanded, the great -extent of the region to be explored,—all these difficulties -prevented our pressing on in this direction. We therefore -turned, July 22, in a westerly direction, in order to explore -another opening in the ice, into which we advanced for about -fifteen miles, and found floes not more than a year old lying -so loosely together, that our ship under full sail seemed to -pass over them, much in the same fashion as a sledge glides -over a snow-covered plain. But again our course had to be -altered, and Weyprecht steered the vessel in a south-westerly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -direction to the ice-barrier. In 76° 30′ N. Lat. and 29° E. -Long. we came on high and close masses of ice, and escaped -with much difficulty (July 29) the danger of being again -“beset.”</p> - -<p>10. We had meantime been convinced that, though the -state of the ice was on the whole so favourable, we could not, -with the means at our command and with a crew not trained -to habits of obedience, do more than carry out our original -intention. We could not make up for the defects of our -sailing craft by any special exertion on the part of the crew. -Could we have done this, we might have penetrated further -in a northerly direction; though at this late period of the -summer we could not calculate on being able to return, and by -the end of October our provisions would have been exhausted. -We could only, therefore, attempt to reach Gillis’ Land, and -ascertain whether it possessed the importance attributed to it -by the Swedes. A safe harbour had therefore to be sought, -in which the ship might be left, while a party in a boat should -make for the mysterious land. Such a harbour we expected -to find at Cape Leigh-Smith. We therefore held to the westward, -towards the Stor-Fiord. It is an extremely hazardous -thing, demanding incessant attention, to tack and cruise at -the ice-barrier during the continuance of fogs and with heavy -seas and unfavourable winds. Not unfrequently, the ice-blink -is seen all round the horizon, and we discover that we have -come into a great “ice-hole,” or a calm makes it impossible -to steer the ship, just when a strong current is bearing her -into the thickest of the ice-masses. We had our share of -these and other risks till we suddenly beheld, while sailing in -a fog among icebergs a hundred feet high, the long stretching -plateau of Hope Island. According to Weyprecht’s observations, -there is an error of 40′ in latitude in the position of this -island on the Swedish maps. The real position of the south-west -cape of Hope Island is 76° 29′ N. Lat., and 25° E. -Long. Seduced by a great opening in the ice, and deviating -from our course for a short time, we advanced in a northerly -direction to the east of the island, in the hope of reaching -Gillis’ Land from thence. But after sailing in a fog for a -whole day among icebergs lying close to the cliffs of the -island, we were driven further westward, and coming suddenly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -on the ice—Lat. 76° 30′—with an exceedingly high sea, -escaped being dashed to pieces as by a miracle. To penetrate -here was an impossibility. We therefore altered our course -again for Walter-Thymen’s Straits. A dense girdle of ice -several miles deep, and a strong current setting towards the -south-west, frustrated every attempt to land on Hope Island. -To the west of this we found the ice-barrier in 76° N. Lat., -formed of heavy pack-ice, and small icebergs. Our passage -to the South Cape (Cape Look-out) of Spitzbergen (76° 30′ -N. Lat.) was comparatively quick. Numerous cliffs and rocks -on which the waves were breaking, not marked on any chart, -rose in the night of August 4 out of the fog at the distance -of a few ships’ lengths from us, and it was with the utmost -difficulty that we could tack with the heavy sea and strong -north-east wind.</p> - -<p>11. The day after, when the heavy storm-clouds lifted from -the table-land of Cape Look-out, we made the unpleasant -discovery, that we were to the south-west of it. Hitherto we -had been sailing in dense fog, but after passing this Cape we -had almost unbroken sunshine, which illuminated the whole -western side of Spitzbergen up to Prince Charles’s foreland. -A current one or two miles wide, which flows southward, turns -at Cape Look-out and flows in a northerly direction. At this -Cape, which is the apex of the current, besides many rocks -on which the waves break, there are twenty islands, some of -them of considerable size. This promontory, which has been -of great importance to navigators for more than 200 years, -is erroneously represented in the charts I have seen. Many -ships, therefore, have been wrecked at this place, chiefly those of -the Spitzbergen whalers and sealers, who base their sailing on -making this headland, though they are ignorant of its exact -geographical position. Thrice we tried at the beginning of -August to reach the Stor-Fiord from the western side of Cape -Look-out, and thrice we were driven back by this current, -though the wind was in our favour. This, however, gave us an -opportunity we had not expected, of seeing something of the -west coast of Spitzbergen with its fiords and glaciers as far as -Horn Sound. A fog, as dense as coal smoke, floats almost -always over “Hornsundstind” (4,500 ft. high) and the pyramid -of Haytand. The slopes, clothed in dull green, running down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -to the coast, make Spitzbergen seem scarcely an Arctic land -when compared with the cold grandeur of Greenland. The -rocky shores of the northern parts of Norway are more -dreary, and wear more the aspect of Arctic regions than -Spitzbergen. Hence General Sabine, comparing Spitzbergen -with Greenland, called it “a true paradise.”</p> - -<p>12. On the 10th of August the ice began to move out -from the Stor-Fiord. It pushed on with great velocity from -the north-east, turned round Cape Look-out, and deposited -itself along the west coast, covering it with thick layers in -sixteen hours. On the 12th of the month, in consequence -of the fog and strong current, we found ourselves between -the heavy drift-ice and the reefs of Cape Look-out. According -to our reckoning we should have been twenty-five miles -to the east of it. It was only by boldly charging the drift-ice, -with the vessel under full sail, that the <i>Isbjörn</i> escaped -the danger of being beset. On the 13th the wind chopped -round, and, standing away to the south, we succeeded, after -cruising about for ten days, in running into Wyde-Jans Water. -Our involuntary detention off Cape Look-out enabled us to -land twice. During one of these visits we built a cairn, in -which we deposited a notice of the course we had steered. -The hasty survey we made enabled us to correct some very -gross errors in the maps. On the evening of the 14th we -sighted Edge Island, and cruised in the drift-ice, which was -becoming gradually more dense in that direction. Here we -fell in with two ships from Finland, engaged in the capture of -the walrus, and learnt from their skippers some particulars -concerning the state of the ice, which induced us to give up -the direct course to Cape Leigh-Smith, and to prefer coasting -along the west side of the Fiord.</p> - -<p>13. The ice was now more packed. The ship, weakened -by numerous ice-pressures and countless shocks, and making -much water, was in so bad a condition, that part of the bows -under the water-line was shattered, and some timbers of the -hull were forced in. In order to give some notion of the force -of the shocks to which we had been exposed in forcing our -course through the ice, let it suffice to say, that the iron plating -an inch thick, with which the bows had been strengthened at -Tromsoe, had been broken off like so many chips.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<p>14. Tacking up against the north wind we came, in the -night of August 16, on broken ice off Whale’s Bay, in 77° 30′ -N. Lat. The expected free coast-water was not to be found, -and the prevailing winds from the north took away any hope -of reaching Cape Leigh-Smith in less than a week. Our plan of -a boat expedition, for which three weeks would have been -necessary, from Cape Leigh-Smith to explore Gillis’ Land, -had now to be renounced; and as the southern extremity -of Stor-Fiord is generally blocked up at the end of August -by an accumulation of ice brought from the east, we were -constrained to leave the fiord at once, and return to the -ice-barrier we had left.</p> - -<p>15. The geological formation of the western coast of this -fiord has never been explored. From a visit to the land and -the ascent of a mountain 2,000 feet high, we learnt some -interesting facts concerning its Jurassic formation, which -appeared to extend far to the south. We found traces, at -some distance apart, of the more recent brown coal, and -fossil remains (Bivalves in ferruginous chalk-marl); we -gathered also some plants still in flower, and brought away -some red snow. This excursion enabled us also to examine -the beautifully-developed glaciers of Spitzbergen. Hornsundstind -(4,500 feet high) is a most imposing mountain, and -viewed from the east resembles a sugar-loaf. The other -mountains on the coast of the fiord rise to heights varying -from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. Noble glaciers slope down both -sides of the main ridge, which runs in a southerly direction -through the island. Some of these, when they reach the sea, -are three or four miles wide, and their terminal fronts are -about 80 feet high. The snow-line of those which debouch -on the Stor-Fiord is at an altitude of 1,000 feet, and their -surface is little broken by crevasses. None of these glaciers -are of sufficient size to shed icebergs, properly speaking. -The sea close to the coast is shallow, and the detachments -from the glaciers are merely larger or smaller blocks -of ice.</p> - -<p>16. On the evening of August 16, sailing before the wind, -we forced our way through the ice of the Stor-Fiord, and two -days afterwards arrived at Hope Island, the steep, rocky walls -of which rose out of the fog just as we were close under it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -We found the icebergs still firmly grounded, precisely as we -had observed them three weeks before. As an unusually -strong current was running towards the south-west at the rate -of two miles an hour, great caution was needed when we -landed in the whale-boat amid rocks and cliffs not marked -on any chart. The geological formation of the island was -identical with that of the mountainous region on the south of -Whale’s Bay. We found brown coal, but the shortness of our -visit did not permit us to inspect the beds of it. Drift-wood -of Siberian larch and pine lay in great quantities on the -shore.</p> - -<p>17. It was surprising to observe the change which meanwhile -had taken place; the ice both to the west and east of -us had disappeared. We were eager to find it, and again -penetrated as far as possible into it. We tacked about on -the 19th, 20th, and 21st of August—the weather being stormy—with -little success against the north wind, which had -prevailed for some weeks. A current from the north drove -us constantly southwards. After leaving the Stor-Fiord the -temperature of the water exceeded the temperature of the -air. On the 22nd of August, in 76° 45′ N. Lat. and 28° 30′ -E. Long. we found very little drift-ice, which standing out but -a few inches above the water-level presented no impediment -to navigation. Nothing but contrary winds stood in the way -of our penetrating in a northerly direction, except, indeed, -the doubts and fears raised by our skipper and his crew at -our attempting higher latitudes at so late a period of the -year. König Karl’s Land lay only forty miles to the north—still -invisible on account of the mists. Fresh traces of Polar -bears announced the neighbourhood of land. We therefore -bore away to the east in 32° E. Long. on the 24th of August—the -day on which the sun set for the first time. The number -of icebergs constantly increased from this date, while some -weeks previously, in the same region, we had scarcely seen -one. This, perhaps, is to be explained from the fact, that -their appearance is irregular, depending on the varying movement -of the glaciers, and also on the time and manner in -which the icebergs clear out from the bays and fiords. On -the 26th we had stormy weather, rain, and snow. On the -27th, amid a dense fog, and with the sea running high, we came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -close to an iceberg, against which the sea was dashing itself -in foam and spray, just in time to avert a collision. On the -29th of August we perceived that the ship had been carried -1° 30′ eastward in a short time by a current. The further we -sailed in this easterly direction, the further northward the ice -retreated, and we began to hope that we should come nearer -the Pole than any ship ever had in this sea. The southern -limit of the ice-barrier in the Novaya Zemlya seas, towards -the end of summer, is usually placed at 76° N. Lat., but we -had reached 78° N. Lat., with 42° E. Long., without seeing -(August 30th) a fragment of ice. The <i>Isbjörn</i> had, therefore, -penetrated 100 miles in seas hitherto unknown. There was -still a long heavy swell from the north, but the temperature of -the water had fallen 4½° within twenty-four hours, and it was -no longer of an ultramarine, but of a dirty green colour; so -that, notwithstanding the sanguine expectations we had -cherished, we expected every moment to come on pack-ice. -Already, too, the “ice-blink” was visible here and there on -the horizon.</p> - -<p>18. Whales, secure from persecution in this remote sea, -seemed to abound; we saw many “blowing” and spouting. -They came sometimes in pairs close to the ship. Their chase -and capture might have been carried on here with every hope -of success. On the morning of the 31st of August we saw -six Eider-geese, the precursors of near land. A blue shadow -on the eastern sky arrested the attention of us all for a long -time. We felt as if we were on the brink of great discoveries. -But, alas! the supposed land dissolved into mist. The poverty -of our equipment prevented us from penetrating further. -We might easily have been driven onwards by unknown -currents, and the ice closing behind us might have cut off -return to Europe. We could not be assured that we had not -come upon a bight, or <i>cul-de-sac</i>, stretching far to the north, -and which might quickly change its character. On the night -of August 31, in 78° N. Lat., the ice lay in some places loose -and widely dispersed, in others it was more compact, but -nowhere was it in great masses; it scarcely rose above the -horizon, and it was entirely without icebergs. There was -nothing to prevent a vessel with steam power from penetrating -further.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p> - -<p>19. Still following the ice-barrier as it retreated northwards, -we passed beyond 78° 30′ N. Lat. in the night of August 31. -The influence of the high latitudes we had reached, on the -duration of light, was unmistakable. For some days, however, -the temperature had fallen below 32° F., a coating of snow lay -on the deck, and the rigging was covered with ice like glass. -The morning of the 1st of September broke; about half-past -three o’clock fresh breezes from the north drove off the -mist, and revealed one of those pictures peculiar to the high -north from its dazzling effects of colour—the beams of the -sun in glowing splendour were piercing through heavy masses -of clouds, while the moon shone on the opposite side of the -heavens. An ice-blink resembling an Aurora lay on the -north.</p> - -<p>20. We had reached 78° 38′ N. Lat., and yet the ice around -us presented no serious impediment—none at least as far as -we could see. Should we then venture further with our ship -in its weakened condition? We might still follow up an -opening within the ice running northward, though, in doing -this, we should expend the time needed for the exploration of -the eastward-lying Novaya Zemlya seas. We determined -therefore to bear away to the east before some currents of -loose drift-ice. But fog and a high sea from the north-west -caused us to alter our course more and more to the south-east. -For the first time in these high latitudes we observed drift-wood, -and we found ourselves in a sea, the temperature of -which at the surface did not materially exceed the temperature -of the air. Whenever, however, the temperature of -the air rose, a thaw suddenly set in. The colour of the sea -alternated between blue and a dull green. A few days -previously we had passed over a sea extraordinarily rich in -the ribbed Medusæ (Beroë), and where the Rorqual (whale) -abounded.</p> - -<p>21. The great question now arose, whether the open water -found in these high latitudes were only an accidental bight in -the ice or a connected sea. It seemed bold to assume the -latter, since 76° 30′ N. Lat. had never before been passed in -that region. In order, therefore, to arrive at some positive -conclusion on this point, we stood away from the ice at noon -of the 1st of September, and ran down in open water to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -75° 52′ N. Lat. and 51° 44′ E. Long., intending to return to -the north again, in order to explore the state of the ice -to the north-east. Overcoming with much difficulty the -opposition of our skipper, we returned to the edge of the ice, -which we found, September 5th, in 78° 5′ N. Lat. and 56° E. -Long. Though there was not much wind, a high sea running -on the ice compelled us to leave it. In our course to the -south-east we crossed 77° 30′ N. Lat. and 59° E. Long.; here, -also, to the south of 78°, there was no ice. To penetrate -further to the east formed no part of our plan, and since -another attempt to return to the ice would have been objectless, -for the reasons above stated, we proposed to run into a -bight on the west coast of Novaya Zemlya to take in fuel and -water, which we urgently needed. The longer nights now -made it almost impossible to manœuvre a ship in the ice -when the winds were high, though a good steamer might have -persisted for some time longer. The temperature of the sea -on the 5th of September was 39° F. in Lat. 77° 30′, and on -the 8th of the month, when we were in sight of Cape Nassau, -it reached 41° F.</p> - -<p>22. Storms compelled us to keep to sea. As a current -constantly set us to the north-east, we found it not possible -to land on Novaya Zemlya, scarcely even to see it. On the -night of September 12th we came into the region where the -equatorial and Polar air-currents meet, and had an opportunity -of observing the hurricane-like effects of their conjunction. -The barometer fell about two inches, and the sea was so -broken that the ship could hardly be steered, even with a fresh -wind. On September 14th we were off Matoschkin Schar, -and could not anchor, a snow-storm from the north-east completely -hiding the coast. The change, which meantime had -taken place in the sky, was strange and remarkable. Heavy -thunder-clouds lay over our heads, just as they do in the -region of the trade-winds, and every moment threatened to -discharge themselves. On the 13th of September we saw the -first Aurora, in the shape of an arch, passing through, our -zenith. The want of fuel and water, from which we began to -suffer, and the end of the season for navigation, compelled us -to avail ourselves of the favourable wind which had set in, -and begin our voyage home, without landing on Novaya<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -Zemlya. On this same day three of our crew of seven men -fell ill, one of them with scurvy. A heavy storm from the -north-east compelling us to heave to, we lay close under the -coast of Lapland for a whole day. On the 20th of September -we ran into Tana Fiord on the east of North Cape, the most -northerly point of Europe, and took in water. The gloomy -cliffs of Tanahorn and the rocky iron-bound coasts were not -at all behind the lands we had left in their terrible desolation. -On the 24th of August the <i>Isbjörn</i> passed North Cape; on the -4th of October she anchored in Tromsoe. Weyprecht had -remained on board while, with a Lapland sailor who could -speak Norwegian, I left the ship in Tana Fiord and went on -to Tromsoe through Lapland, sometimes by means of a -small boat on the shallow rivers and sometimes by means of -reindeer sledges.</p> - -<p>23. It had formed no part of our plan, either to make -discoveries, or to reach high latitudes. Our object was to -investigate whether the Novaya Zemlya seas offered greater -facilities, either from the influence of the Gulf Stream, or -from any other causes, for penetrating the unexplored Polar -regions. Many arguments, derived from the scientific results -of our voyage, would seem to favour this idea, and in contradiction -to the discouraging views of our predecessors, -whose failures are explained by their defective equipment and -the choice of the most unfavourable season for navigation, we -ventured to draw the following inferences:</p> - -<p>(1.) The Novaya Zemlya Sea is not filled with impenetrable -ice, rendering navigation impossible; on the contrary, it is -open every year, probably up to 78° of N. Lat., and is connected -with the Sea of Kara, which is also free from ice in -autumn, and even, it may be, with the “Polynjii,” in the -North of Asia. If this inference should not be admitted, the -following remarks of Lieutenant Weyprecht, in anticipation of -objections, are put forward as worthy of consideration:—“In -all probability the open condition of the ice in 1871 will be -ascribed to chance, or to an especially favourable ice-year. -With respect to the latter alternative, the accounts given by -the walrus-hunters of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya -should convince us, that the year 1871 was not only not a -favourable, but a most unfavourable year in the ice. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -almost impossible to navigate Wyde-Jans Water, and the Sea -of Kara could only be reached through the most southerly -straits—the Jugorsky Straits. There remains, therefore, only -the other objection, that the accident of favourable winds was -the cause of our penetrating so far. But our meteorological -journal shows North, or at any rate Northerly winds, and -often, too, blowing freshly, from August 4th to September 5th, -with the exception of twelve watches, <i>i.e.</i> two days. But in -no case could these winds have driven the ice to the north. -With respect to the loose character of the ice we encountered, -it might be said, that we saw only the outer ice. But, in the -first place, we were often so far within the barrier that it -would be inadmissible to speak of it as the outer ice; and, in -the second place, the ice-barrier shows the state of the ice -behind it. Whenever the wind lies against the ice, there the -ice is always the most dense and packed, and we find open -places only when we have worked our way through the outer -ice.”</p> - -<p>(2.) The time most favourable for navigation in this sea -falls at the end of August, and lasts—though rendered -hazardous by storms, the formation of young ice, and the -darkness which supervenes at that season—till the end of -September, and during this period the ice may be said to be -at its minimum.</p> - -<p>(3.) The Novaya Zemlya Sea is a shallow sea—a connection -and continuation of the great plains of Siberia. In the -extreme north, its depth was 600 feet, and south-east of Gillis’ -Land about 300 feet.</p> - -<p>(4.) Gillis’ Land is not a continent, but either an island or -a group of islands. Whereas, from the circumstance that in -the highest latitudes—in 79° N. Lat.—we found drift-wood -covered with mud, sea-weed, creatures which live only near -the land, decreasing depths of the sea, sweet-water ice and -icebergs laden with dirt, it may be inferred, with great probability, -that there exist masses of land to the north-east of -Gillis’ Land.</p> - -<p>(5.) The appearance of Siberian drift-wood, only in the -most northern seas reached in our voyage, seems to point to -an easterly current there.</p> - -<p>(6.) The Russian expeditions in the past and present<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -centuries, which attempted to penetrate by the north-west -coast of Novaya Zemlya, miscarried, because they sailed -before the favourable season for navigation, and also because -they had not the advantage of steam.</p> - -<p>(7.) How far the Gulf Stream has any share or influence in -the favourable conditions for the navigation of the Eastern -Polar Sea which have been described, cannot as yet be -positively determined. The state of the ice, the observations -which were made on the temperature of the sea, its colour -and the animal life found in it, seem to speak in favour of the -action of this current in that region. It is possible that the -Gulf Stream may exercise its culminating influence on the -west coast of Novaya Zemlya only at the beginning of -September; for while the temperature of the sea in the -months of July and August gradually fell from 45° F. to 36° -F. in Lat. 75° N., and to zero and below it, still more to the -north, we observed 39° F., September 6, in Lat. 78°, and 41° -F., September 10, in Lat. 75° 30′. The temperature of the -air was in all these cases considerably less than that of the -water. If the unusually favourable state of the ice on the -east of Spitzbergen should be ascribed to warm southerly -currents of air, it may be replied that our observations specify -the almost uninterrupted occurrence of north winds. It is -also possible, that at the beginning and middle of summer -the Gulf Stream may move slowly in a northerly direction -along the coasts of Novaya Zemlya, and that towards autumn -it spreads itself more and more to the west. Our observations -proved the existence, in the eastern Novaya Zemlya seas, of a -band of warm water, from thirty-six to forty feet deep, -beneath which lies, without gradation, a colder stratum. It is -evident that the unequal density of these strata prevents -their mingling. This band of warmer water near North Cape -is about 150 feet deep, with a temperature of nearly 45° F., -but diminishes as it flows northward. The frequency of fogs -and mists in the Novaya Zemlya Sea, and the squalls unknown -to other Arctic regions, which are characteristic of a -more southerly region, indicate also a current of warm water. -How this warm current gradually cools towards the north, -and becomes shallower, and how distinctly it divides into -those strata of water of equal temperature, so characteristic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -of the Gulf Stream, is shown by three series of observations -taken by Weyprecht at different latitudes, with the maximum -and minimum thermometer of Casella:—</p> - -<table summary="Weyprecht’s observations"> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">72° 30′ lat., 44° long.</td> - <td colspan="3" class="bl">77° 26′ lat., 44° long.</td> - <td colspan="3" class="bl">76° 40′ lat., 55° long.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">12 to 114′</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>4·8° C.</td> - <td class="tdr bl">6′ to 30′</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>2·2° C.</td> - <td class="tdr bl">6′ to 39′</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>2·5° C.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">144</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>2·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">36</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>1·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">48</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>1·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">174</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>2·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">45</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>0·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">204</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>1·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>0·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">72</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">234</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>1·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">75</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·9</td> - <td class="tdr bl">90</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">264</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>1·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">90</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">120</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">294</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>0·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">120</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">360</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>0·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">300</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">450</td> - <td class="center">+</td> - <td>0·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">360</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">600</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>0·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">800</td> - <td class="center">-</td> - <td>1·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="center"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>24. These inferences rendered the despatch of a well-equipped -expedition to the Novaya Zemlya seas very desirable, -either to penetrate towards the north, or to pursue the -direction of the north-east passage. To this idea a most -gracious reception was given by the Emperor of Austria. -Hence arose the Austro-Hungarian expedition of 1872. The -promoters of this undertaking assumed neither the existence -of an open Polar Sea, nor the possibility of reaching the Pole -by sledge or boat expeditions. Their object, simply and -broadly stated, was the exploration of the still unknown -Arctic regions, and it was their belief, that a vessel could -penetrate further into this region by the route between -Novaya Zemlya and Spitzbergen, where the <i>Isbjörn</i> in her -pioneer voyage found the ice more loose and navigable than -had been imagined possible. But in addition to the causes -already specified, the influence of the warm currents, produced -by the great rivers of Siberia discharging themselves -into a shallow sea, was also supposed to co-operate in producing -this phenomenon. Of these rivers, the Obi and Jenisej -alone discharge into that shallow sea a body of water as great -as the waters of the Mediterranean or the waters of the -Mississippi. The course of the current produced by these -mighty rivers is as yet unknown; but it was natural to -suppose, that old and heavy pack-ice could not be formed on -a coast submitted to such an influence. This is confirmed by -the observations of the Russians, who in the coldest period of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -the year always find open water in the Siberian seas. Middendorf, -August 26, 1844, found the Gulf of Taimyr quite -free from ice; our own observations, made in 60° E. Long., and -those of the Norwegian Mack, who advanced to 81° E. Long. -(75° 45′ N. Lat.), support the supposition of a still navigable -sea. Of the region between Cape Tscheljuskin and the ice-free -spaces asserted to exist by Wrangel, and others, we know -but little; but it is probable that the character of the ice in -those seas does not greatly differ from the character of the ice -in contiguous seas. Of the seas between Novaya Zemlya and -Behring’s Straits, at the distance of a few miles from the -Asiatic coast, nothing is known. No ship has ever navigated -this enormous Eastern Polar Sea.</p> - -<p>25. It was the plan of the Austro-Hungarian expedition to -penetrate in an E.N.E. direction, in the latter half of August, -when the north coast of Novaya Zemlya is generally free -from ice. The places at which the expedition was to winter -were left undetermined; these might, possibly, be Cape -Tscheljuskin, the new Siberian islands, or any lands which -might be discovered. A return to Europe through Behring’s -Straits, however improbable it might be, lay among the possibilities -of the venture. Minor details were left to circumstances. -In the event of the loss of the ship, the expedition -was to endeavour to reach the coast of Siberia by boats, and, -on one of the gigantic water-courses of Northern Asia, penetrate -into more southern regions. The depôt of provisions -and coals which it was Graf Wilczek’s intention to deposit on -the north coast of Novaya Zemlya, was to be the nearest -refuge for the crew in the event of disaster to the ship. Stone -cairns were to be erected on all prominent localities, and in -these were to be laid accounts of the course of the expedition. -Till its return at the end of the autumn of 1874, its members -were to be cut off from all intercourse with Europe. The -motives of an undertaking so long and so laborious cannot be -found in the mere love of distinction or of adventure. Next -to the wish to serve the interests of science by going beyond -the footsteps of our predecessors, we were influenced by the -duty of confirming and fulfilling the hopes which we ourselves -had excited.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_III">VOYAGE OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</h2> - -<p class="center larger"><i>JUNE, 1872-SEPTEMBER, 1874.</i></p> - -<p class="center">I.</p> - -<p class="center">FROM BREMERHAVEN TO KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">FROM BREMERHAVEN TO TROMSOE.</span></h3> - -<p>1. He who seeks to penetrate the recesses of the Polar world -chooses a path beset with toils and dangers. The explorer of -that region has to devote every energy of mind and body to -extort a slender fragment of knowledge from the silence and -mystery of the realm of ice. He must be prepared to confront -disappointments and disasters with inexhaustible patience, -and pursue devotedly his object, even when he himself becomes -the sport of accident. That object must not be the admiration -of men, but the extension of the domain of knowledge. He -spends long years in the most dreadful of all banishments, -far from his friends, from all the enjoyments of life, surrounded -by manifold perils, and bearing the burden of utter loneliness. -The grandeur therefore of his object can alone support him,—for -otherwise the dreary void of things without can only be -an image of the void within. How many are the preconceptions -with which the novice begins the voyage to the rugged, -inclement north! Books can tell him little of the stern life -to which he dooms himself, as soon as he crosses the threshold -of the ice, thinking perhaps to measure the evils that await -him by the physical miseries of cold instead of by the moral -deprivations in store for him.</p> - -<p>2. In the year 1868, while employed on the survey of the -Orteler Alps, a newspaper with an account of Koldewey’s -first expedition one day found its way into my tent on the -mountain side. In the evening I held forth on the North -Pole to the herdsmen and <i>Jägers</i> of my party as we sat -round the fire, no one more filled with astonishment than -myself, that there should be men endued with such capacity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -to endure cold and darkness. No presentiment had I then -that the very next year I should myself have joined an -expedition to the North Pole; and as little could Haller, one -of my <i>Jägers</i> at that time, foresee that he would accompany -me on my third expedition. And much the same was it with -the three-and-twenty men who early in the morning of June -13, 1872, came on board the vessel in Bremerhaven, to cast -in their lot with the ship <i>Tegetthoff</i>, whatever that lot might be; -for we had all bound ourselves by a formal deed, renouncing -every claim to an expedition for our rescue, in case we should -be unable to return. Our ideal aim was the north-east passage, -our immediate and definite object was the exploration of the -seas and lands on the north-east of Novaya Zemlya.</p> - -<p>3. A bright day rose with us, and no augur’s voice could -have heightened the glad hopes which animated every one of -us. Friends from Austria and Germany had come to bid us a -last farewell; but, as every venture should be, so our departure -that morning was, quiet and without pretension. About six -o’clock in the morning the <i>Tegetthoff</i> lifted her anchor and -dropped down the Schleusen and the Weser, towed by a -steamer. Down the broad stream we calmly glided, full of -satisfaction at the fulfilment of long-cherished plans. There -lay the same pastures, the same trees and meadows which -had so delighted us on our return from Greenland. Yet unmoved -we saw all the charms of nature grow young under the -morning sun and then fade away in the evening twilight—as -the land gradually disappeared behind us, and the coasts of -Germany were lost to view. With the feeling that we were -leaving them for so long a time, our thoughts turned to our -new life in the narrow limits of a ship, and the resolve to live -and labour in harmony animated each breast. How often we -should be liable to casualties which no eye could foresee, we -were soon to find out, when in almost dead calm and without -steam we came on the shallow waters of Heligoland. What -would have become of the expedition, had we not discovered -in time, that we had only a few feet of water under the keel!</p> - -<p>4. The vessel, 220 tons burden, was fitted out for two years -and a half, but was over-freighted by about thirty tons, so -that our available space was much curtailed. Yet the cabin, -which Weyprecht, Brosch, Orel, Kepes, Krisch, and I occupied,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -was far more commodious than the miserable hole in which -eight of us had been crowded together on our Greenland -expedition. Our supply of coals, 130 tons, was large in proportion -to the size of the ship, being calculated not only for -our daily wants, but to enable us to keep up steam for about -sixty days. But to economise this store we used our sails, as -much as possible, even in the ice. Both ship and engine—of -100 horse power—tested in the trial trip of June 8, sustained -their character during the expedition, and did great credit to -the Tecklenborg firm.</p> - -<p>5. The wind being unfavourable, it took us some time to -cross the North Sea and reach the coast of Norway. My -journal describes this part of our voyage. “Light winds from -the south carried the <i>Tegetthoff</i> on her lonely course over the -North Sea. In undimmed brightness the blue sky stretched -overhead, the air was balmy and mild. In the grey distance -frowns the iron rampart of countless cliffs encircling the -barren wastes of Norway. Occasionally a sea-gull comes near -us, or some bird rests on the mast-head; now and then a sail -is seen on the horizon,—but save this, no life—no event. -Every one feels, though no one utters it, that a grave future -lies before him; each may hope what he wishes, for over the -future there is drawn an impenetrable veil. All, however, are -animated with the consciousness, that while serving science, we -are also serving our Fatherland, and that all our doings will -be watched at home with the liveliest sympathy.</p> - -<p>6. “On board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> are heard all the languages of -our country, German, Italian, Slavonic, and Hungarian; -Italian, however, is the language in which all orders are given. -The crew is lighthearted and merry: in the evening a gentle -breeze carries the lively songs of the Italians over the blue -sea, glowing under the midnight sun, or the monotonous -cadence of the <i>Ludro</i> of the Dalmatians recalls the sunny home -which they are so soon to exchange for its very opposite, -which remains a sort of mystery to all their powers of fancy. -Thus begins so peacefully our long voyage into the frozen -ocean of the north. In a few weeks the ice will grate on the -bows of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, the crystal icebergs will surround her, -and with many a strain will the good ship force her way -through the icy wastes, sometimes inclosed on every side,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -sometimes free in coast-water, or threatened by the ‘ice-blink’ -foreboding danger.”</p> - -<p>7. The officers and crew of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> amounted in all -to twenty-four souls.</p> - -<ul> -<li>Lieutenant Carl Weyprecht, }</li> -<li>Lieutenant Julius Payer, } <i>Commanders of the Expedition.</i></li> -<li>Lieutenant Gustav Brosch,<a name="FNanchor_14" id="FNanchor_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> }</li> -<li>Midshipman Edward Orel, } <i>Officers of the Ship.</i></li> -<li>Dr. Julius Kepes, <i>Physician to the Expedition</i>.</li> -<li>Otto Krisch, <i>Engineer</i>.</li> -<li>Pietro Lusina,<a name="FNanchor_15" id="FNanchor_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> <i>Boatswain</i>.</li> -<li>Antonio Vecerina, <i>Carpenter</i>.</li> -<li>Josef Pospischill, <i>Stoker</i>.</li> -<li>Johann Orasch, <i>Cook</i>.</li> -<li>Johann Haller, }</li> -<li>Alexander Klotz, } <i>Jägers</i>, from Tyrol.</li> -<li>Antonio Zaninovich, <i>Seaman</i>.</li> -<li>Antonio Catarinich, ditto.</li> -<li>Antonio Scarpa, ditto.</li> -<li>Antonio Lukinovich, ditto.</li> -<li>Giuseppe Latkovich, ditto.</li> -<li>Pietro Fallesich, ditto.</li> -<li>George Stiglich, ditto.</li> -<li>Vincenzo Palmich, ditto.</li> -<li>Lorenzo Marola, ditto.</li> -<li>Francesco Lettis, ditto.</li> -<li>Giacomo Sussich, ditto.</li> -<li>Captain Olaf Carlsen, <i>Icemaster and Harpooner</i>.</li> -<li>We had eight dogs on board; two we got in Lapland, the rest were brought from Vienna.</li> -</ul> - -<p>8. Stormy weather detained us for some time among the -Loffoden Isles, so that we made Tromsoe only on July 3. -Here we were received most courteously by the Austro-Hungarian -Consul, Aagaard, who invited us to a banquet. -We remained here a week, in order to complete our equipment. -The ship, which had leaked considerably ever since we -left Bremerhaven, was thoroughly examined by divers, the -stores were landed, the ship repaired and reladen. Our supply -of coals was replenished, a Norwegian whale-boat added to -our equipment, and, lastly, the harpooner, Captain Olaf<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -Carlsen, was taken on board. On July 6 we received our last -news from Austria, letters and newspapers. The Ukase -granted by the Russian Government also arrived, drawn up -both for Weyprecht and myself in case of our being separated, -a document of great importance, if the ship should be lost -and we had to return through Siberia; an issue only too probable -when the vast length and enormous difficulties of the -north-east passage were considered. While Lieutenant -Weyprecht was engaged in stopping the leak of the ship, -some of us ascended—a Lapp of the name of Dilkoa being -our guide—a pinnacle of rock, 4,000 feet high, towering over -Tromsoe’s labyrinth of fiords, in order to compare our aneroid -and mercurial barometers. From the summit we beheld an -enormous dark column of smoke rising perpendicularly to the -height of about 1,500 feet in the still air—the northern extremity -of Tromsoe was in flames. Most gladly would we -have learned something of the state of the ice this year; but -as yet this was impracticable, for none of the walrus hunters -had returned from their grounds in the north.</p> - -<p>9. On the morning of Saturday, July 13, officers and crew -heard mass from a French priest, and bidding adieu to our -Tromsoe friends, we left the quiet little city, the most -northerly of Europe, early on Sunday morning. The passengers -of the Hamburg mail steamer, entering the harbour -as we left it, greeted us with loud and long cheers, and steaming -through the narrow Grötsound, close under the cliffs of -Sandoe and Rysoe we came into the open sea, Captain -Carlsen acting as our pilot. As we issued from the <i>Scheeren</i>, -a mist arose which covered and obscured the huge rock of -Fingloe. Here the engine fires were put out and the sails set, -and the first and last voyage, which the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was destined -to make, began. On July 15 we steered towards the -north, the Norwegian coast with its many glaciers in full -view, and on the 16th we sighted the North Cape in the blue -distance.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">ON THE FROZEN OCEAN.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Unfavourable winds had hindered our progress for some -days; we now encountered heavy seas. On July 23 a sudden -fall of the temperature and dirty rainy weather told us that we -were close to the ice, which we expected to find later and -much more to the northward, and on the evening of July 25, -lat. 74° 0′ 15″ N., we actually sighted it, the thermometer -marking 32·5° F., and 34·5° F. in the sea. The northerly -winds, which had prevailed for some time had broken up the -ice, and it lay before us in long loose lines. Its outer boundary -was consequently the very opposite of those solid walls of ice -which we met with in Greenland in 1869, and two years -afterwards on the east of Spitzbergen. Though surprised at -finding the ice so far to the south, we never imagined that -this was anything but a collection of floes, which had drifted -out perhaps from the Sea of Kara through the Straits of -Matotschkin. But only too soon the conviction was forced -upon us that we were already within the Frozen Ocean, and -that navigation in the year 1872 was to differ widely from -that of the preceding year. Lieutenant Weyprecht had the -day before fastened “the crow’s nest” to the mainmast of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i>, and henceforth it became the abode of the officer -of the watch. On July 26, while steering in a north-easterly -direction, the ice became closer, though it was still navigable; -but we nowhere saw the heavy fields which had astonished us -on the east coast of Greenland, and which Lütke found to be -so dangerous to navigation. The temperature of the air and -the sea fell rapidly, and during the two following weeks it -remained below the freezing point almost uniformly, and -without any essential difference between day and night.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus3"> -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">STILL LIFE IN THE FROZEN OCEAN.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - -<p>2. The frozen sea of Novaya Zemlya is characterized by -that inconstancy of weather which in our lower latitudes we -attribute to the month of April; the same variability is met -with, though in lesser degree, in the Greenland seas during the -summer months. Snowstorms now alternated with the most -glorious blue skies. The black-bulbed thermometer showed -113° F. in the sun, with 39° F. in the shade. The hunting -season began, and the kitchen was well provided with auks -and seals. Our Dalmatians soon learnt to like the dark flesh -of the latter.</p> - -<p>3. The ice gradually became closer; July 29 (74° 44′ N. -Lat., 52° 8′ E. Long.) we were able to continue our course -only under steam, and heavy shocks were henceforward inevitable; -in many cases the vessel could not force a passage -except by charging the ice. In the night a vast, apparently -impenetrable barrier stopped our progress; but the tactics -of charging under steam again cleared a passage, and we -penetrated into a larger “ice-hole.” We now glided along -over the shining surface of its waters, as if we were navigating -an inland lake, save that no copsewood clothed the -shores, but pale blocks of ice, which the mist, that now -fell and enveloped us, transformed into the most fantastic -shapes, and at last into mere shapelessness itself. In all that -surrounded us neither form nor colour was discernible; faint -shadows floated within the veil of mist, and our path seemed -to lead no whither. A few hours before the glowing fire of -the noonday sun had lain on the mountain wastes of Novaya -Zemlya, while refraction raised its long coast high above the -icy horizon. Nowhere does a sudden change in Nature -exercise so immediate an effect on the mind as in the -Frozen Ocean, where, too, all that brings delight proceeds -from the sun.</p> - -<p>4. For some days we had entered into a world utterly -strange to most of us on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>. Dense mists -frequently enveloped us, and from out of the mantle of snow -of the distant land the rocks, like decayed battlements, -frowned on us inhospitably. There is no more melancholy -sound than that which accompanies the decay and waste of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -the ice, as it is constantly acted on by the sea and thaw, and no -picture more sad and solemn than the continuous procession -of icebergs floating like huge white biers towards the south. -Ever and anon there rises the noise of the ocean swell breaking -amongst the excavations of the ice-floes, while the water -oozing out from their icy walls falls with monotonous sound -into the sea; or perhaps a mass of snow, deprived of its -support, drops into the waves, to disappear in them with a -hissing sound as of a flame. Never for a moment ceases -the crackling and snapping sound produced by the bursting -of the external portions of the ice. Magnificent cascades -of thaw-water precipitate themselves down the sides of the -icebergs, which sometimes rend with a noise as of thunder as -the beams of the sun play on them. The fall of the titanic -mass raises huge volumes of foam, and the sea-birds, which -had rested on its summit in peaceful confidence, rise with -terrified screams, soon to gather again on another ice-colossus.</p> - -<p>5. But what a change, when the sun, surrounded by glowing -cirrus clouds, breaks through the mist, and the blue of the -heavens gradually widens out! The masses of vapour, as they -well up, recede to the horizon, and the cold ice-floes become -in the sunlight dark borders to the “leads” which gleam -between them, on the trembling surface of which the midnight -sun is mirrored. Where the rays of the sun do not directly -fall on it, the ice is suffused with a faint rosy haze, which -deepens more and more as the source of light nears the -horizon. Then the sunbeams fall drowsily and softly, as -through a veil of orange gauze, all forms lose at a little -distance their definition, the shadows become fainter and -fainter, and all nature assumes a dreamy aspect. In calm -nights the air is so mild that we forget we are in the home -of ice and snow. A deep ultramarine sky stretches over all, -and the outlines of the ice and the land tremble on the glassy -surface of the water. If we pull in a boat over the unmoved -mirror of the “ice-holes,” close beside us a whale may emerge -from its depths, like a black shining mountain; if a ship -penetrates into the waste, it looks as weird as the “Flying -Dutchman,” and the dense columns of smoke, which rise in -eddies from her funnel, remain fixed for hours until they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -gradually melt away. When the sun sinks at midnight to -the edge of the horizon, then all life becomes dumb, and the -icebergs, the rocks, the glaciers of the land glow in a rosy, -effulgence, so that we are hardly conscious of the desolation. -The sun has reached its lowest point,—after a pause it begins -to rise, and gradually its paler beams are transformed into a -dazzling brightness. Its softly warming light dissolves the -ban under which congelation has placed nature, the icy -streams, which had ceased to run, pour down their crystal -walls. The animal creation only still enjoys its rest; the -polar-bear continues to repose behind some wall of ice, and -flocks of sea-gulls and divers sit round the edge of a floe, -calmly sleeping, with their heads under their wings. Not a -sound is to be heard, save, perhaps, the measured flapping -of the sails of the ship in the dying breeze. At length the -head of a seal rises stealthily for some moments from out the -smooth waters; lines of auks, with the short quick beat of -their wings, whiz over the islands of ice. The mighty whale -again emerges from the depths, far and wide is heard his -snorting and blowing, which sounds like the murmurs of a -waterfall when it is distant, and like a torrent when it is -near. Day reigns once more with its brilliant light, and the -dreamy character of the spectacle is dissolved.</p> - -<p>6. We had sailed over one “ice-hole,” and again a dense -barrier of ice frowned on us; as we forced our way into it, -the ice closed in all round us—we were “beset.” The ship -was made fast to a floe, the steam blown off, its hot breath -rushing with a loud noise through the cold mist; every open -mesh in the net of water-ways was closed by the ice, which -soon lay in such thick masses around us, that any one provided -with a plank might have wandered for miles in any -direction he liked. July 30, the <i>Tegetthoff</i> remained fast in -her prison; no current of water, nor any movement among -the floes lying close to us was discernible; a dead calm -prevailed, and mist hung on every side. On the following -day we made vain efforts to break through a floe which lay -on our bows. The calm still prevailed, Aug. 1 (74° 39′ N. L. -53° E. L.), and no change was to be seen in the ice. Aug. 2, -the crew began with hearty good-will the toilsome work of -warping, but with no success, the smallness of the floes hardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -admitting of this manœuvre. In the evening of the same -day it seemed as if a fresh breeze would set us free; but after -we had gone on for a few cable-lengths, a great floe once -more barred the route, while at the same time the wind fell. -At length, when the ice became somewhat looser, we got up -the engine fires, and in the following night broke through, -under steam, a broad barrier of ice, which separated us from -the open coast-water of Novaya Zemlya. In the morning of -Aug. 3, we forced our way into coast-water, twenty miles -broad, to the north of Matotschkin Schar, and steered due -north, the mountainous coasts still in sight. A belt of -ice 105 miles broad lay behind us. The country greatly -resembled Spitzbergen, and we observed with pleasure its -picturesque glaciers and mountains rising to the height of -nearly 3,000 feet, though inconsiderable compared with the -mountains of Greenland. Far and wide not a fragment of -ice was to be seen; there was a heavy swell on, the air was -unusually warm (41° F.), in the evening rain fell, and on Aug. 4 -we had dense mists and driving snow-storms, which forced us -to keep to the west of Admiralty Peninsula. During the night -of Aug. 6, the snow-storms were heavier than before, and the -deck was quite covered. Towards the north and west very close -ice was seen, and since the temperature of the air, even with -the winds in the south-west, remained constantly below zero, -it was evident that the ice must stretch far in that direction -also. Aug. 7, we ran on the white barriers to the west of -Admiralty Peninsula, and far to the north, beyond a broad -field of ice, refraction indicated open water and showed the -forms of “Tschorny Nos” floating in the air. In the afternoon -of Aug. 8 the ice in 75° 22′ N. L. became so thick -around us that we were compelled to have recourse to steam-power; -but the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, even with this auxiliary was unable -against a head-wind to penetrate a broad strip of close ice, -and banking up our fires, we determined to wait its breaking -up. Close under the coast open water was again observed, -and in it—a Schooner! Every one now hastened to write -letters to his friends and relations, but the schooner, to which -we meant to give our letters and despatches, by running into -the heart of Gwosdarew Bay escaped the duty we had in -store for it. About half-past ten <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> the wind had fallen and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -the ice began to open out, and we were able to continue our -voyage under steam in a north-westerly direction. The sun -lay before us, the clear mirror of distant “leads” glowed with -a glorious carmine, the barriers of ice which lay between these -“leads” appeared as stripes of violet, and only our immediate -neighbourhood was pale and cold. The <i>Tegetthoff</i> laboured -through the dense accumulation of floes and about midnight -reached open water, and the steam was again blown off. -Aug. 9, we sailed in coast-water perfectly free from ice, -excepting the icebergs we encountered, some about forty -feet high. These, generally, were so numerous and so small -in size, that they were at once seen to be offshoots from -the small glaciers of Novaya Zemlya as they plunge into -the sea. Their surface was frequently covered with débris. -Loose drift-ice showed itself, Aug. 10, but the ship continued -to steer between the floes towards the north. In the forenoon -of that day we were again nearly “beset,” but happily -escaped that fate after four hours’ warping. Aug. 11, our -course was continued without impediment in a northerly -direction through the loose drift-ice. The land, from which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -we had hitherto remained distant about eight or twelve -nautical miles, now declined in height from three thousand -to fifteen hundred or a thousand feet, and quickly lost its -picturesque character. On the noon of August 12, on -account of a thick mist, we made fast to a great floe, and -were able to commence on it the training of the dogs to -drag the sledges.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus4"> -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">GWOSDAREW INLET.</p> -</div> - -<p>7. In the neighbourhood of the Pankratjew Islands, a -ship suddenly and unexpectedly appeared on the horizon, -and endeavoured to gain our attention by discharges from -a mortar, and by the hoisting of flags. How great was our -astonishment and our joy when we beheld the Austro-Hungarian -flag at the peak of the <i>Isbjörn</i>, and were able to greet -Count Wilczek, Commodore Baron Sterneck, Dr. Höfer, and -Mr. Burger half an hour afterwards on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>. -Coming from Spitzbergen in the <i>Isbjörn</i> (the ship of our precursory -expedition of 1871) they had sighted us two days before. -That in a sailing vessel, and without any sufficient equipment, -they had succeeded in following and overtaking the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, -which had penetrated so far with difficulty and by the aid of -steam was a proof both of skill and resolution. Their object -was to establish a depôt of provisions at Cape Nassau, at whatever -personal risk to themselves. About two o’clock in the -morning our guests returned to the <i>Isbjörn</i>, and both ships now -sailed in company, and without meeting any hindrance in the -ice-free coast-water, in a northerly direction. In the forenoon -of Aug. 13, in 76° 18′ N. Lat. and 61° 17′ E. Long., we came -upon closer ice, amid mist and stormy weather, and the two -ships anchored to some firm land-ice two cable-lengths from -each other, about a mile from the land. Close to the south -of us lay the Barentz Isles with their singularly formed hills, -which the walrus-hunters call by the somewhat gloomy name -of “The Three Coffins.” On our north an enormous iceberg -rose in dazzling whiteness above a faintly glimmering field -of ice, a harbinger of new countries—for its size forbade us -to think that it owed its origin to the glaciers of Novaya -Zemlya. Continuous winds from the W.S.W., close ice, -mist, downfalls of snow, the necessity of determining the -geographical position of the depôt of provisions which we -had established, compelled us to lie for eight days before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -Barentz Islands. The opportunity we thus had of putting -our feet once more on the land was exceedingly agreeable. -We made repeated visits to the shore with two dog-sledges, -in company with Professor Höfer; and as his observations -on the phenomena of the country are those of a distinguished -geologist, I here insert those he has kindly placed at -my disposal.</p> - -<p>8. “The Barentz Isles are flat, girt with cliffs, and separated -by narrow straits from the coast, which rises up terrace on -terrace. Its rocks consist of a black, very friable slate, frequently -alternating with strata of mountain limestone of -the carboniferous period, varying in breadth from one to -ten <i>metres</i>. These strata are filled with a countless number of -fossilized inhabitants of the sea, trilobites, mussels, brachiopodes, -crinoides, corals, &c., which are utterly foreign to the Frozen -Ocean as it now is, and whose cognates live only in warm -seas.</p> - -<p>9. “The animal world, therefore, buried in the limestone -of these islands, is an indisputable proof that there was once, -in these high latitudes, a warm sea, which could not possibly -co-exist with such great glaciers as those which now immerse -themselves in the seas of Novaya Zemlya. That portion -of the earth, now completely dead and buried in ice, once -knew <i>a period of luxuriant life</i>. In its sea there revelled a -world of life, manifold and beautiful in its forms, while the -land, as the discoveries on Bear Island and Spitzbergen -prove, was crowded with gigantic palm-like ferns. This age of -the earth’s history is called the carboniferous period; it was -the rich and fertile youth of the high north, which lived out -its time more rapidly than the southern zones, now in all their -vigour and variety. If we compare the Fauna buried in the -chalk formations of the Barentz Isles, with the contemporaneous -Fauna which we know from the carboniferous formation -of Russia, specially that of the Ural, we find a very -remarkable agreement, not only in their general character, -but also in particular organisms. Many of the fossils of the -carboniferous limestone of these high degrees of latitude -(76°-77°) are found in analogous strata of the Ural, and are -proved by the researches of Russian geologists to exist there -as far as the fiftieth degree of latitude. Without stopping to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -insist on the great similarity between the stratification of -Novaya Zemlya and the Ural—the former being the real -continuation of the latter—we dwell here on the fact that in -the carboniferous period there was a sea which stretched -from the fiftieth to the seventy-seventh degree of north latitude, -<i>i.e.</i> twenty-seven degrees, or 405 geographical miles, which -was animated by the same Fauna, and which consequently -must have presented the same relations, especially a like -warm temperature. From these signs it would appear that -the zones of climate now so decisively marked on the surface -of the earth did not exist at the carboniferous period. The -horizontal surface of the land leads us at the first to infer -horizontal stratification; but we find the contrary to be the -case; the marine deposits once horizontal, have been so -raised at a later period that they are now vertical. Since the -friable slate degrades rapidly, and the limestone layers very -gradually, it may be assumed that the former wasting away -leaves the limestone layers standing like walls between them—a -thing which, in a small scale, may often be elsewhere -observed. If a glance at these buried fossils awakens in us -an image, as in a dream, of a creation rich in organic forms, a -glance at the present state of the Barentz Isles impresses us -with the gloomiest feelings.</p> - -<p>10. “Before us lies this small greyish brown fragment of -the earth. The cold, level ground is covered with sharp-edged -pieces of rock, which appear to be as it were macadamised, -so closely are they rammed together. Here and there, about -a fathom’s length from each other, lie brownish green masses -like mole-hills. When we examine them more closely, each -mass resolves itself into a vast number of small plants of the -same species (<i>Saxifraga oppositifolia</i>), whose little stalks are -covered with dark green leaves, which are alive, and also with -brown leaves, which have been dead for years and years, but -wither in the cold much more gradually than with us. From -this small heap, tender rosy blooms raise their little heads, -bidding defiance to the bitter snowy weather which sweeps -over the miserable plain. Another species of saxifrage (<i>Saxifraga -cœspitosa</i>), with shorter stalks and yellowish-white -flowers, growing in thick clumps, forms, together with the first-named -variety and the more rarely appearing <i>Saxifraga<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -rivularis</i>, the hardiest representatives of this family of plants -so frequently found in the Polar regions. If to these we add -<i>Draba arctica</i> with its little yellow flowers, forming in valleys -large patches of sward, the yellow flowering poppy (<i>Papaver -nudicaule</i>), and a rare willow (<i>Salix polaris</i>), which with some -few leaves peeps forth from the soil, we have described the -whole Flora of that desolate waste, in which a mere passing -glance would scarce detect the existence of vegetable life -among the débris of rocks and the heaps of snow. Mosses -are found here and there in the moister fissures of rocks, and -especially on the coast, where old drift-wood, or the bones of -whales or other animals, afford the nourishment they need, -and in some places the mosses spread themselves out into -small carpets. Lichens love to shelter under the clusters of -the different kinds of saxifrage, though sometimes they are -found by themselves. Of this class we will mention merely the -so-called Iceland moss (<i>Cetraria islandica</i>), and a reindeer lichen -(<i>Cladonia pyxidata</i>); the few other forms are nearly related -to those mentioned, and belong to the so-called creeping -lichens. One peculiarity of the Flora of the far north, which -we have already mentioned, is their growth in clumps. Only -thus can these tender organisms maintain their existence -against the stern elements; and this indeed is a characteristic -of all Arctic creation, which is seen in the animal -world also, when its means of nourishment are hard to find. -We will point only to the herds of reindeer, of lemmings, of -walruses, of seals, &c., lastly to the vast flocks of birds; all -of which illustrate the principle: <i>common danger begets common -defence</i>.”</p> - -<p>11. Our involuntary leisure at the Barentz Isles enabled us -to make some precautionary preparations for our future contests -with the ice; for a ship may be crushed by the ice and -sink in a few minutes, as had happened some days previously, -not far from us, to the yachts <i>Valborg</i> and <i>Iceland</i>. Provisions -and ammunition for four weeks were got ready, and each man -was entrusted with a special service, if it should ever come to -this extremity. To guard against the dreaded pressures of -the ice, heavy beams were hung round the hull of the vessel, -so that the pressure on the ship might be distributed over a -larger surface, and the vessel itself be raised instead of crushed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -Our space on deck, somewhat limited at first, had been considerably -enlarged, although our numerous sledges, our stock -of drift-wood, and the rudder which had been unshipped, -formed inconvenient obstacles, while the chained-up dogs -occasioned some unpleasant surprises to those who had not -succeeded in gaining their affections. These poor animals, -without protection, suffered much from the cold rough weather -which now prevailed, though subsequently some provision was -made for their comfort. Sumbu and Pekel, the two Lapland -dogs, were the most hardy, and slept without stirring, even -when they were completely covered with snow. It was only -after a long and stout resistance that the dogs became accustomed -to the flesh of seals; at first they growled at every -one who offered it to them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus5"> -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">FORMATION OF THE DEPÔT AT “THE THREE COFFINS.”</p> -</div> - -<p>12. Aug. 14, we were threatened by the advance of an -enormous line of pack-ice, which inclosed us in the little -“docks” of the land-ice, and caused the <i>Isbjörn</i> to heel over. -In the evening a bear came near this vessel, which was shot -by Professor Höfer and Captain Kjelsen. On the following -day, with the help of the dogs and sledges, we removed over -the land-ice to “The Three Coffins” the provisions which were -to form the depôt: 2,000 lbs. of rye-bread in casks, 1,000 lbs. -of pease-sausages in tin cases. These were deposited in the -crevice of a rock and secured against the depredations of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -bears. We felt assured of the conscientiousness of Russian or -Norwegian fishermen, that they would make use of these -provisions only under the pressure of urgent necessity. This -depôt was intended to be the first place of refuge, in the event -of the ship being lost.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus6"> -<img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE “TEGETTHOFF” AND “ISBJÖRN” SEPARATE.</p> -</div> - -<p>13. Both ships were dressed with flags, and round one -common table we celebrated the birthday, Aug. 18, of the -Emperor and King, Francis Joseph I. On Aug. 19 we fetched -some drift-wood from the land, and saw from a height an -“ice-hole” stretching to the north at no great distance from -the coast. As we returned to the ship we came across a bear, -which, being assailed by so many hunters at once, took to -flight. Aug. 20, some changes in the ice seemed to make -navigation possible, and we forthwith went on board the -<i>Isbjörn</i> to bid adieu to our friends. It was no common farewell. -A separation to those who are themselves separated -from the world moves the heart to its depths. But besides -this, in bidding adieu to Count Wilczek, we felt how much we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -were indebted to him, as the man who had fostered the work -we were about to undertake, who dreaded no danger while -providing for our safety in the event of a catastrophe to the -expedition. Our high-minded friend was at this moment the -embodiment of our country, which, honouring us with its -confidence and trust, demanded that we should devote all our -energies to the high objects of the expedition. Often afterwards -did this adieu return to our memories. With a fresh -wind from the north-east we passed the <i>Isbjörn</i> as we steamed -towards the north, while this vessel, veiled in mist, soon -disappeared from our eyes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus7"> -<img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE “TEGETTHOFF” FINALLY BESET.</p> -</div> - -<p>14. Our prospects, so far as the object of our expedition -was concerned, had meantime not improved. To cross the -Frozen Sea to Cape Tscheljuskin in the present year was not -to be dreamt of, and yet the thought of wintering in the -north of Novaya Zemlya was positively intolerable. The -navigable water was becoming narrower every day, and the -ice seemed to increase in solidity, especially in the neighbourhood -of the coast. In the afternoon of this day we ran into -an “ice-hole,” but in the night barriers of ice stopped our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -further progress. As usual, the ship was made fast to a floe, -the steam blown off, and we awaited the parting asunder of -the ice.<a name="FNanchor_16" id="FNanchor_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Five walruses who had been watching us from a -rock as we entered that ill-starred “ice-hole,” sprang into the -water and disappeared.</p> - -<p>15. Ominous were the events of that day, for immediately -after we had made fast the <i>Tegetthoff</i> to that floe, the ice closed -in upon us from all sides and we became close prisoners in its -grasp. No water was to be seen around us, and <i>never again -were we destined to see our vessel in water</i>. Happy is it for -men that inextinguishable hope enables them to endure all -the vicissitudes of fate, which are to test their powers of endurance, -and that they can never see, as at a glance, the long -series of disappointments in store for them! We must have -been filled with despair, had we known that evening that we -were henceforward doomed to obey the caprices of the ice, that -the ship would never again float on the waters of the sea, that -all the expectations with which our friends, but a few hours -before, saw the <i>Tegetthoff</i> steam away to the north, were now -crushed; <i>that we were in fact no longer discoverers, but passengers -against our will on the ice</i>. From day to day we hoped -for the hour of our deliverance! At first we expected it -hourly, then daily, then from week to week; then at the seasons -of the year and changes of the weather, then in the chances -of new years! <i>But that hour never came</i>, yet the light of hope, -which supports man in all his sufferings, and raises him above -them all, never forsook us, amid all the depressing influence -of expectations cherished only to be disappointed.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">DRIFTING IN THE NOVAYA ZEMLYA SEAS.</span></h3> - -<p>1. At the end of August the temperature in the Frozen -Ocean is generally at the freezing point of the Centigrade -thermometer, but this year (1872) it was constantly six degrees -below it. A cold bleak air enveloped us, there was abundance -of snow, the sun showed himself rarely, and for some days he -had sunk, at midnight, under the horizon. The ship and her -rigging were stiff with ice, and everything indicated that for us -winter had begun. As the masses of ice which inclosed us -consisted only of small floes, we were led to hope that the -strong east winds would soon disperse them. But the very -contrary really happened, for the low temperatures, the calms, -and falls of snow, bound the floes of ice only the more closely -together, and within a few days congealed them into one -single field, in the midst of which the ship remained fast and -immovable. Our surroundings were monotonous beyond -description,—one vast unattractive white surface, and even the -high-lands of Novaya Zemlya were covered with freshly fallen -snow.</p> - -<p>2. To reach the coast of Siberia under these circumstances -had become an impossibility, and even in the event of our -being liberated, the search for a winter harbour in Novaya -Zemlya would be a matter of peril and difficulty. Yet we -calculated confidently on this contingency and employed our -enforced inactivity in completing our preparations for sledge -journeys during the autumn, although we could not but feel, -that their importance must be of secondary interest and value -in a country so well known as Novaya Zemlya. Meantime -we drifted slowly along the coast in a northerly direction and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -apparently under the influence of a current, which has been -often observed on the northern coasts of Novaya Zemlya. -But the gloom of our situation, as we became conscious of -our captivity, was more distinctly and painfully felt. On the -1st of September the temperature sank nine degrees below -zero (12° F.), and the few and limited spaces of open water -round our floe disappeared. The sun now remained six hours -below the horizon, and the formation of young ice in a single -night often reached such a thickness, that we soon perceived -that our last hope for this year lay in the setting-in of heavy -equinoctial storms to break up the ice-fields.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus8"> -<img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ATTEMPTS TO GET FREE IN SEPTEMBER.</p> -</div> - -<p>3. On the 2nd of September a fissure running through our -floe reached the after-part of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and opened into -a “lead,” and even our floe partially broke up; but this -availed us nothing, for the ship itself remained fast on a huge -fragment. During the night of Sept. 3, the after-part of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> was gently raised for the first time by the pressure -and driving from beneath of the ice; yet of the formidable -nature of such pressure we had as yet no presentiment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -Though our situation seemed desperate, it was not attended -by immediate danger, and, condemned as we were to inactivity, -we found the amusement and occupation we needed in skating -on the young ice, which covered many of the newly-formed -ice-holes between the ice-floes. Besides the duty of making -and recording meteorological observations, the training of the -dogs, the bringing ice to the kitchen to be transformed into -water, the manufacture of oil, expeditions on foot to explore -the country, were the only forms in which our energies could -be exerted. Absolute loneliness surrounded us; even the -Arctic sea-gull (<i>Larus glaucus</i>) and the grey stormy petrel -(<i>Procellaria glacialis</i>, L.) of the polar regions, were but rarely -seen, and a bear, which, Sept. 5, came within forty paces of -the ship, was driven away by the awkwardness of our hunters. -The cold became more and more intense and the weather -more gloomy. Sept. 2, the cabin lamp had to be lit for the -first time about half-past nine o’clock, and on the 3rd we -began to heat the interior parts of the ship, the temperature -of which had been for some time at zero; and on -the 11th, the first fiery belts of the Aurora flamed in the -northern heavens. On the 9th and 10th, there was a very -heavy storm from the north-east, which drove us back for a -short time towards the west, and partially broke up our floe, -but all the efforts of the next week to destroy the connection -of what remained by sawing and blasting proved unsuccessful. -Blasting with powder, whether above or below the surface-ice, -proved ineffectual. Even old fissures in the ice appeared to -defy further disruption, segments which had been laboriously -made by sawing, froze again almost immediately, and even -the application of steam was powerless to set our floe in -motion and force the breaking-up of the parts which had -been sawn through. It was of no avail that, up to Oct. 7, we -kept open a trench round the ship, by destroying in the day -the ice which had been formed during the night: the expected -disruption of our ice-field never happened. Dark streaks in -the heavens still proclaimed that we were in the neighbourhood -of open water, and though they seemed only to indicate -“leads” of no great breadth or extent, they helped to sustain -our hopes. But these were soon doomed to be disappointed, -for even these “leads” closed up, and <i>at the same time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -temperature fell to an unusually low degree</i>. On the 15th of -September we had 15 degrees of cold, and on the 19th -the temperature fell 18·6 degrees below zero (C.). To add to -this, there were frequent falls of drifting snow. As long as -fissures remained we had opportunities of seal-hunting, but -by the end of the month the “ice-holes” were overspread with -spongy ice, which hindered the movements of our boats within -them. The alternate openings and closings of the water-ways -around us seemed in our monotonous life a harmless spectacle, -for the lofty walls of piled-up ice had not as yet for us the -language of imminent and threatening dangers.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus9"> -<img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SEAL-HUNTING—SEPTEMBER 1872.</p> -</div> - -<p>4. Sept. 22, there was a fissure in the ice about thirty paces -from the ship, and we quickly put on board all the materials -which were lying on the floe, believing that the moment of -our deliverance had come. But no such moment came, nor -did the equinoctial storms which we expected set in; <i>we continued -to drift still further to the north</i>; and on Oct. 2, we had -passed the seventy-seventh degree of north latitude. In the -beginning of this month a storm, which lasted but a short -time, opened up a large “ice-hole” near the after-part of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -ship, and forthwith we set to work to open a passage through -our floe in order to reach it, but two days afterwards this -“ice-hole” also closed up. Yet amid all our mishaps we -forgot not on October the 4th—the name-day of his Majesty -the Emperor Francis Joseph I.—the homage which was due -to our noble and gracious Sovereign. The ship was gaily -dressed with flags, and a rifle-match, in which watches and -pipes were the prizes, scared away for a short afternoon the -sad impressions of the moment.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus10"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SHOOTING AT A TARGET, OCTOBER 1872.</p> -</div> - -<p>5. Encounters with polar bears afforded us much excitement. -On the 6th of October our first bear was killed and divided -among the dogs, for as yet we had not learnt to regard the -flesh of these animals as the most precious part of our provisions. -A fox also, the first seen during this expedition, -showed himself during the previous night. He had evidently -come from Novaya Zemlya, and his curiosity had led him -close to the ship, from whence he was driven by the dogs. -It now became indispensable for everyone who left the immediate -neighbourhood of the ship to carry arms with him, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -the neglect of this precaution had sometimes rather ludicrous, -at other times somewhat serious, consequences. On the 11th -of October I left the ship unarmed, and with no other companion -than our Lapland dog, Pekel, to employ myself in the -harmless occupation of piling up a tower of ice. Working as -I was in a stooping position, I was unconscious of what was -immediately around me, when on a sudden the loud barking -of Pekel caused me to raise myself, and I saw a bear quite -close before me. Shaking his head and making a snuffling -noise, he came on towards me. In the expectation that -some of the people engaged on deck would see my critical -position, I contented myself with shaking my fist at him, -unwilling to reveal any weakness to my enemy. As this, -however, seemed to produce no effect, I cried out repeatedly, -“A bear!” At last I saw Klotz, who was on deck, go to the -stand of arms, but with such stoical composure, that I ceased -to trust to others, and left to the bear, who had now advanced -to a distance of about fifteen paces from me, the glory of -forcing his enemy to take to flight.</p> - -<p>6. In the first days of October the temperature rose considerably, -the thermometer standing a little below zero (C.). -This was due to south-west winds, and to the temporary extension -of the “ice-holes” in our immediate neighbourhood. -The days now became shorter, the sun surrounded with red -masses of clouds set behind barriers of blackish-blue ice, and -an ever-deepening twilight followed his disappearance. Sept. -29, a “snowfinch” flew from the coast of Novaya Zemlya to -the ship, hopped about the deck for a little time, and after -delighting us all by his little song, again left us. Some few -sea-gulls still wended their flight to the spaces of water in our -neighbourhood. Skimming over the top of the mast, they -seemed to gaze down upon us, and then with a shrill cry darted -away like arrows towards the south. There was something -melancholy in this departure of the birds; it seemed as if all -creatures were retiring from the long reign of night which was -before us. In order to divert our attention from the dreadful -monotony of our captivity by some occupation in the open -air, we fell on the plan of building houses of ice round the -ship. The activity of a building-yard reigned on our ice-floe; -heavy ice-tables were broken or sawed through, the dogs in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -the sledges carried the fragments to their appointed places, -and with these blocks we raised crystal walls and towers. -Snow, mixed with sea-water, furnished an inexhaustible -source of the most excellent mortar; and while we worked -laboriously at these meaningless erections, we earned at least -by our labour the reward of sleep free from care.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus11"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">PARHELIA ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA.</p> -</div> - -<p>7. As we drifted helplessly northward, the coasts of Novaya -Zemlya receded gradually from our gaze. Hitherto we had -lain close to the land, which with its rounded mountains and -valleys filled with glaciers seemed a miniature of Alpine -scenery. Daily almost the gigantic luminous arcs of parhelia -stood above it, the usual precursors of stormy weather or -heavy falls of snow. Towards the north and north-east the -country becomes flatter, and runs into glacier-wastes little -raised above the level of the sea. The topography of the -northern parts of Novaya Zemlya is complete confusion. The -only survey which exists—that of Lütke—extends no further -than Cape Nassau. The maps of the Barentz Isles are -frequently in contradiction with fact, and their correction is -extremely desirable. Though this land was of no value for -our object, yet it was still land, and it seemed also to us,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -drifting as we did, the symbol of the stable and immovable. -But now it was gradually disappearing from our eyes. During -September we had moved slowly, but with October we drifted -at a greater rate, so that by the 12th of this month we saw -nothing but a line of heights some thirty miles off, towards -the south. At last every trace of land disappeared from our -gaze; a hopeless waste received us, in which no man could -tell how long we should be, or how far we should penetrate.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE “TEGETTHOFF” FAST BESET IN THE ICE.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Autumn was passing away, the days were getting shorter, -and in our immediate neighbourhood no movement in the ice -was perceptible, save that we had drifted continuously towards -the north-east; sometimes, though rarely, a fissure in the ice -grew to the proportions of an “ice-hole,” only, however, to -be quickly frozen over and present a surface for our skates. -There lay the frozen sea, the picture of dull, hopeless monotony; -shelter there was none. Our floe, though it seemed -to combine the conveniences of a winter harbour, could not -stand the test of closer observation, the illusion of such a -notion must be short-lived. But many signs now indicated -the insecurity of our position. Fields of ice in our neighbourhood -cracked and split asunder, and piled-up masses -floated round us, silent preachers, as it were, of the destruction -which ice-pressure could produce.</p> - -<p>2. A change, however, was soon to come over the scene. -On the evening of October 12 we imagined that the cabin -lamp oscillated, and consequently that our floe was in motion. -On the same night we were conscious of a violent movement -in the ice. A dreadful day was the 13th of October,—a -Sunday; it was decisive of the fate of the expedition. To -the superstitious amongst us the number 13 was clothed -with a profound significance: the committee of the expedition -had been constituted on February 13; on the 13th of January -the keel of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> had been laid down; on the 13th -of April she was launched; on the 13th of June we left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -Bremerhaven; on the 13th of July, Tromsoe; after a voyage -of 13 days we had arrived at the ice, and on the 13th of -October the temperature marked 16 degrees below zero (C.). -In the morning of that day, as we sat at breakfast, our floe -burst across immediately under the ship. Rushing on deck -we discovered that we were surrounded and squeezed by the -ice; the after-part of the ship was already nipped and pressed, -and the rudder, which was the first to encounter its assault, -shook and groaned; but as its great weight did not admit -of its being shipped, we were content to lash it firmly. We -next sprang on the ice, the tossing tremulous motion of which -literally filled the air with noises as of shrieks and howls, and -we quickly got on board all the materials which were lying -on the floe, and bound the fissures of the ice hastily together -by ice-anchors and cables, filling them up with snow, in the -hope that frost would complete our work, though we felt that -a single heave might shatter our labours. But, just as in the -risings of a people the wave of revolt spreads on every side, -so now the ice uprose against us. Mountains threateningly -reared themselves from out the level fields of ice, and the low -groan which issued from its depths grew into a deep rumbling -sound, and at last rose into a furious howl as of myriads of -voices. Noise and confusion reigned supreme, and step by -step destruction drew nigh in the crashing together of the -fields of ice. Our floe was now crushed, and its blocks, piled -up into mountains, drove hither and thither. Here, they -towered fathoms high above the ship, and forced the protecting -timbers of massive oak, as if in mockery of their purpose, -against the hull of the vessel; there, masses of ice fell down -as into an abyss under the ship, to be engulfed in the rushing -waters, so that the quantity of ice beneath the ship was continually -increased, and at last it began to raise her quite above -the level of the sea. About 11.30 in the forenoon, according -to our usual custom, a portion of the Bible was read on deck, -and this day, quite accidentally, the portion read was the -history of Joshua: but if in his day the sun stood still, it was -more than the ice now showed any inclination to do.</p> - -<p>3. The terrible commotion going on around us prevented -us from seeing anything distinctly. The sky too was overcast, -the sun’s place could only be conjectured. In all haste<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -we began to make ready to abandon the ship, in case it -should be crushed, a fate which seemed inevitable, if she -were not sufficiently raised through the pressure of the ice. -About 12.30 the pressure reached a frightful height, every -part of the vessel strained and groaned; the crew, who had -been sent down to dine, rushed on deck. The <i>Tegetthoff</i> had -heeled over on her side, and huge piles of ice threatened to -precipitate themselves upon her. But the pressure abated, -and the ship righted herself; and about one o’clock, when -the danger was in some degree over, the crew went below to -dine. But again a strain was felt through the vessel, everything -which hung freely began to oscillate violently, and all -hastened on deck, some with the unfinished dinner in their -hands, others stuffing it into their pockets. Calmly and -silently, amid the loud sounds emitted by the ice in its violent -movement, the officers assumed and carried out the special -duty which had been assigned to each in the contemplated -abandonment of the ship. Lieutenant Weyprecht got ready -the boats, Brosch and Orel cleared out the supply of provision -to be taken in them; Kepes, our doctor, had an eye to -his drugs; the Tyrolese opened the magazine, and got out the -rifles and ammunition—I myself attended to the sledges, the -tents, and the sacks for sleeping in, and distributed to the -crew their fur coats. We now stood ready to start, each with -a bundle—whither, no one pretended to know! For not a -fragment of the ice around us had remained whole; nowhere -could the eye discover a still perfect and uninjured floe to -serve as a place of refuge, as a vast floe had before been to -the crew of the <i>Hansa</i>. Nay, not a block, not a table of ice -was at rest, all shapes and sizes of it were in active motion, -some rearing up, some turning and twisting, none on the level. -A sledge would at once have been swallowed up, and in this -very circumstance lay the horror of our situation. For, if -the ship should sink, whither should we go, even with the -smallest stock of provisions?—amid this confusion, how reach -the land, thirty miles distant, without the most indispensable -necessaries?</p> - -<p>4. The dogs, too, demanded our attention. They had sprung -on chests, and stared on the waves of ice as they rose and -roared. Every trace of his fox-nature had disappeared from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -“Sumbu.” His look, at other times so full of cunning, had -assumed an expression of timidity and humility, and, unbidden, -he offered his paw to all passers by. The Lapland dog, little -Pekel, sprang upon me, licked my hand, and looked out on -the ice as if he meant to ask me what all this meant. The -large Newfoundlands stood motionless, like scared chamois, -on the piles of chests.</p> - -<p>5. About 4 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> the pressure moderated; an hour afterwards -there was a calm, and with more composure we could -now survey our position. The carpenter shovelled away the -snow from the deck in order to inspect the seams. They -were still uninjured. The knees and cross-beams still held, -and no very great quantity of water was found in the hold. -This result we owed solely to the strength of our ship and to -her fine lines, which enabled her to rise when nipped and -pressed, while her interior, so well laden as to become a solid -body, increased her powers of resistance. Everything was -again restored to its place, so that it was possible to go up -and down the cabin stairs without great difficulty, and in the -evening the water in the hold, which had risen 13 inches, was -pumped out to its normal depth of 6 inches. We went down -into the cabin to rest, but though thankful and joyful for the -issue, our minds were clouded with care and anxiety. Henceforth -we regarded every noise with suspicious apprehensions, -like a population which lives within an area of earthquakes. -The long winter nights and their fearful cold were before us; -we were drifting into unknown regions, utterly uncertain of -the end. When night came, we fell asleep with our clothes -on, though our sleep was disturbed every now and then by -onsets of the ice, recurring less frequently and in diminished -force; but daily—and for <i>one hundred and thirty days</i>—we -went through the same experiences in greater or lesser -measure, almost always in sunless darkness. It was, however, -a fortunate circumstance for us that we encountered the first -assaults of the ice at a time when we were still able to see; -for instead of the calm preparations we were able to make, -hurry and confusion would have been inevitable had these -assaults surprised us amid the Polar darkness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus12"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">AN OCTOBER NIGHT IN THE ICE.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> - -<p>6. Early in the morning of Oct. 14 we all met at breakfast, -but on every face there lay an expression of grave thoughtfulness, -for each of us was contemplating the long perspective of -those dreary nights, in which we should drift without a goal -in the awful wastes of the Frozen Sea. The speedy restoration -of our floe was now our most earnest desire. It was only -severe frost and heavy falls of snow—as we vainly imagined—which -could cement the chaos of broken fragments around -us and form from them a new floe; for as yet we had not -learnt by experience, that severe cold in itself, unaccompanied -with wind, is sufficient to break up the fields of ice, from the -contraction which it causes. We deluded ourselves with -another consolation—we imagined that the ice-pressures -would cease as soon as we passed the eastern extremity of -Novaya Zemlya, and that in the Sea of Kara we should drift -without encountering the pressures, due, as we conceived, to -our nearness to land. But vain also was this hope, for we -were drifting not into the Sea of Kara, but towards the north-east. -We should have found, even in that sea, that pressures -from the ice may occur within the Frozen Ocean, however, -as well as at its coasts. The masses of ice which caused our -disasters probably came from that sea.</p> - -<p>7. The time subsequent to this crisis was full of painful and -anxious moments, but a chronological description of the -events of each day, involving a mere repetition of our sad -impressions, would be wearisome to the reader. I will, therefore, -transfer from my journal such portions of it as most -forcibly express the thoughts that passed through the minds -of the handful of men on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> during those -terrible days:—</p> - -<p>“<i>October 14.</i>—About half-past eight o’clock in the evening -a new fissure in the ice appeared astern of the ship; a strain -was felt throughout her timbers; in a moment every one in -his fur dress and with his bundle in his hand was on deck: so -will it be, perhaps, throughout the winter—what a life!</p> - -<p>“<i>October 15.</i>—All had slept in their clothes. Fresh pressures -from the ice were felt about eight o’clock in the morning, not -so powerful as on the 13th, but of such force that all sprang -from their berths and within a minute again stood ready on -the deck. Much ice had been forced under the after-part of -the ship, which was raised up by the pressure. When all was -calm every one set to work to make a bag to contain the gear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -he meant to take if the ship should be crushed. Mine contained -the following articles: one pair of fur gloves, one pair -of woollen gloves, a pair of snow spectacles, six pencils, a -rubber, three note-books, the journal of my Greenland expedition, -a book of drawings, ten ball-cartridges, two pairs of -stockings, a knife, a case of needles and thread. On the 13th -we had neglected to provide ourselves with maps of Novaya -Zemlya; two of these I now included among my stock of -necessaries. Six Lefaucheux rifles, four Werndl-rifles, two -thousand cartridges, two large and two smaller sledges, a tent -for ten, one for six men, two great sleeping sacks, each for -eight, and a smaller one for six men, were placed in the boats. -Although all these preparations would have been quite vain -if the ship had sunk with the ice in motion to crush us, we -must, for our mutual encouragement, keep up the appearance -of believing in them. About six o’clock in the evening the -full moon rose, like a copper coin fresh from the mint, above -our horizon on the deep blue of the heavens. In the evening -the ice was at rest, and for the first time for some days we -ventured to undress on going to bed.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 16.</i>—Slept without care or disturbance till two -o’clock in the morning, when pressure from the ice again set -in, and all rushed on deck. Some of the crew threw out on -the ice the antlers of a reindeer of Novaya Zemlya,—for -according to a superstition of the seamen the horns of a reindeer -are the generators of mischief! The ice again calm, and -I fell asleep from exhaustion; but about half-past five in the -morning there was a new pressure of about twenty minutes’ -duration, and almost as fearful as on the 13th of the month. -The exceeding haste with which every one rushes up from -below as soon as the ship begins to strain, shows the effect -which the noise makes on us; it is impossible to become -accustomed to it; every one runs on deck. Again the ice -rests, but about half-past seven in the morning, another -pressure, which almost tore away the beams protecting the -hull and the davits to which they were fastened. The ship, -however, rights herself. To-day the ice which overhung our -bulwarks was dug away to prevent masses of it falling on -the deck. In the evening, diminished pressure from the -ice; at night, glorious moonlight scenery; nothing more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -peaceful, but nothing more illusive, than such a scene at such -an hour.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 17.</i>—All quiet during the night till Lusina came -to announce, with a voice as from the grave, that the ship was -making more water, sixteen inches in the forepart, eleven -inches amidships. East wind, with heavy drifting snow-storms—during -the day once only a strain of short duration was -felt in the ship, as a new fissure opened in the piled-up ice on -our starboard quarter.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 18.</i>—Our anxieties somewhat abate and our watchful -state of preparation to leave the ship relaxes, and most -of us determine once more to undress for the night. After -several weeks the sun, which had been obscured by the -weather, becomes visible, rising 2° 25′ above the horizon; the -temperature stands at -20° F., and our latitude is 77° 48′.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 19.</i>—Straining in the ship; the sun rose about a -quarter past eight, but was soon veiled in frosty vapours.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 20.</i>—The hull of the ship is still without its -necessary protection of ice and snow, while we are wrapt in -furs and wear reindeer-shoes and felt-boots. In the evening -a faint mock moon was visible.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 21.</i>—At night we were alarmed by a loud sound, -and in few minutes all were on deck with their fur clothes on—a -fissure had opened on the starboard side of the ship, connecting -itself with that which had been formed astern of the -ship. In an hour this fissure had widened about four feet, -and we worked for some hours by the light of lamps to fill it -up with snow and pieces of ice. The low temperature (-21° -F.) led us to expect that this chasm would be bridged over -without further effort on our part. The moon stood surrounded -by a vast halo in the heavens and illuminated the awful loneliness -of our abode. Once more a calm! When any one comes -down from the deck into the cabin, the eyes of all are -involuntarily turned upon him to read in the expression of -his face what is going on above, and each dreads to hear it -said, that the ice is in motion. In the afternoon, when the -fissure closed, we heard the old dull sound from the ice, and -the ship strained violently, and all were on deck ready to -leave. About nine o’clock in the evening the motion of the -ice was again felt. Uncertain and full of fears as to what the -night might bring forth, we go early to rest; no one knows -how short that rest may be. Even Klotz lays aside his stoical -calmness, and the philosophical dignity of his remarks departs -when his comrades spring from their berths and rush on deck -with their bundles. The frozen pumps are daily thawed by -boiling water; to-day the shaft of one of them broke, through -the excessive strain put upon it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 475px;" id="illus13"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="475" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE MOON WITH ITS HALO.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - -<p>“<i>October 22.</i>—During the night, motion in the ice. At -9.30 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span> the sun rose, and attains its meridian altitude at -1° 41′. In the evening the fissure in the ice again opens. -Rents and small ‘ice-holes’ are all round us, and frosty -vapour fills the air. To-day the skull of a bear was thrown -out on the ice, the crew asserting that mischief comes from -the possession of it!</p> - -<p>“<i>October 23.</i>—During the night violent movement in the ice; -the sound produced resembles the noise of a fleet of paddle-wheel -steam-ships, steaming now with full, now with half -power. The height of the sun to-day above the horizon was -a little above one degree, its form was distorted by refraction -into an egg-like shape, and its edges were in constant -vibration.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 24.</i>—The daylight is now so feeble that the lamps -have to be lighted during the day, with the exception of two -or three hours in the forenoon. Many of the crew are suffering -from frost-bites on their hands, in consequence of their -exposure in removing the unnecessary rigging, and in the -preparations to facilitate the removal of our stock of provisions -in the event of our being forced to abandon the vessel.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 25.</i>—In the afternoon we made an attempt to drive -the dog sledges, but the snow, in spite of the low temperature, -lay in such masses between the small hummocks and on the -few level places, that they sank deep into it. It is storms of -wind only that harden the snow, and for some time we have -had calms or light breezes. In the evening there was a movement -in the ice astern of the ship, accompanied with the -highest soprano tones. The noise the ice makes in its pressure -very much resembles the piping and howling of a storm -among rocky cliffs or through the rigging of a ship. About -half-past ten at night, the oscillating movements of the ice, -occurring at definite intervals, made it appear as if they arose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -from a swell of the ocean. The ship groans and creaks constantly; -indeed, creaking and groaning are weak expressions -for such a noise. Once more all are ready. We begin to fear -that the ice will never rest.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 26.</i>—Pressure throughout the whole night. Armed -and provided with lanterns, we used the sledges to remove -two boats, 150 logs of wood, fifty planks, and a supply of -coals, to the port side of the vessel, and chose a stronger floe, -on which to build a house of refuge. Tired and exhausted, -we fell asleep, in spite of the straining and creaking of the -vessel.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus14"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">OUR COAL-HOUSE ON THE FLOE.</p> -</div> - -<p>“<i>October 27.</i>—The sun at noon was scarcely visible above -the horizon. At night of the same day a strong wind from -the south-east opened a fissure on the starboard side of the -vessel and about 150 paces from it, which grew into the -dimensions of an ‘ice-hole.’</p> - -<p>“<i>October 28.</i>—To-day the sun took leave of us. Only with -its upper edge had it appeared above the horizon, and sent -towards us its mild beams like the consoling glance of a -departing friend. The coal-house is finished. But what -reliance can be placed on such an abode in such a position? -A storm may carry away the planks which form its roof; -sparks from a fire may set fire to its walls and consume it; -and at any moment, through a pressure opening up an abyss -beneath, it may sink and be engulfed. Two o’clock in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -afternoon, the groaning sound comes from the piles of ice -around us; our floe appears to twist somewhat, and the -pressure of the ice will probably soon begin.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 29.</i>—During the night a noise in the ice, which, -though it did not further disturb us, was yet witness enough -that it is ever ready to disturb us. The sun no longer -appears; only a rosy light at noon in the heavens.</p> - -<p>“<i>October 30.</i>—At half-past three o’clock in the morning there -was a dreadful straining and creaking in the ship: at once -we sprang out of our berths, and stood on deck with our fur -garments on, and with our bags as before. New fissures had -appeared which rapidly enlarge themselves; the two boats -and the coal-house are now surrounded by up-forced masses -of ice and separated from us. Then a pause! There is however -no real repose, and the least sound on deck, the falling -of anything heavy—at other times quite unnoticed—alarms -us into the expectation of new onsets. At noon, as we sate -at dinner, there was renewed and excessive straining in the -ship, and even in the cabin we heard such a rushing sound in -the ice without, that it seemed as if the whole frozen sea -would the next moment boil and rise in vapour. During all -the afternoon the noise continues, and all the fissures send -forth dense vapours, like hot springs. During the day no -quiet for reading or working, and every night almost our -sleep is disturbed by a horrible awaking within a great -creaking, groaning coffin. Men can accustom themselves to -almost anything; but to these daily recurring shocks, and -the constantly renewed question as to the end and issue of -it all, we cannot grow accustomed.”</p> - -<p>8. There is however such an intolerable monotony in my -diary, that, to spare my readers, I thus, in a few words, -resuming its contents, describe our situation:—“One of us, -to-day, remarked very truly, that he saw perfectly well how -one might lose his reason with the continuance of these -sudden and incessant assaults. It is not dangers that we fear, -but worse far; we are kept in a constant state of readiness -to meet destruction, and know not whether it will come -to-day, or to-morrow, or in a year. Every night we are -startled out of sleep, and, like hunted animals, up we spring -to await amid an awful darkness the end of an enterprise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -from which all hope of success has departed. It becomes at -last a mere mechanical process to seize our rifles and our bag -of necessaries and rush on deck. In the daytime, leaning -over the bulwarks of the ship, which trembles, yea, almost -quivers the while, we look out on a continual work of destruction -going on, and at night, as we listen to the loud and -ever-increasing noises of the ice, we gather that the forces of -our enemy are increasing.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="smaller">OUR FIRST WINTER (1872) IN THE ICE.</span></h3> - -<p>1. In the beginning of November we were already environed -by a deep twilight; but our dreary waste had become of -magical beauty; the rigging, white with frost, stood out, -spectre-like, against the grey-blue of the heavens; the ice, -broken into a thousand forms and overspread with a covering -of snow, had now assumed the cold pure aspect of alabaster -shaded with the tender hues of arragonite. Southward at -noon we saw veils of frosty vapour rise into the carmine-coloured -sky out of the fissures and “ice-holes,” in which the -water seemed to boil.</p> - -<p>2. All our preparations for wintering had now been -completed. Lieutenant Weyprecht struck the top-masts to -diminish pressure from the wind; some sails were still kept -set, in order that the ship, in the event of her being set free, -might at once get under weigh. The fore-part of the ship -only could be covered in as a tent, for the preparations to -abandon her in case of need compelled us to leave her after-part -uncovered. There, in perfect order, lay all the materials -we meant to take with us, our provisions, ammunition, tents, -sledges, &c. The ship was surrounded with a wall of snow -and ice, which we constantly restored, whenever it was injured -by pressure from without, and her deck was gradually overspread -with a mantle of snow, which contributed, however, to -maintain an equable warmth in the ship. Our distance from -land rendered it impossible to cover the deck with a layer of -sand, which would have prevented the melting of the snow -from the warmth of the ship.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus15"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="500" height="550" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE TWILIGHT IN NOVEMBER, 1872.</p> -</div> - -<p>3. The temperature of November rose once only—about -the middle of the month—considerably; but, except on that -occasion, the thermometer stood with tolerable regularity -below -13° F., and on the 20th of the month it reached its -minimum at -33° F. Winds, from whatever quarter they -might blow, constantly raised the temperature, because the -colder air was thus modified by the warmer which lay above -the open spaces of sea-water; calms were accompanied by -a rapid intensification of cold. Wind, increased drifting, -pressure, and the formation of fissures—all these are naturally -connected. New openings were quickly covered with young -ice, which presented a smooth surface when formed by less -intense cold, but when the temperature fell lower its saline -contents were exuded in a moist, tough layer, which lay on -its surface about an inch thick. In this state of the ice, sledge-travelling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -was rendered more difficult, and even walking was -far from easy; for it is only under a temperature ranging -from -4° F. to -13° F. that this layer is frozen. The incessant -rending of the ice-sheet, by exposing the warmer surface -of the sea, tends to mitigate the cold, while, on the other -hand, the freezing of these fissures augments the quantity -of ice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus16"> -<img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SUMBU CHASED FOR A FOX.</p> -</div> - -<p>4. In the beginning of the month our nights were dark, -and it was only occasionally that the light of the aurora and -meteors visited us with their fleeting splendours. Although -in clear weather day was still distinguishable from night, yet -the darkness, even at noon, was so great, that mists could not -be seen, but felt only, and it was no longer possible, without -the light of a lantern, to make even the slightest sketch, or to -take aim with the rifle. Hence, when we met with bears we -could not be certain of our aim, if they were at any distance -from us, and, on one occasion, Sumbu was mistaken for a fox, -chased, and but for my coming up would have been shot.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus17"> -<img src="images/illus17.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">WANDERINGS ON THE ICE IN OUR FIRST WINTER.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. The first days of November passed away without any -new disturbance from the movement of the masses of ice, -and our feeling of security grew apace, and with it our hopes -revived, never again to leave us entirely, not even when the -pressures returned, as they did too soon. Once more the -fields of ice, firmly pressed together, were rent asunder; -fissures opened out, and shone in the moonlight like rivers -of silver. The night of Nov. 20 was one of extreme anxiety. -A mountain formed of piles of broken ice bore down on us -amid a fearful din, threatening to bury the ship. Silent, and -conscious of our utter helplessness, we watched this gigantic -heap of crashing ice-tables drifting nearer and nearer, crushing -as it advanced the heaviest pieces of ice with a noise which -echoed through our ship. Escape seemed impossible: and -Providence alone arrested its career. This night the crew -received each an extra glass of grog to obliterate the impression -of this terrible crisis.</p> - -<p>6. With the exception of books, we had no other amusement -than short expeditions, never extending beyond a mile -from the ship, in which we were accompanied by all the dogs. -We generally set out with two small sledges, and, when the -moon was not shining, with our rifles ready to fire, for the -darkness and the utter absence of open spaces on the ice -imposed the utmost caution against bears. At a very short -distance we could see nothing of the ship, and only by our -footsteps on the snow could we make out where we were and -find the way back. In these expeditions we were exposed to -another danger—the risk of being cut off from the ship by the -breaking-up of one of the drifting floes. Even the dogs felt -the insecurity of recently-formed ice, and put their feet on it -with fear and hesitation, and only by compulsion. There -seemed to be a cunning agreement among them to shirk -the work altogether; for they often rushed away into the coal-house, -and threw the harness of the sledges into inextricable -confusion.</p> - -<p>7. December came, but it brought no change in our situation. -Our life became more and more monotonous; one -day differed in no respect from another, it was but a mere -succession of dates, and time was reckoned merely by the -hours for eating and sleeping. The ice, however, did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -share in the universal repose. It was never weary of threatening; -no day elapsed without movement on its part. My -journal records December 1, 8, 9, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, -and 31, as days of special disturbance and agitation. On the -20th, as we were talking in the coal-house of the approaching -festival of Christmas, a sudden violent movement of the ice -surprised us, and rushing out we found that the floe on which -the house stood was breaking up. With all haste we endeavoured -to save as much as possible of the coal and materials, -and moved them close to the ship. The minimum temperature -of December was -26° F.; the mean of the whole -month amounted to -22° F.; and the extreme of cold, --33° F., was reached on the 26th. A few days before -Christmas the temperature rose to a little below -13° F. -It may be observed that the lower temperatures were -registered during the prevalence of winds from the south-east, -and the higher during winds from the north.</p> - -<p>8. When the moon returned in the middle of December, -our sledge expeditions were extended to a distance of 1½ miles -from the ship, over snow and hummocks, to recently frozen -ice-holes, the lonely beauty of which, edged with dark masses -of ice, in the distance, and lying under the clear silver light of -the moon, filled us with feelings of profound melancholy. On -returning from one of these expeditions to our vessel, after -we had unharnessed the dogs, we heard loud barks from -Sumbu, and looking round saw a bear close beside him, which -Orel managed to shoot dead when he was not above five -paces from the rope-ladder on the port side of the vessel. -He was at once cut up, the dogs meanwhile looking on with -profound attention; and in reward for his watchfulness, -Sumbu was indulged with an extra good feast—the heart -and tongue of the bear, which, as yet, we ourselves had not -learnt to eat and enjoy. On the 18th, however, he encountered -our heavy displeasure for the offence of frightening -off a fox, which had ventured to come very near the vessel.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus18"> -<img src="images/illus18.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ENCOUNTER WITH A POLAR BEAR.</p> -</div> - -<p>9. When there was no moon it was perfectly dark, even -during the day; but on December 14, in a very clear forenoon, -we saw in the south a tender orange segment of light, -three or four degrees above the horizon, edged with green, -sharply defined against the dark sky, and when the moon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -high in the heavens, faced this arch of light, a peculiar faint -twilight was observable. But generally there was no difference -between the light of midday and the light of midnight. The -heavens were usually overcast, and the light of the aurora, -during the few minutes of its greatest intensity, seldom exceeded -that of the moon in its first quarter. But how deep -would be the night of the Polar regions, if the land, instead -of being white with snow, were covered with forests! On -December 20 we were unable, even at noon, to read anything -but the titles of books of the largest type; a man’s eyes were -invisible at the distance of a few paces, and at fifty even the -stoutest ropes of the ship were scarcely discernible. The -effect of the long Polar night—when the range of the light -of a lamp is the whole world for man—is most oppressive to -the feelings; nor can habit ever reconcile those who have -lived under the influences of civilization to its gloom and -solitude. It can be a home only to men who spend their -existence in eating and drinking and sleeping, without any -disturbing recollection of a better existence. The depression -was made more intense by the consciousness that we had -been driven into an utterly unknown region and with our eyes -bound. Work, incessant work, was the only resource in these -circumstances.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus19"> -<img src="images/illus19.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ICE-HOLE COVERED WITH YOUNG ICE.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<p>10. Again from my journal I reproduce some passages -which express the feelings which passed through our minds—through -mine at least—during this season of the <i>Tegetthoff’s</i> -first winter in the ice:—“<i>December 21</i>—The middle of the -long night. It is noon, and, though nothing can be lighter -than the colour of all that surrounds us—of the snow—yet it -is as dark as midnight. Nothing but a pale yellow sheen -hovers over the south. The sun has sunk below the horizon -11° 40′, and we should have to ascend a mountain eighteen -and a half (German) miles high in order to behold it. Nothing -is to be seen, neither bears nor men, and we only hear the -steps of those who are near us. We see but the confused -outline even of the ship, as she drifts hither and thither with -the floe, a prisoner in the fetters of the ice, the sport of winds -and currents, carrying her further and further into the still and -silent realm of death. A definite object, with hope to inspire -them, raises men above toils and troubles of every kind; but -exile like ours, when the sacrifice seems useless, is hard to be -borne. An inexorable ‘No’ lays its ban on every hope, and -daily struggle for self-preservation is our lot. If we attempt -to fathom destiny, our utmost hopes are liberation from our -icy captivity some time next summer, and the reaching the -coast of Siberia. Siberia a hope! And yet how changeable -are the feelings when the reign of monotony is interrupted! -The moon is up—darkness exists no more. In the North the -moon is an event—it is life, everything almost; it is the only -link which connects us with the far-distant home. As its -beams fall on the meanest forms, diamonds blaze forth in its -light from the snow and the frost, and the soul feels the beauty -of the transformation. She looks down on us like a returning -friend that watches over us, and unfolds bewitching forms and -magic images to cheer us. Two weeks ago she rose above the -horizon, first as a blood-red disk, then paled as she climbed -higher and higher, till she stands out the clear, silver-bright, -full moon.”</p> - -<p>11. Christmas had come; the season when in the forests of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -our far-distant home the branches of the pine-trees are heavy -laden with snow, and which ever comes back with the memories -of the days of our youth, and with the remembrances of our -families and absent friends. Only for a short time, about -noon, we were made uneasy by a movement and pressure of -the ice. But the alarm passed away, and we gathered together -for a choice and gorgeous feast, both on Christmas Eve -and Christmas Day, and each of the cabin-mess had a bottle -of good wine to himself. Carlsen and Lusina were our guests. -Each of the crew received half a bottle of wine, together with -a quarter of a bottle of “artificial wine,”<a name="FNanchor_17" id="FNanchor_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> and in addition an -allowance of grog, so weak, however, that even a baby might -have drunk it without harm. Dried fish, roast bear well kept -and seasoned, nuts and the like, contributed in their way -to heighten the joyous feelings which, this day at least, -animate even the most miserable of men. The dogs, at other -times so insatiable, had for once enough and to spare, and -carried off the fragments to bury them in the snow. The -contents of a chest full of presents, which we had brought -with us, were distributed by lot, and great was the delight of -those who won a bottle of rum or a few cigars.</p> - -<p>12. The last day of the year 1872 afforded us no very -happy thoughts as we looked back on its events; it had been -to us a year of disappointments. The comparison drawn -between our actual condition and the expectations we had so -ardently cherished seemed full of the bitterest irony. This -day also, about noon, a pressure from the ice, which lasted but -a short time, alarmed us all, and we rushed on deck to make -our usual preparations. The enemy, however, passed away -without further disturbance, and cheerfully and socially we -awaited the first hour of the new year. With a bottle of -champagne, one of the two still left, we meant to greet its -coming in with that hopefulness of mind which seems inextinguishable -in all the changes and chances of life. But the -champagne, alas! proved a delusion. Klotz, the Tyrolese, in -one of his brown studies exposed this precious bottle for four -hours to a temperature of -19° F., and when he produced it -the bottle had burst and the wine was thoroughly frozen. At -midnight the crew serenaded us, and we afterwards marched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -forth in a body with torches, and walked round the ship, whose -rigging glowed in the light of the tarred torches. The frosted -fur garments of the men seemed edged with shining light, and -a red glare fell on the masses of ice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus20"> -<img src="images/illus20.jpg" width="500" height="525" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CARLSEN MAKES THE ENTRY IN THE LOG.</p> -</div> - -<p>13. To-day, too, we allowed the dogs to descend into our -cabin,—the constant object of their longings. The poor -animals were so dazzled by looking at our lamp, that they -almost took it for the sun itself; but by and by their attention -was directed exclusively to the rich remains of our dinner, the -sight of which appeared completely to satisfy their notions of -the wonders of the cabin. After behaving themselves with -great propriety, they again quietly withdrew, all except -Jubinal, who appeared to be indignant at the deceitfulness of -our conduct, inasmuch as we had allowed him to starve so -long on dried horse-flesh and on crushed bear’s head, while -we revelled in luxury. He accordingly made his way into -Lieutenant Brosch’s cabin, where, discovering a mountain of -macaroni, he immediately attacked it, and warned us off from -every attempt to rescue it, by growling fiercely till he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -finished it all. Sumbu, however, with much levity, suffered -himself to be made drunk by the sailors with rum, and everything -which he had scraped together for weeks and buried in -the snow and so carefully watched, was stolen from him by -the other dogs in one night.</p> - -<p>14. Another year had now glided away. Looking anxiously -into the future, we shortsighted mortals saw the fulfilment -of our highest wishes in being liberated from the floe. In the -pious manner of the whalers of the Arctic Ocean, Carlsen -wrote this day in the log: “Önsker at Gud maa vere med os -i det nye aar, da kan intet vare imod os—<i>May God be with -us in the new year and nothing can be against us</i>.” In this new -year, with its happier issues, was verified again the eternal -truth, that Providence acts in ways not to be fathomed, and -that it is folly in man to mark out his own path beforehand -according to his own mind. The sun of this new year, whose -beams were to light us to new lands and discoveries, was still -low beneath the horizon.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">LIFE ON BOARD THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</span></h3> - -<p>1. Like a spectre in white, the ship stretches out her arms, as -if in silent complaint, towards the heaven, and rests, in cruel -mockery of her destiny, on a mountain, not of water, but of -ice, and seems like a building ready to fall in. A wall of -snow and ice surrounds her hull, snow lies thick on her deck, -and her rigging is stiffened in icy lines. Could we see through -her sides, we should then behold four-and-twenty men parted -off in two spaces under the suns of two lamps. Let us inspect -them, and first the cabin of the officers in the after-part of the -ship.</p> - -<p>2. Neither few nor slight were our struggles to remedy the -various inconveniences which we encountered; their enumeration -here is meant to aid the experience of future adventurers. -Though our arrangements were far from complete or perfect, -we had never to complain of the discomforts which previous -expeditions, even the second German expedition to Greenland, -had to endure from the excessive condensation of moisture. -Against this enemy we protected ourselves by the snow wall -which we raised round the ship, by covering in the deck -windows of the cabin, by lining our quarters with vulcanized -india-rubber, by sheds built over the cabin stairs, all acting as -condensers. Before, however, I enter on the unavoidable inconveniences -to which we were exposed by the formation of -ice, or by damp and the sudden change of temperature, I -would preface my remarks by observing, that all these discomforts -and inconveniences are to be endured far more easily -than would seem possible to the reader, and that life on board -a ship of a North Pole expedition, under normal circumstances, -is free from annoyances worthy of mention.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus21"> -<img src="images/illus21.jpg" width="500" height="225" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE “TEGETTHOFF” IN THE FULL MOON.</p> -</div> - -<p>3. It is a matter of the last importance to keep the air pure -and wholesome, and to maintain an equable warmth in the -quarters of the officers and crew. The accumulation of -moisture and consequent congelation in them is an inconvenience -which requires incessant watchfulness to avert.<a name="FNanchor_18" id="FNanchor_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> -The destruction of the snow wall which surrounded the ship -increased the condensation; for that snow covering was -nothing but a greatcoat for the ship and those on board. In -the beginning of November 1872 the frost on the bulk-heads -of the berths, and on those parts of the cabins which were -impervious to warmer air, was very perceptible. The bed-clothes -were frozen at night to the sides of the ship, the iron -knees of the beams—not, alas! covered with felt—gleamed -like stalactites, small glaciers were formed under the berths, -and even in October the skylight was frozen, inches thick. -Every rise in the temperature caused this formation of ice -to fall down like a “douche,” and with the opening of a -door a white vapour, even in October, streamed along the -deck. We prevented the increase of moisture by cutting the -openings in the deck, over which we placed two chimneys, -each a foot high and covered with a thin metal cap. We -boarded up the skylight, leaving a lid by which to air the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -cabin. But in spite of all this the variations of temperature -within our quarters were extraordinary. If the heat of the -air in the middle of the cabin and on a level with our heads -rose from -2° F. to 76° F.—our usual mean temperature—it -amounted on the floor to a little above 34° F., and fell -during the night not unfrequently below freezing-point.</p> - -<p>4. But the greatest inconvenience perhaps with which we had -to contend, arose from the removal of the protection of the -tent roof, which was stretched over the after-part of the ship. -The want of this prevented our walking on the deck in bad -weather, and it also hindered perfect ventilation, which could -only be secured, with the constant heat which was maintained -below, by keeping the deck windows open. Warming the air -from underneath the floor of the cabin would possibly be -preferable to the best stove. We had the stove of Meidingen -of Carlsruhe, the excellence of which had been tested on the -<i>Germania</i>. This stove consumed only 20 lbs. of coals daily, -with a thermometer at -13° F., and after the adoption of -certain arrangements to save the fuel, its consumption -amounted to only 12 lbs. Even in the coldest period of the -winter we never consumed more than 4½ cwt. in a month. -The lighting of the messroom and quarters of the men was -effected by petroleum, the daily consumption of which -amounted to about 2⅔ lbs. Altogether there were in the ship -two large and two small lamps, besides the deck-lantern, -which were burning day and night. The berths were lighted -with train-oil; for special purposes, such as drawing, candles -were used.</p> - -<p>5. The stove had one troublesome enemy in the shape of a -hole, as big as a man’s head, in the door of the mess-room, -through which a cold stream of air poured itself; and as the -ship dipped forward considerably, and the hearth was only -about a foot above the floor of the mess-room, this stream -filled the whole space with a lake of cold air from three to -four feet deep. Hence, while in the berth close by the stove -there was a temperature ranging between 100° F. and 131° F., -in the other, there was one which would have sufficed for the -North Pole itself. In the former a hippopotamus would have -felt himself quite comfortable, and Orel, the unhappy occupant -of it, was often compelled to rush on deck, when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -ice-pressures alarmed us, experiencing in passing from his -berth to the deck a difference of temperature amounting to -189° F. In the other berth of the mess-room, water, lemon-juice, -and vinegar froze on the floor. Those who occupied it, -as they lay in beds, or those who sat at the table to read, were -in a cold bath reaching up to their neck. But the hole was -an indispensable necessity, for it was better to endure the discomfort -even of such a draught than to impede ventilation. -Other causes, too, disturbed the equilibrium of temperature. -At night the stove was sometimes, from sanitary considerations, -not lighted, and then all had to sleep in that cold bath. -With the increase of cold and wind, our inconveniences often -assumed somewhat ludicrous forms. Some passages from my -journal will make this clear:—“When any come below the -temperature falls. If the door be opened there rolls in a -mass of white vapour; if any one opens a book which he has -brought with him, it smokes as if it were on fire. A cloud -surrounds those that enter, and if a drop of water falls on -their clothes, it is at once converted into ice, even at the stove. -Frequently the upper stratum of air in the mess-room becomes -so heated, that the deck light has to be opened, and then it -rises up, like smoke out of a chimney, to blend itself with the -cold air without.”</p> - -<p>6. The arrangements of the officers’ mess-room are simple -and in harmony with its purpose. Here stands a large table, -used for study and for meals; the smaller berths, where the -officers sleep, are round the sides of the mess-room—just -large enough to enable a man to breathe in. There, in a -recess between two pillars, an untold resource, the library (of -about 400 volumes, chiefly scientific); close beside it the -chronometers; and lastly, the inevitable evils, the medical -stores, ranged round the mast. By the side of scientific -works stand Petermann’s <i>Mittheilungen</i>; and between Milton’s -<i>Paradise Lost</i> and Shakespeare’s immortal works, a whole -tribe of romances, which were read with never-tiring delight. -Our instruments, too, frosted with ice, are here, and a chest -containing our journals. Once a month a cask, filled with -wine—the chemical wine—concocted of snow, alcohol, tannin, -sugar, and glycerine, was placed there. Dr. Kepes was not -only our physician, but our wine brewer. One thing more we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -have to mention, which, alas! incommoded us much too little—wine; -that is, wine made in Austria, from grapes. As we -have already mentioned, the want of room in the cabin prevented -our laying in a large stock, and the supplies we had -were frozen in a cellar below the mess-room, about the middle -of December, for the temperature of even this place was -about 16° F. or 14° F. Each, however, had a bottle of rum -as an allowance for eighteen days. But quite inexhaustible -was the supply of our common drink—melted snow—a great -jar of which, filled to the brim, stood always on the table. -Under the cabin were our supplies of alcohol and petroleum, -accessible only by well-fitting pipes, but possible volcanoes as -far as our safety was concerned. From the accumulation of -so many combustible materials, together with 20,000 cartridges, -and with several lamps constantly burning, it is clear -that the danger of fire was great. But once only had we an -alarm from this source—when Carlsen caused us much trepidation -by accidentally discharging a rifle in the cartridge -magazine.</p> - -<p>7. Let us now turn to the persons who occupied this mess-room. -Marola, the steward, lights the lamp, and kindles -the fire, and awakens those who were not already awoke -by the smoke from the stove, with the cry, “Signori, le sette -e tre quarti, prego d’alzarsi;” and after a pause of a quarter -of an hour, during which the sleepers seem carefully to deny -their existence, he startles this silence of indifference by -the second call: “Colazion’ in tavola.” Out of every berth -now comes forth its occupant, each in picturesque costume; -costumes teach us how superficial after all is civilization in -man!</p> - -<p>8. The day’s work begins. The watch, as ever, walks the -deck, lest the ice should slip away from the world unobserved; -in the mess-room meanwhile calculations or drawing or writing -are in full operation. Our daily meals consist of a breakfast -of cocoa, biscuit, and butter; of a dinner of soup, boiled -beef, preserved vegetables, and <i>café noir</i>, and of tea in the -evening, with hard biscuit, butter, cheese, and ham. I would -recommend <i>potage</i> instead of <i>tea</i> for the evening meal to all -future expeditions. Many of the articles of food must be -thawed before the process of cooking begins, the greater part<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -of the provisions being frozen as hard as iron. The tins with -preserved meat stand for hours in boiling water, and the -things for supper on the cabin stove, in order to be thawed. -A plate of cheese that steams, butter as hard as a stone, -which has thrown off the salt it contained in great lumps -from the action of frost, a ham as hard as the never-thawed -ground of the Tundra of Siberia, form an icy repast, specially -if we use knives, which are so cold that they often break -with the least exertion of force. I will here notice the -sanitary importance—insisted on by Parry and Ross—of -fresh bread, which the cook in an Arctic ship should be -able to bake about twice a week. On board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> -we used at first Liebig’s “baking-powder,” but this from -being kept too long gave such a disagreeable taste to the -bread, that we gave it up and contented ourselves with a -defective leaven.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus22"> -<img src="images/illus22.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DIVINE SERVICE ON DECK.</p> -</div> - -<p>9. Every Sunday at noon we celebrated Divine Service. -Under the shelter of the deck-tent, the Gospel was read -to the little band of Christians gathered together by the -sound of the ship’s bell, in all that grave simplicity which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -marked the worship of the early Christian Church. The -Service over, we then sat down to the Sunday dinner, which -was graced by a glass of wine and cake. Carlsen and -Lusina were our guests by turns. Carlsen always appeared -in his wig, trimmed with extra care, and on the high festivals -of the Church decorated also with the cross of the order -of St. Olaf. Lusina, our excellent-boatswain, was ready to -talk with enthusiasm on any subject whatever, prefacing his -stream of words with some sententious remark or with some -far-fetched introduction. During our meals the conversation -turned on our plans for the future; we talked of Polar bears; -we discussed the question of the existence of Gillis’ Land -and the possibility of our reaching Siberia; but very seldom -did we venture to speak of what filled the minds of all—our -captivity in the ice. Political combinations formed a -favourite theme; and as we had some old numbers of the -<i>Neue Frei Presse</i> on board, they furnished an inexhaustible -source of topics for conversation. The events of the year -1870 were related as the latest news, and we thought anxiously -of the issue of the war between Germany and France, -and feared lest Austria should be compelled to take part -in it.</p> - -<p>10. After dinner came the hour for contemplation; in our -lonely berths and by the side of our beds we sat down to -brood—to listen to our watches beating seconds. The -English Arctic expeditions, during the long period of their -enforced leisure, found a great source of amusement and -distraction in theatricals. But the ships of these expeditions -had far larger crews than the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, and the men could -be more easily spared for these recreations. But there were -other reasons why we could not think of following the example -of the English. Our situation during the first winter -was far too serious for such things, and no other place for the -theatre was at our disposal except the barricaded deck; -and we should have had to sit there with a thermometer -marking from 25° to 37° of cold, on the centigrade scale, -and see how the actors and the audience suddenly rubbed -their frost-bitten feet with snow! There was one other -potent reason for this renunciation—our performances must -have been in four different languages.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> - -<p>11. Monotonous beyond all monotony is life in the long -night of a Polar winter, and exile can never on earth be so -entire as here under the dreadful triumvirate—darkness, cold, -and solitude. In such a life, the man who surrenders himself -to idleness, or even to sleeping during the day, must necessarily -be utterly demoralized. In fact, nothing can be more -destructive to an expedition wintering in the Arctic regions -than the indulgence of mental or bodily lassitude. The real -ground of the failure of the attempts made in earlier times -to winter in Jan Mayen and other places in the far North was -probably the utter want of discipline. There is, however, -a widely spread, though mistaken view, that the long day -of Polar lands is oppressive to man. Nothing is more -untrue; for not continual light, but constant darkness, is -distressing. Continual daylight heightens the energies and -vital powers; and yet, in our own first winter, it was less -the darkness which wore us than the perpetual anxiety; -when our greatest consolation was found in the Arabic -proverb, “<i>In niz beguzared</i>” (<i>This too will pass away</i>), inscribed -on our cabin wall.</p> - -<p>12. After supper, before going to bed, we smoked our -cigars in the shed over the cabin steps, with a thermometer -from 25° to 37° below zero C., and talked pleasantly over -bygone days, though our thoughts were not unmixed with -gloomy forebodings, as we heard ever and anon the ominous -sounds that issued from the moving ice. Existence on board -a straining and groaning ship resembles life over a volcano. -It was only after we had been some time in this ice-covered -wooden grotto that the temperature rose, through our own -heat, a few degrees, and it was certainly some testimony to -the excellence of my down-quilted clothes that I could -wear them in the cabin without being distressed by the heat, -and yet I was able to sit the whole evening in this freezing -hole without suffering from cold. A train-oil lamp sends -out almost more smoke than light, and when the snow drifted, -we had to contend with the importunities of the dogs, who -seemed to regard the deck shed as a great dog-kennel. -With a sudden rise of the outer temperature this shed became -utterly uninhabitable, for its coating of ice then melted and -fell down like rain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<p>13. The effect of the long winter night is even greater -on the body than on the mind, because of the insufficient -opportunities for exercise. Middendorf contrasting the influence -of climate on men remarks:—“I consider travels in -cold regions, even in the most unfavourable conditions of -climate, to be far less dangerous to life than travels under -the tropics. The former certainly are unutterably more -miserable, but as certainly less deadly. I say this notwithstanding -the danger which threatens ships when they -penetrate far within the realms of ice. We are never secure -from sudden and deadly attacks of illness in tropical countries, -but the longer we remain in them the less is the danger; -whereas the high North deteriorates the constitution of the -blood, and after three winters, very few can stand a fourth.” -To the influences of Polar life detrimental to health must be -added the constant hindrance to perspiration from wearing -an extra quantity of woollen clothing—more or less hurtful as -it is more or less waterproof—the want of fresh animal and -vegetable food, and last, but not least, the periodic departure -of light and warmth.</p> - -<p>14. Our sanitary condition during the two winters we -spent on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was not altogether satisfactory. -Scorbutic affections of the mouth and diseases of the lungs -appeared sometimes in distressing shapes, and scarcely a day -passed in which we had not one or two on the sick-list. I -believe, however, that our trying situation had far more to do -with these evils than the southern blood and breeding of -our people. The incessant watchfulness and care of Dr. -Kepes left nothing undone which would counteract the evil -influences to which we were exposed. The berths of the crew -were changed in rotation, and those which were exposed -to the greatest accumulation of ice were dried by warm -air conveyed through movable pipes. Want of exercise, -constant change of temperature, depression of mind, the -periodic scarcity of fresh meat, were the causes of the -scurvy. In our first winter it appeared only in the more -crowded quarters of the crew. It was then also that the -first symptoms of lung-disease appeared in Krisch, the -engineer, which he probably contracted from “catching cold.” -From that time he liked to sit by the stove and always<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -complained of cold. Our supplies of preservatives against, -and remedies for scurvy were rather limited, although we had -at our disposal several hundred tins of preserved vegetables, -a cask of cloud-berries (<i>Rubus chamæmorus</i>), which we had -brought from Tromsoe, and above a hundred bottles of lime-juice. -Wine also is an important preservative; we therefore -served out to the crew, notwithstanding our small supply, -twice a week, not Kepes’ artificial, but real wine—at the rate -of two bottles for eighteen men. No doubt scorbutic -symptoms would have been far more general and severe, -had we not been fortunate enough to shoot no less than -sixty-seven Polar bears, a larger number than had fallen -to any previous expedition. It was more a sign of our good -intentions to leave nothing undone or untried in our efforts -against this malady, than any actual service it was to us, that -we sowed cress and cabbage—radishes did not succeed—in -a bed which we suspended over the stove. It was interesting, -however, to observe how the little plants of cress, with -every change of position, always turned to the light of the -lamp, growing to the height of three inches, and in spite -of their brimstone colour retaining the true cress flavour.</p> - -<p>15. The use of the bath tends greatly to promote health, -for without it the skin of the body has no other stimulant; -but the insecurity of our position rendered bathing sometimes -a somewhat doubtful enjoyment. I remember many cases, -when some of us, while bathing in the cold dark washing -place in lukewarm water an inch deep, were alarmed by a -sudden pressure of ice. Ultimately we gave up this practice, -finding that it produced a troublesome amount of damp.</p> - -<p>16. To a stranger, who should have visited us during this -winter, nothing in the ship would have been so surprising -and interesting as a visit to the quarters of the crew. Except -for an hour, from five to six o’clock in the evening, when they -were encouraged to take exercise in the open air, the rest of -their time was spent in school, or in the duties of the watch, -or in the work of the ship. Our supply of Slavonic books -was unfortunately not very ample, and besides, not all the -crew were able to read; the greater therefore was their -tendency, like men of southern climes, to harmless noise, -and I believe that some of our people, during the whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -expedition, never ceased to speak. Here I beg to insert -some passages from my journal:—“Passing by the steaming -kitchen, we enter their messroom. Here in a narrow space -we find the toilers of the sea and the mountains—eighteen -in number. A little band of Dalmatians who for the first -time encounter darkness and cold, the horrors of which are -increased tenfold to men born and bred in the sunny South. -Truly it could be no little thing to such men to be torn from -sleep almost every night by the movement of the ice, to sit -day after day in the long night of winter without any real -intellectual occupation, and yet not to become demoralized, -but remain calm and composed, and ever ready to obey and -oblige. Can anything higher be said in their praise? Those -men slept, each by himself, in a double row of berths; only -Lusina the boatswain, and Carlsen the harpooner, who had -circumnavigated Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya, occupied -a separate partition. The clatter of the tongues of so many -vehement Southerners was like the sound made by the smaller -wheels of a machine, while the naive simplicity of the grave -Tyrolese came in between times, like the steady beat of a -great cog-wheel. It was a miniature reproduction of the -confusion of tongues of Babel. Lusina speaks Italian to -the occupants of the officers’ cabin, English with Carlsen, -French with Dr. Kepes, and Slavonic with the crew. Carlsen -had adopted for the ‘Slavonians,’ as he called our people, a -kind of speech compounded of Norwegian, English, German, -Italian, and Slavonic. The crew, with the exception of the -two Italians, speak Slavonic among themselves. The head -of the little German colony is the cook, a Styrian; his heart -is better than his culinary skill, for only too readily he leaves -his work to be done by the stove. There is also among them -a Moravian, Pospischill, the Vulcan of the ship; but we must -return to the predominant race—the Slavonic. There is -Lukinovich, a very Harpagon, always collecting, finding -treasures in nails, empty bottles, lamp wicks, and searching -even under the snow for articles wherewith to fill his sack—the -sack which he was one day to leave behind him, much -against the grain, when we abandoned the ship. There is -Marola, the steward, and Fallesich, who had worked at the -Suez Canal; these are our great singers. Then Palmich with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -his lance, the man whose zeal never bated, and whose very -glance transfixed everything; Vecerina, the Job of the party, -and the merry Titans, Sussich and Catarinich; Latkovich -and Lettis, ‘the philosophers;’ Stiglich, the immovable confessor -of passive obedience and the unlawfulness of resistance; -Zaninovich, the ‘pearl;’ Haller the herdsman and Klotz -the prophet. Five of these men had run away from their -wives. Klotz the prophet was under all circumstances, not -indeed the most useful, but the most interesting person of this -little community. A lofty calm worthy of an Evangelist -graced his outer man; of still greater stature than Andreas -Höfer, he wore, like him, a large black beard. As a hunter, -a guide, a collector of stones, and a lonely enthusiast, he had -moved about the mountains of his home, leading a life of -visions. At home he was regarded as an incomparably bold -mountaineer, and the ropes of the ship were to him so many -convenient foot-paths. His reputation as a physician in his -native land was great, and on board ship he failed not with -his good offices. Haller, his fellow-countryman, shared with -Klotz the office of armourer, and the duties of hunter and -driver of the sledge-dogs; and when we began our sledge -journeys, both of them were ready to relieve others in -dragging. Both had served in the army, Klotz on the Tonale, -Haller on the Stelvio, and in 1868 the latter had been my -useful companion when I was engaged in the survey of the -Ortler and Adamello Alps. ‘The philosophers’ of our -party, Latkovich and Lettis, had drawn a fine distinction -between the different layers of ice, according as they contained -a greater or less amount of saline matter: <i>Ghiaccio -della prima</i> and <i>Ghiaccio della seconda qualità</i>.”</p> - -<p>17. To obviate as far as possible the evils of too much -leisure among the men, a school was instituted at the -beginning of the January of the second year; Lieutenant -Weyprecht, Brosch, and Orel undertook the Italians and -Slavonians, and I the Tyrolese. To avoid all confusion I -retired with my smaller body of pupils to the shed on deck. -Here, with the thermometer at 25° to 37° below zero C., the -seed of wisdom was sown in the hearts of these sons of -nature; but alas! the climate was not favourable to its -growth. After many painful disillusions, the Pole was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -ascertained to be the intersection of lines in a point, of which -nothing was to be seen in reality. If in this little lecture-room -an exercise had to be examined, and the scholars were -obliged to hold in their breath, in order that the teacher, who -spoke out of a cloud, might be able to see the slate; or when -the pupils engaged in a division sum had suddenly to stop to -rub their hands with snow, was it a matter of wonder if the -school did not flourish exceedingly?</p> - -<p>18. The food of the crew consisted principally of preserved -meats, different kinds of pulse, and the products of the chase, -amounting on an average to two bears a week. Bear-flesh, -roasted, was liked by all; the seal was at first despised, till -necessity corrected taste. Besides artificial wine, water was -their strongest drink.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">ICE-PRESSURES.</span></h3> - -<p>1. When compared with the tortures we endured from the -thought that we were captives in the ice, little to us seemed -the dangers which threatened our existence, though these -assumed the appalling form of ice-pressures. Daily almost -the ship had to sustain the attacks of our old enemy, and -when the ice seemed to repose, threatening indications were -not wanting to warn us how short that repose might be. My -journal records a long series of commotions in the ice on -almost every day of January 1873, and even during the pauses -the timbers of the ship continually shook and trembled and -creaked. The pressures accompanied by a low grumbling -noise were very great on the 3rd, and lasted till the oldest ice -was shattered, during which our hatchways were displaced. -On the 4th the pressures continued without intermission -during the whole day. But on the 22nd they exceeded all -we had hitherto experienced. When we awoke in the morning, -the crashing of the masses of ice was dreadful. In the -messroom we heard a deep, grumbling, rumbling noise—the -ship trembled like a steam-vessel under very high pressure. -When we hastened on deck we were greeted by the long -howls which issued from the ice, and we were soon convinced -of the exceedingly formidable character of this special onset! -Ten paces astern of the ship, the ice had been heaved up in a -moment into mountains. With the greatest difficulty, amid -the profound darkness that prevailed, the boats were got on -board, and many stores re-shipped, though some of our coals -had to be sacrificed. A tent formed of sails was engulfed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -and our water-hole utterly displaced by the pressures; it was -only after many attempts that we succeeded in finding a -thinner ice-table, which we pierced till we found water. -January 26, again tremendous pressures roused us from sleep. -In half an hour every preparation was made to leave the -ship, and I believe that many of us, while waiting the issue -amid the fearful din heard from the deck, longed that the -ship might be crushed, in order to escape from the torture of -continually preparing to depart.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus23"> -<img src="images/illus23.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ICE-PRESSURE IN THE POLAR NIGHT.</p> -</div> - -<p>2. I will not, however, fatigue the reader with the monotonous -rehearsal of our ever-recurring daily dangers, but will -here insert a few passages from my journal of that date, which -will suffice to explain our position:—</p> - -<p>“Scarcely asleep after the exhaustion and cares of the -day, the timbers of the ship begin to moan and groan close -by our ear, and we awake and lie listening to the onset of the -ice. We hear the step of the watch on deck crackling on the -ice as he paces to and fro; as long as it is measured and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -steady we know there is nothing to be feared. Again that -uncanny creaking in the timbers, and the watch comes to -announce to those below that the terrible movement in the ice -has begun, and once more we all spring from our beds, put -on our fur clothes, seize our ready-filled bags, and amid the -darkness stand ready on deck, and listen to the war between -the ice and the elements. In autumn, when the ice-fields -were not nearly so large as in the winter, their collision was -accompanied by a deep dull sound; but now, rendered hard -and brittle by the extreme cold, a sound as of a howl of -rage<a name="FNanchor_19" id="FNanchor_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> was emitted as they crashed together. Ever nearer -come the rushing, rattling sounds, as if a thousand heavy -waggons were driving over a plain. Close under us the ice -begins to tremble, to moan and wail in every key;—as the -fury of the conflict increases, the grumbling becomes deeper -and deeper, concentric fissures open themselves round the -ship, and the shattered portions of the floes are rolled up into -heaps. The intermitting howls become fearfully rapid, -announcing the acme of the conflict, and anxiously we listen -to the sound which we know too well. Then follows a crash -and crack, and many dark lines wander over the ice: these -are for a moment narrow fissures, the next moment they -yawn asunder like abysses. Often with such a crash the force -of the pressure seems broken; the piles of ice collapse, like -the undermined walls of a fortress, and calm is again restored. -But to-day this was but the commencement, and with renewed -violence a second assault of the ice begins,—then a third, yea -a fourth. Tables of ice broken off from the floes around us -rise perpendicularly from the sea; some are bent under the -enormous pressure, and their curved shapes attest the elasticity -of ice. Like a giant in the conflict, a veteran floe, many -winters old, crushes in its rotations its feeble neighbours, and -in turn succumbs to the mighty iceberg—the leviathan of all -ice-forms, which forces its way through a phalanx of opposing -masses, crushing them to pieces as it advances. And in this -wild and fearful tumult a ship—squeezed, pressed, all but -crushed, by the ice; her crew on deck, ready to leave her at -a moment’s notice. Boats and sledges, tents, provisions, -arms and ammunition, everything prepared, if the ship should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -at last be destroyed—but for what?—for an escape? No one -really thought this possible, though all were ready for the -attempt. But again the conflict ceases, and once more we -breathe freely, and can contemplate the wonderful change that -has come on everything round us. A few minutes have -sufficed to create a maze of mountain chains from a plain -of ice. The flat surfaces covered with snow, which we saw -yesterday, are gone. Ice ruins are visible on every side. -Abysses gape between the shattered masses, and show the -dark sea beneath. Gradually a calm has crept over all; -equilibrium is reinstated in the desolate realm of ice; new -‘leads’ and ‘ice-holes’ have been opened up, but for the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> no liberation.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE WANE OF THE LONG POLAR NIGHT.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Although the sun was mounting higher, there was no -essential change in the gloom and darkness which surrounded -us. In fact we were drifting during the whole of January -towards the north, and were wintering nearer the Pole than -any who had ever preceded us.<a name="FNanchor_20" id="FNanchor_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> On gloomy days, noon was -not distinguishable. We were now four hundred miles within -the Frozen Ocean, and had been for five months the sport -and play of winds and currents, and nothing indicated any -change in our situation. Yet, in spite of our desperate position, -the first, ever so faint, indications of the return of light -filled us with joy. With a clear atmosphere, January 10, we -observed for the first time at noon a decided brightness, and -on the 19th a brilliant carmine was seen in the sky, an hour -before noon on the southern horizon. After a long obscuration -from cloudy weather, the morning twilight increased -gradually, and by the end of the month it was discernible in -the forenoon. As the light increased, the signs of the convulsions -were more distinctly seen. Round us there rose -piles of craggy ice, which, hurled up, as from a crater, by the -ice-pressure of the 22nd, kept us in a state of constant fear, -lest the ice-walls would break up and fall in upon us. At a -little distance off, nothing was to be seen of the ship but the -tops of its masts: the rest of it was hidden behind a lofty -wall of ice. The ship itself, raised seven feet above the level -of the sea, rested on a protuberance of ice, and, removed from -its natural element, looked a truly miserable object. This -ice protuberance had been formed from a floe which had -been often rent asunder and frozen again, and had been -rounded in a singular manner from the under-driving of the -ice and the lateral pressure in its recent movements. In -other respects, also, our environment had been completely -changed. Before the movement in the ice on the 22nd, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -narrow strip of level ice wound like a river through a maze of -hummocks, and throughout the winter this had been diligently -used for exercising the dogs. Of this nothing was now to be -seen: walls of ice rose, where a fortnight before our coal-house -had stood: fissures gaped on every side. In every -respect the weather during this month was capricious and -unaccountable. In the first two weeks, the temperature fell -several times below -35° F., and on January 8, 13 and 14, -quicksilver, exposed to the cold, froze to a solid mass; gin -also froze, and alcohol only maintained its fluid state. Yet, -notwithstanding this low temperature, the snow was always -soft; and it continued to be so, amid all the variations of -temperature and the high winds of this month. January 22 -and 23, the temperature rose for a short time to 26° F.; everything -in the ship then began to thaw, and a disagreeable -moisture penetrated both our clothes and our quarters. The -mean temperature of this month, in consequence of these -abnormal variations, did not exceed -8° F., and was therefore -about ten degrees higher than might have been expected.</p> - -<p>2. The bears had in these last weeks kept at a regrettable -distance from us. On the 12th, however, a very large fellow -ventured to come within ten paces of the rope-ladder on the -starboard side. We fired at him with explosive balls and he -fell; but his strength was so great, that even after these -terrible wounds he was able to get up and run. Explosive -bullets, however, are to be recommended for encounters with -bears, though their flight is rather uncertain. A bear-hunt, -on the 29th and 30th, had a somewhat tragical result. About -ten o’clock at night, when it was quite dark, a bear approached -the ship, and with the agility of a tiger fell on Sumbu, who -got away very cleverly, and by his loud barking summoned -Krisch, who was then on watch, to his aid. When he was not -more than ten feet from the deck Krisch fired at him and -wounded him. The noise brought some of us at once, and -though it was exceedingly dark and the snow very deep, a -useless chase, in which I joined, forthwith began. The pursuit -through the midst of driving snow became weaker; until -at last I found myself alone with Palmich. We could see -nothing; and heard only an occasional howl of pain. We -hastened our steps through the whirling snow, till we saw, by -the dim light of our lantern, Matoschkin lying howling on -the ground, and the bear a few steps from him, vigorously -assailed by Sumbu, who seized him by the foot whenever he -began to retreat. As Matoschkin incautiously approached -too near, the bear turned, seized him, and carried him off. -To fire with effect was impossible; we were too far off to -take aim with our rifles. The bear continued to drag the dog -along, and at last a puff of wind put out our lantern, and we -soon discovered our inability to keep up with our enemy. -Bitterly as we lamented the fate of the poor dog, whose -howls were brought to our ears by the wind, we had nothing -for it but to return to the ship. About noon next day when -it was sufficiently clear, Brosch, the two Tyrolese, and I set -out to ascertain the fate of the dog. The snow was drifting -heavily, and we constantly sank into it as we advanced. After -a toilsome walk we came on traces of blood, which Sumbu -followed up, while Gillis timidly stuck to us. At last, after we -had gone on for the third of a mile, Sumbu came back in a -great state of excitement, and then ran on before us till he -stopped at an ice-hummock, where he renewed his angry barks. -We advanced with quickened steps and with our rifles cocked, -and when we were about twenty paces from it the bear came -out from behind, apparently in great astonishment. After -several shots the bear fell, but again gathering himself up he -dragged himself along like a walrus, in spite of his broken -spine, with extraordinary activity towards an “ice-hole” -covered with young ice. Two other shots with explosive -bullets terminated his career, and Matoschkin, whose body we -afterwards found behind the ice-hillock, was avenged.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus24"> -<img src="images/illus24.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">FRUITLESS ATTEMPT TO RESCUE MATOSCHKIN.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> - -<p>3. The cold set in with great intensity with the month of -February and maintained itself throughout it: the mean -monthly temperature being -31° F. Repeatedly the quicksilver -froze, and in the last eight days it remained solid. -Even the petroleum was frozen on the 17th at -49° F. in -the globe of the lamp, though it was throwing out a considerable -heat. The lowest temperature we experienced was -on the last day of the month, -51° F. Notwithstanding the -extreme cold, the light had increased so much that a thermometer, -in which the degrees were strongly marked, could -be read off, even on the 3rd of the month, at ten o’clock in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -forenoon without the aid of lamplight; and on the 20th we -were able to carry on our meteorological observations, without -any artificial light at six o’clock in the evening. The -ruddiness we observed at noon in the south grew more and -more decided. On clear days we could discern, about seven -o’clock in the morning, a faint twilight, and at noon of -February 14 the near approach of the sun was distinctly to -be traced by a bright cloud that was resting over it, though it -was still below the horizon. About the middle of the month -there was light enough to cause the different forms and groups -of ice to cast shadows. In spite of the low temperature, we -remained for hours in the open air, though previously to -this period we had ventured on deck for a few minutes only -at a time—the watch of course excepted. But as the daylight -increased, we saw also what a dark, gloomy grave had -been our abode for so long a period. All our thoughts and -conversations were concentrated on the returning light of -the sun. The movements of the ice ceased to be a source -of dread, though for several days during the month they -had been exceedingly formidable. In the course of our -drifting we had penetrated into a region where never ship had -been before. The following table exhibits the course of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i>, as she drifted from August 21, 1872, to February -27, 1873:—</p> - -<table class="borders" summary="The course of the Tegetthoff as she drifted from August 21, 1872, to February 27, 1873"> - <tr> - <th colspan="3">Time.</th> - <th>N. Lat.<br />° ′</th> - <th>E. Lon.<br />° ′</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Aug.</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td>1872,</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·22</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">62·3</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">day when the<br />ship was beset</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sept.</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td>1872</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·25</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62·50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·23</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62·49</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·35</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60·18</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·37</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60·50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·28</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">63·9</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·36</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">64·8</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·38</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">64·4</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·37</td> - <td class="tdr bl">64·10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Oct.</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·50</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65·22</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">76·59</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65·48</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">77·4</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">66·1</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">77·50</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·22</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">77·48</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">69·8</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">77·46</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">77·53</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·12</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Nov.</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">77·53</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·30</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·15</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·42</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">78·8</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">71·16</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·10</td> - <td class="tdr bl">70·31</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·13</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·48</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Dec.</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·19</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">69·1</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·21</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">69·2</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·25</td> - <td class="tdr bl">68·57</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·22</td> - <td class="tdr bl">67·42</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·13</td> - <td class="tdr bl">67·11</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·10</td> - <td class="tdr bl">68·19</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jan.</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td>1873</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·37</td> - <td class="tdr bl">66·56</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·43</td> - <td class="tdr bl">69·32</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·50</td> - <td class="tdr bl">71·47</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Feb.</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·45</td> - <td class="tdr bl"><span class="fraction">73·7</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·12</td> - <td class="tdr bl">72·20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78·15</td> - <td class="tdr bl">71·38</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79·11</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79·12</td> - <td class="tdr bl"></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> - -<p>4. The inspection of this table shows that the movement -of the ship was retarded as the increasing cold closed the -open places of the sea, and when we fell under the influence -of the Siberian ice-drift from east to west. It may be -remarked, too, that we drifted generally straight before the -wind, and that we and our floe during the first four months -turned only one degree in azimuth. By the end of January -all the open places of the sea were closed; and the masses of -ice were thus driven one over the other from their mutual -pressure, and pile thus rose upon pile. It seems probable, -also, that wind was the main cause of our drifting, while sea -currents were only of secondary moment. From the beginning -of the month of February we drifted constantly toward -the north-west, and from this deviation in our course we -indulged in the hope that we were approaching the mysterious -Gillis’ Land. But at this time the liberation of the ship in -the summer was the sum of our expectations and desires. In -fact, there was not one of us who doubted this eventuality. -Fully convinced, as we were, that our floes, firmly attached to -each other, would ultimately break up and drift southwards, -we determined to make them the bearers of the record of -what had befallen us. Hence we threw out, February 14th, -round the ship a number of bottles, inclosing a narrative of -the main events of the expedition from the departure of -Count Wilczek up to that date.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE RETURN OF LIGHT.—THE SPRING OF 1873.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Though the sun did not return to our latitude (78° 15′, 71° -38′ E. long.) till the 19th of February, we were able to greet -his beams three days previous to that date, owing to the strong -refraction of 1° 40′, which accompanied a temperature of -35 -(F.). To the Polar navigator the return of the sun is an event -of indescribable joy and magnificence. In those dreadful -wastes he feels the force of the superstitions of past ages, -and becomes almost a worshipper of the eternal luminary. -As of old the worshippers of Belus watched its approach on -the luxuriant shores of the Euphrates, we, too, standing on -mountains of ice or perched on the masts of the ship, waited -to hail the advent of the source of light. At last it came! -A wave of light rolled through the vast expanse of heaven, -and then—up rose the sun-god, surrounded with purple clouds, -and poured his beams over the world of ice. No one spoke -for a time. Who indeed could have found words to embody -the feelings of relief which beamed on the faces of all, and -which found a kind of expression in the scarcely audible exclamation -of one of the simplest and least cultured of the -crew, “Benedetto giorno!” The sun had risen with but half -his disk, as if reluctant to shine on a world unworthy of his -beams. A rosy hue suffused the whole scene, and the cold -Memnon pillars of ice gave forth mysterious whispers in the -flood of heat and light. Now indeed with the sun had a new -year begun—what was it to bring forth for us and our prospects? -But alas, his stay was short—he remained above the -horizon for a few minutes only; again his light was quenched, -and a hazy violet colour lay over distant objects, and the -twinkling stars shone in the heavens.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus25"> -<img src="images/illus25.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SUN-RISE (1873).</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>2. While we watched the sun’s return, we had also an opportunity -of looking on each other. How shocked and surprised -were we with the change which had been wrought on us in -the long Polar night! Our sunken cheeks were overspread -with pallor; we had all the signs of convalescence after a -long illness—the sharp-pointed nose, the sunken eye. The -eyes of all had suffered from the light of lamps which had -burnt for months; those especially who had used them for -hard work. But all these consequences were of short duration -under the beneficent influence of the daylight and the -spring sun, which soon brought colour into our faces. Cheerfulness -gradually returned to all on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, as -we revelled in the warm beams of the sun. We built a house -without a roof, and open to the south, and thither the healthy -and the sick on calm fine days used to repair from the dreary -ship, and sun themselves like lizards. But within the ship it -was still night.</p> - -<p>3. The visits of bears again became numerous. February -17th one of about five feet long was shot very close to the ship, -and two days afterwards a second came near us, but was -scared away by the awkwardness of the hunters. The dogs -however pursued him, and we were compelled from fears for -their safety to follow up the chase. The temperature of -33° F., -and a pretty strong wind against which we had to run in -the pursuit, brought on in some of our party palpitation of -the heart and spitting of blood, and our return to the ship -was a matter of some difficulty. On the morning of the -20th another bear came close to the ship, was fired at, but -missed, and got away. Palmich, Haller, and Klotz immediately -gave chase, though the temperature was -40° F., and -the wind high. After a short time Palmich returned with -his face frost-bitten, and the Tyrolese after several hours, -without any success, but with their feet so frost-bitten that -they had lost all feeling in them. The second stage of the -malady had begun, which renders amputation almost a necessity. -For several hours their feet had to be rubbed with -snow till sensation returned, and with returning sensation -much suffering; large swellings as big as a man’s fist rose on -their feet, which were reduced only after the application of -ice for several days. Again, in the grey of the morning of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -February 22nd a bear came within eighty paces of the ship, -which Sussich, the watch on deck, after several shots, which -the animal seemed not in the least to regard, at last hit and -killed. By a wound on his right forepaw we recognised our -friend whom we had hotly chased a few days before. He -was six feet in length, and in his stomach there was nothing -but a small piece of the skin of a seal. Sussich was overjoyed -with his success, and for the whole day tried to drag -everyone outside the ship to show the result of his prowess, -“Se mi non era, il copava tutti,” he added, with a look of -contempt on those who had not been so successful as himself.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus26"> -<img src="images/illus26.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE CARNIVAL ON THE ICE.</p> -</div> - -<p>4. Although at the end of February the sun rose with a -carmine light which imparted an indescribable charm to the -fields of snow and ice, we were doomed to disappointment in -our expectation of bright and clear weather in the after-part -of the day. Soon after sun-rise, white frosty mists gathered -over the ice-fields, making the sun as he shone through them -a mere ball of light, or completely concealing him. On -February 24th we enjoyed the peculiar spectacle of seeing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -the sun appear, the temperature being -44° F., distorted by -refraction, through the thick mists on the horizon, as if he -were quite flat, beamless, and of a coppery red. The end of -February reminded us of the carnival time of the land of the -South, and the crew appeared in such masques as they could -command; but their masquerading formed a sad and mocking -contrast with the gravity of our position. The men -bestowed all their art on “Sumbu,” who was dressed up as the -demon “Lindwurm,” and deported himself in a manner highly -becoming his costume.</p> - -<p>5. With the month of March the spring had, in name at -least, begun; but in our sense of the word no spring as yet -appeared. Instead of the joyous gleams of early vegetation, -a blinding white waste environed us; instead of the perfumed -breath of flowers and the soft air of spring, there rose driving -clouds of ice-needles; and parhelia of almost daily occurrence -shone in a heavy sleepy fashion through white frosty -mists. The atmosphere was filled with snow; to be convinced -of this we had only to look at the sun when the -weather seemed clear and bright. This continual fall of snow -as fine as dust was the cause of the retardation of the evaporation -of the ice. The influence of the sun was so great, -that on March 3 the black-bulb thermometer indicated the -unusual temperature of 45° F., and a layer of snow on the -bows of the vessel showed evident signs of diminution. The -thermometer, in the sun, rose eight degrees March 6, and -nine degrees two days after. The weather was calm and -clear, and the increasing influence of the sun was a most -joyful sensation. A cube of ice freely suspended showed -during the second half of March a daily diminution of 1/100 of its -weight from evaporation; while in the sea itself its behaviour -was the very opposite; the cube of ice, which was submerged -to a depth of ten feet from February 19th to March 5th, -showed at the latter date an increase of its mass, amounting -to ¾ of an inch round its surface. In the beginning and end -of March the cold was so severe, that the thermometer every -day for three weeks marked -35° F. Calms and clear -weather, however, characterized this period of the spring, and -snow-drifting and a clouded sky were rare. On the 13th of -March the full moon again appeared in the azure twilight of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -the western heavens, and its soft light fringed with silver the -dark ranges of ice. The days became longer, and the -shadows cast by the masses of ice were shorter and more -marked, and every one who remained long in the open air -was forced to use snow-spectacles. Small avalanches began -to fall from the rigging, and the masts, spars, and ropes lost -their white frosted aspect. On the 22nd the fore-part of the -ship’s hull facing the south was completely free from snow -and its dark colour was visible. On the 29th the temperature -in the sun exceeded the temperature at 9.30 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span> by 34° F.; -and on the 30th we could for the first time observe the melting -of the snow on the seams of the timber of the ship’s hull. -The enumeration of these events, insignificant as they may -appear, will serve to show with what attention the Polar -navigator notes the minutest occurrence due to the influence -of the sun.</p> - -<p>6. Welcome, though illusive, harbingers of the returning -summer were the first birds, whose arrival we greeted on -the 19th. These were little divers, which flew over the ship -to the open spaces of water amid the ice, there to seek -their food in the countless crustaceæ which abound in them. -Magnificent auroras continued to illuminate our nights; and -although the duration of their intensity was much too brief -to serve as a source of light, there was a charm in these -phenomena which their daily recurrence could not weaken.</p> - -<p>7. While under these various influences the health of all on -board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> greatly improved, we were threatened -with the serious calamity of losing our excellent physician, -Dr. Kepes, who fell ill on the 13th of the month. For two -weeks we were kept in a state of anxious fear for him; and -our anxieties were increased as we had to treat his malady -without the necessary knowledge and experience. To our -great joy, however, he was spared to us; and our supply of -fresh bear’s-flesh was henceforth reserved for him.</p> - -<p>8. For some time the bears had observed a very distressing -reserve and shyness in their visits, On the 15th one came -near us, and as Pekel had for some time announced his approach, -he found a long front of rifles drawn up behind some -masses of ice to give him a warm reception. He, as usual, -came on under the wind, showing considerable interest in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -edifices. He then ascended a small ice-crag, and, after -balancing himself carefully, sat down on the top of it, with his -snout uplifted, snuffing all round. This seemed so ludicrous -to some of our party that they burst out into a laugh so loud, -that the bear came down from his pinnacle in evident astonishment, -and with much circumspection drew nearer and nearer -till at a short distance from us he fell mortally wounded. He -was, alas! a very small animal, about 5½ feet long, and his -stomach was absolutely empty. On the 30th of March -another came close to the ship; the watch on shore fired -at, but missed him, whereupon both the watch and the bear -took to flight.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus27"> -<img src="images/illus27.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE “TEGETTHOFF” DRIFTING IN PACK-ICE.—MARCH 1873.</p> -</div> - -<p>9. April at last arrived, and with it the time of icicles, which -hung down from every yard of the ship, and from every rope -of the rigging, from every icy ridge and crag. The melting -and decaying of the ice, though always a source of satisfaction -when the question of its breaking up is discussed, went on, -to our impatient desires, with intolerable slowness. What was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -it to us that we were able to read even at midnight on the -2nd of April; that the number of divers and sea-gulls constantly -increased; that on the 6th the difference of temperature -between sun and shade was 18°; that the black-bulb -thermometer on the 20th showed 43° F.; that the sun on -the 11th rose about two o’clock in the morning, and from the -16th remained constantly in the heavens? What did all this -matter? The constant light notwithstanding, we were still -environed with the signs of deepest winter, and the forms and -masses of ice collapsed with a slow deliberation that tortured -us. We were no longer to be satisfied and amused with the -spectacle of parhelia, even though the phenomenon should -appear, as it did on the 1st of April, with eight suns. Months -of weary waiting still lay before us; daily we had to arm -ourselves with patience, as, when we came on deck, we discovered -the apparently unchangeable character of our environment, -with all its forms, which had become familiar to us -down to the smallest details. Reluctantly condemned to -almost total idleness, we filled up our time with such occupations -as fancy suggested. Some of our people built a tower -of ice on a level part of our floe; others tried their rifles—tried -often enough before—at empty bottles as targets. Along -with the Tyrolese I constructed a road through hills of ice, -over passes and ridges, going up and down in serpentine paths, -making a circuit of about three miles round the ship. The -labour of weeks with picks and shovels was expended in -making and preserving it; after each downfall of snow this -road had to be dug out afresh. Our passing and repassing -along it through a maze of ice not only beneficially exercised -our bodies, but furnished opportunities for training our dogs -to drag heavy-laden sledges. I continued also to fill my -portfolio with studies of scenery in the ice, and I accustomed -myself, whenever there was no wind, whatever might be the -temperature, to draw for hours together with no other protection -to my hands than light gloves.</p> - -<p>10. April had begun with a temperature of -38° F.; as -the month advanced it steadily increased. At the end of -the month the extreme of cold was but -20° F. But the -weather had now lost the clearness of the early spring; and -constant calms, together with the frequent falls of snow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -undid the work of the few hours of the day on which the sun -shone. The ice was covered with deep snow; on the level -we sank ankle deep, while among the hummocks it was up to -our knees. Sledging would have been impracticable. Among -the changes produced by the softening of the weather, none -was greater or more agreeable than the return of daylight to -the cabin, when we took off the covering of the skylight and -removed the tent-roof from the fore-part of the ship. Once -more to be able to read without the dull glimmer of artificial -light was an extraordinary event in our monotonous life. -For five months our lamps had been burning in our mess-room, -so that the walls were black with smoke, and it was a work of -no small labour to make them clean and pleasant. The -unloading of the ship’s hold was, however, a far heavier, though -necessary task; the thick crusts of ice which had accumulated -on its sides must be removed, lest the provisions should be -damaged by their thawing; and there was no time to lose, -for the temperature in the hold was only 1° below zero. The -provisions, which had been left out on the ice, were again -stowed in the ship, the cessation of the ice-pressures rendering -this precautionary measure useless.</p> - -<p>11. Round a ship which has wintered in the ice there is -gradually accumulated a mass of rubbish of all kinds, of -which cinders form a considerable constituent. These, when -thrown out in small quantities, sink at once into the snow, -while larger quantities act as a non-conducting layer. Hence -we were surrounded by a maze of holes, big and little, alternating -with plateaus, under which winter still continued to -linger. When thaw-water made its appearance, all this was -transformed into a succession of lakes and islands, which we -bridged over by planks.</p> - -<p>12. Meantime we began our labours of digging out the -ship. We removed the wall of snow, which had served as an -outer garment and protection during the winter, and the hard-trodden -layer which covered the deck a foot thick. In clearing -away from the after-part of the ship, we discovered that -the machinery protecting the screw had been torn away -by the ice-pressures. The mischief done, however, was not -considerable; and as the ship made no water, we consoled -ourselves with the thought, that she had sustained no material<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -injury, though she had lain so long out of water perched on -the floe.</p> - -<p>13. The continued cessation of movements in the ice induced -Weyprecht to erect a tent at no great distance from -the ship, to carry on in it observations of the magnetic constants, -which were taken on certain appointed days. On the -night of one of such days, Orel, who conducted these observations, -was surprised by the visit of a bear. His shouts for -help brought us on deck, but before we could actually reach -him, the seaman on the watch had killed the bear with an -explosive bullet. Hitherto these animals had shown little -courage in the neighbourhood of the ship, and to shoot -them from the deck exposed no one to any danger; but this -incident showed us that we could not count securely on their -actions. Soon after this we had another surprise. Stiglich, -the seaman on watch on shore, suddenly found himself confronted -with a bear about eight paces off. Throwing his cap -to the bear, he made a rush for the rope-ladders of the ship, -but fell in his hurry and confusion. Carlsen, hearing his cries -for help, hastened to the rescue, and dexterously shot the -pursuer. A glorious event for Carlsen! who used to tell us -strange stories of his encounters with bears: how he had -scared them away with the glance of his eye; and how once -in Novaya Zemlya he had frightened away a whole pack of -them by the magic of his glance. All doubts in the prowess -of his eye were silenced to-day by the more unquestionable -prowess of his rifle. On the 28th of May a bear clambering -over the wall of ice close astern of the ship was shot dead -with an explosive bullet. His stomach was empty, but notwithstanding -his leanness, he furnished more meat than many -others, for he was fully seven feet long.</p> - -<p>14. At the end of April the force of the winds so loosened -the compactness of the ice, that dark strips hanging above the -horizon in all directions announced the existence of numerous -fissures, although they were invisible even from the masts of -the ship. We counted on these signs with such unshaken -confidence, that when on the 2nd of May we heard in the -distance the now familiar sound of the ice-pressures, we -heard them not only without dismay, but as the voice of a -joyous message. Three-quarters of a year had passed away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -since we were first caught in the ice—a time laden to us with -bitter disappointments to our hopes, and great dangers to our -lives. The hour of our long and ardently desired liberation -seemed at hand. If once we got free, it lay within the bounds -of possibility that we might reach, if not the somewhat -mythical Gillis’ Land, then at least the uninhabited Arctic -coasts of Siberia. Siberia had, in fact, become the rosiest of -our hopes. Some, indeed, still indulged in extravagant expectations -and counted on the discovery of new lands, even -while they drifted with the ice. But our wishes for the most -part had become so subdued, that the discovery of the smallest -cliff would have satisfied our ambition as discoverers.</p> - -<p>15. But Nature’s laws held their own course, undisturbed -by our desires. Snow continued to fall in abundance, and -spread its mantle over the ice. The constant round of downfalls -and evaporation was a sad bar to our hopes. In the -beginning of May the snow began to thaw on the surface, and -became soft and sticky. Even in the depth of winter it was -never hard, but like the fine dry grains of driving sand. This -change in the snow, which occurs a fortnight earlier than in -Greenland, compelled us to substitute our black leather boots -for those of sailcloth, which we had hitherto worn. On the -2nd of May the temperature fell to -8° F., but it now began -to rise gradually, so that it sometimes reached the freezing -point about the end of the month, and on the 29th rose -five degrees above it. The mean temperature of the month, -however, was not above 16° F. But the difference of temperature -in the sun and the shade became greater and greater. -The thermometer marked -18° F. at 6 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> of the 1st of May, -and on the 11th the black-bulb thermometer showed 90° F. -at 3 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span>, while the common instrument gave only 14° F. -In the middle of the month, after the heavy winds fell, -we were enveloped with dark fog banks; stray beams of the -sun broke through the warm misty atmosphere, and dark -skies were succeeded by masses of white vapour illuminated -by the sun. Just as in our happier clime, the Arctic April -has her alternations of cloud and sunshine.</p> - -<p>16. Hitherto the only birds which had visited us were -divers and gulls. Once only a snow-bunting flew among us, -and fearlessly settled on the ship. On the 24th of May the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -auks made their appearance, and from that date we were constantly -entertained by the whirring sounds of their flight. As -they keep one direction in their flight, we could shoot those -only which passed over the ship; they were a useful addition -to our table, though they had to be steeped in vinegar to -make them palatable. The majestic Burgomaster Gull appeared -somewhat later, and later still the “Ice-birds” frequented -the shores of the lakes around us, and hovered round -the remains of the bears we had shot. These birds settled -with the greatest boldness in the immediate neighbourhood -of the ship, and day and night filled the air with their wild -shrill cries.</p> - -<p>17. By the middle of March, Krisch, the engineer, had put -the steam machinery in working order, but another month -elapsed before the screw-propeller, which had been frozen -fast, was set free; our fears lest it should refuse to act proved -to be groundless. As, however, there was no prospect of our -being able to use steam for some time, it was thought -advisable to dig out and raise the rudder in order to secure it.</p> - -<p>18. On the 26th of May a partial eclipse of the sun was -visible in our latitude; but from an error in our calculations -we had ante-dated the commencement of the observation by -about two hours and a half. Everyone on board who had an -instrument at his command stood ready to observe the passage -of the moon over the sun’s disk. After waiting for some -time in vain, we discovered the error we had committed as to -the time of the beginning of the eclipse, but in order that the -dignity of astronomical observation might not be degraded in -the eye of the crew, we still held our ground with the telescopes -in our hands. Two hours of such suspense enabled us -to feel that there could be no more perfect fulfilment of the -punishment of Sisyphus than being condemned to wait for an -eclipse of the sun which would not come off! At last the -eclipse took place, but not until great disgust had been excited -in the minds of men who were too much inclined to regard -the whole thing as a piece of humbug. At the height of the -eclipse about one-third only of the sun’s disk was obscured, -and the sun was so covered with mist that we could look at -it without the use of coloured glasses. The whole duration -of the eclipse was one hour and fifty-six minutes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>19. From the 1st of the month the number of living -creatures belonging to the expedition had been increased by -the birth of four Newfoundland puppies, who passed the -earliest days of their youth in a tent erected on the ice, and -artificially heated to the temperature of a European May. -But all our care in rearing this litter was frustrated by one of -these little Polar wretches, who, after sucking his mother till -he was as round as a drum, lay on his brothers as they slept, -and stifled them. This little criminal received the name of -Torossy, and soon became the pet of the crew, and a favourite -with all the other dogs. The fame which he afterwards gained -made him an important member of the expedition. All the -dogs had become so hardy during the past winter, that they -now slept outside their kennels, finding the inside too warm -for them.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE SUMMER OF 1873.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The time crept away with indescribable monotony. The -crew performed their heavy labours, but of events there were -none. The only change in our position was the constant -decay of the buttresses and walls of ice, until the frozen sea -lay like a snowy chaos before us. Pure sharp-edged ice was -nowhere to be seen; the edges were no longer transparent; -evaporation had transformed the surface into a kind of -glacier-snow. June 1, we had the greatest degree of cold of -the month, the thermometer marking 13° F.; but on the -last day it rose to 32·2° F.; the mean temperature being -31·1° F. Every week brought us promises of summer. On -the 1st the black-bulb thermometer reached 98° F.; on the -14th rain fell for the first time; on the 16th the temperature -at 9 o’clock <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span>, was 41·5° F., on the 26th 46·4° F., and on -the 29th even 50·2° F. On these days the air seemed to -have the pleasant mildness of southern climes, and when there -was no wind we felt an oppressive sultriness. Wreaths of -mist moved along the icy wastes which glowed with sunlight, -while the long dark lines of ice-wall lay in deep shadow. -The air was filled with flocks of birds; day and night we -heard the shrill cries of the Robber-gulls, ever and anon -mingled with the barking of the dogs in full pursuit of them. -Flocks of rotges congregated without fear in the narrow -basins of distant “leads;” and the “great gulls,” shunning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -companionship, sat for hours on the top of an ice-cliff, or in -the middle of a floe.</p> - -<p>2. No one who has not actually seen it, can imagine the -blaze of light in the Arctic regions on clear days, or the glow -which floats sometimes over the cold white ice-floes, with -their outlines in constant vibration, while refraction transforms -the icebergs into a variety of shapes. The sun’s power is -sometimes so great as to blister the skin in a few hours, and -the glare from snow and ice produces snow-blindness, if the -eyes be not carefully protected. At a little distance the sea -appears to be of a deep black colour, though it still preserves -its ultramarine hues in the narrow “leads;” even the pure -blue of the heavens may be called almost black when -compared with the dazzling sheen of the ice. In the middle -of June there was an incessant dripping and oozing in the -ice-world, and streams of thaw-water flowed into the open -fissures. By the end of the month the surface of the ice -resembled snow; and even at some depth it was viscous, -instead of brittle and hard as glass, as it is during the colder -season. Streams of thaw-water ran through the softened and -saturated snow. Small lakes were formed on the levels, and -swamps of snow, wearing a traitorous exterior, surrounded -their borders. In the summer of 1873 we observed a vertical -decrease of five or six feet in the thickness of the ice; but -this diminution in thickness was from the surface downwards, -while in the sea itself there was little or no thawing, because -the temperature of its surface was still below zero. The -moisture, from which there was no escape, became exceedingly -troublesome. In spite of our stout leather boots we had -never the comfort of dry feet during the whole of the -summer, and this we felt the more, as our labours to free the -ship, which we had commenced at the beginning of May, -necessitated our being constantly amid the snow and ice.</p> - -<p>3. At the end of May the ship began slowly to settle, and -the water rose between the ice and the hull on the fore-part -of the ship. But we soon discovered that these small changes -would not suffice to free us from our prison-house, but that -we must ourselves endeavour to loosen the fetters which held -us fast, if it were only to banish gloomy thoughts of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -future by action of some kind or other. Hence constant -digging, sawing, and blasting on our floe, through May, June, -July, and August—labours in which the whole crew of the -ship, with the exception of the sick and of the cook, took -part; labours, alas! which admonished us of the impotence -of man when he contends against the power of Nature. -Only on the port side of the ship were our efforts to dig -through the floe at all successful; on the starboard side the -floe had been so enormously increased by the tables of ice -forced upon one another, that we had not pierced through the -ice after sinking a shaft eighteen feet deep; and at last the -water, forcing itself through the pores of the ice, compelled -us to desist from the labour of sinking deeper. The process -of sawing was possible only where we had broken through -the ice—that is, on the port side; yet even there the great -thickness of the floe necessitated the construction of longer -instruments, for which the iron casing of the engine-room had -to furnish the material. The difficulty of sawing increases -with the thickness of the ice in an almost incredible manner. -It is easy enough to cut through a floe, four or five feet thick, -but to break up one, eight or ten feet thick, is a matter -of great difficulty. Our saws too, even when they were -lengthened, permitted a play of only a foot; and their -twisting, as they cut deep, proved a great hindrance. Besides, -when we had cut to the depth of a fathom, the saws were -always frozen fast, and when we attempted to free them by -blasting they were very often broken in pieces. But even the -sections, made with so much difficulty, often proved to be -quite useless, as they were frozen together again by broken ice -left in the cut. Blasting with gunpowder proved as ineffectual -as in the previous year; in fact, the process was only applicable -to ice-blocks which had been loosened by sawing, and which -could not be broken up by the crow-bar alone.</p> - -<p>4. By the middle of June we were at last convinced that -the thickness of the ice rendered it impossible to join together, -by sawing, the two-and-twenty holes which we had dug out -round the ship. Henceforward our labours were confined to -the formation of a basin at the fore-part of the ship. Although -we saw the impossibility of liberating the vessel, as long as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -she rested on a mountain of ice, we hoped that the basin -would help to break up the floe, and that the <i>Tegetthoff</i> would -of itself return to its normal position. The gliding down of -the ship, raised as it was, to its natural water-line might -indeed easily end in a catastrophe, but we braved this peril -when we thought of the vain attempts we had made to free -her. Though the ship sunk so much in the course of the -summer, that its height above the water-line was a little more -than two feet in the fore-part of the ship, and three feet in -the after-part, this circumstance in our favour was outweighed -by the disadvantage of the rapid melting away of the ice at -its sides. The ship, freed from its covering of ice, stood so -high above it, that in order to guard against the danger of its -overturning we were obliged, in the second half of the -summer, to shore it up by strong timbers fastened to its masts. -It looked no longer like a ship, but like a building ready to -fall in! In the middle of July Lieutenant Weyprecht ordered -Krisch, the engineer, to construct heavy chisels and borers to -ascertain the thickness of the ice. After long and hard -labour, we found that after boring through several ice-tables, -to a depth of twenty-seven feet, we still struck on ice! -Every attempt, therefore, to break through this accumulation -had to be given up, and we contented ourselves with leading -the basin we had formed on the fore-part round the larboard -side of the ship. On the 27th of the month, twenty tons of -coal were removed to the ice, in order to lighten the ship as -much as possible, and every day we had to look to the props -which steadied the ship, as the melting of the ice rendered -them unsafe. In the following weeks, the bows continued to -sink into the water, while the after-part as a natural consequence -was raised up.</p> - -<p>5. Even in the month of July, the weather was generally -gloomy and unsettled. We had several times two or three -inches of snow, and the showers were mingled with mist, rain, -and snow, as had been the case in June. The winds were -generally from the west; the mean temperature of the month -was 34·7° F.; on the 8th of July, the black-bulb thermometer -marked 108° F., and the temperature in the shade at -the same date amounted to 34° F. But neither wind nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -temperature made any change in our position. The sun on -which our liberation depended was seldom visible; and the -winds on which we had counted failed to blow. For weeks -we watched for the formation of fissures round the ship. -Fissures indeed were formed, but at such a distance that they -were utterly useless to us. On the 16th of June, one -opened towards the south-east; but it was at least two miles -distant, and in the middle of July it was only half a mile -nearer to us. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was to be seen -from the deck but ice, and Klotz, coming down one day from -the top-sail yard, described our position with a melancholy -laconic brevity: “Nix als Eisch, und nix als Eisch, und nit a -bisserl a Wosser. (<i>Nothing but ice, ice everywhere, and not a -patch of water.</i>)” Amid such impressions all hope gradually -left us. The drifting of the ice ceased to animate our hopes. -Even the approach of a fissure on the 29th of July to the -distance of three-quarters of a mile, in consequence of heavy -gales from the south and west, ended in miserable disappointment. -A movement in the ice which began a little way off on -the 6th of August resulted only in the diminishing of our floe. -There was no essential change in the remainder of this -month, except that the monthly mean temperature fell to -32·7° F. We had the greatest extreme of heat on the 4th -of August, 41·9° F.; but on the last day of the month we -had 5·7 degrees of cold.</p> - -<p>6. For some time we had been surprised by the appearance -of a dark mass of ice, the distance of which prevented -us from making a closer acquaintance with it. Our life on -the narrow space of our floe had quite assumed the character -of that of mere insects, who dwell on the leaf of a tree and -care not to know its edges. Excursions of one or two miles -were regarded as displaying an extraordinary amount of the -spirit of enterprise and discovery. On the 14th some of -us pushed on for about four miles to the group of ice just -mentioned, and discovered it to be a very large iceberg. Two -moraines lay on its broad back. These were the first stones -and pieces of rock we had seen for a long time, and so great -was our joy at these messengers of land, that we rummaged -about among the heaps of rubbish, with as much zeal as if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -we had found ourselves among the treasures of India. Some -of the party found what they fancied to be gold (pyrites), and -gravely considered whether they would be able to take a -quantity of it back to Dalmatia. Although the glaciers of -Novaya Zemlya could not shed icebergs of such magnitude -as that on which we now stood, we all held it for certain that -it had come from thence. Not one of us had the least presentiment -that it could belong to new lands, to which at that time -we were near. Even the other icebergs which we discovered in -increasing numbers on the following days, did not as yet -speak to us the language of a message to fill us with hope -and ardour. Our walk to the “dirt iceberg” was an event -in our monotonous life, and was often repeated. These expeditions -enabled us also to form some conception of the size of -our floe, the diameter of which could not be less than six or -seven miles.</p> - -<p>7. August 18—the birthday of his Majesty our Emperor,—the -ship was dressed with flags, the only form left to us of -expressing our loyalty. Our dinner was as sumptuous as the -circumstances permitted, though fasting would have been more -appropriate, as the third day after this was the anniversary -of that sad and gloomy day on which we were inclosed in -the ice. In order to visit an iceberg which lay to the north-west -of us, we ventured beyond our floe for the first time, and -passed over a fissure to some drifting ice-floes which lay in -the way. A seal lying on the ice was immediately attacked -by our dogs, but succeeded after many efforts in reaching its -hole. From the top of the iceberg, which was about sixty feet -high, we discovered that the few openings in the ice were not -navigable “leads,” but isolated holes utterly unconnected, and -therefore useless for navigation.</p> - -<p>8. We had continually drifted, since the beginning of -February, first to the north-west and then to the north, with -few modifications; at that date, we had reached our greatest -East Longitude, and winds appeared as before to be the main -cause of this drifting. At the end of that month there was -a succession of calms, and we lay almost motionless in -latitude 79°, and longitude 71°. The subjoined table shows -our change of place in the following months.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<table class="borders" summary="Change of place of the ship over the period it was becalmed"> - <tr> - <th colspan="3">Time.</th> - <th colspan="2">Latitude.<br />° ′</th> - <th colspan="2">Longitude.<br />° ′</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>March</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td>1873</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">13</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">69</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">32</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">19</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">68</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">28</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">20</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">68</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">28</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">33</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">68</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">52</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">23</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">17</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">15</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">29</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">14</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">35</span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">5</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">66</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">49</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">5</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">66</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">42</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">4</span></td> - <td class="center bl" colspan="2">—</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">12</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">68</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">1</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">19</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">43</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">20</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">40</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">14</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">67</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">0</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">18</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">51</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">19</span></td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">37</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">13·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">64</td> - <td class="tdr">37·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">12·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">64</td> - <td class="tdr">41·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>May</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">15·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">64</td> - <td class="tdr">58·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">17·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr">3·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">16·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr">0·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">20·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr">41·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">20·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr">32·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">19·7</td> - <td class="tdr bl">65</td> - <td class="tdr">15·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">19·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">64</td> - <td class="tdr">45·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">15·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">63</td> - <td class="tdr">39·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">13·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">63</td> - <td class="tdr">21·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">9·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">3·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">2·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">55·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">2·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">54·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">2·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">53·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>June</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">2·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">43·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">0·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">29·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">1·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">24·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">1·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">62</td> - <td class="tdr">20·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">5·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">31·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">5·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">23·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">4·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">21·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">6·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">5·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">8·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">2·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">9·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">54·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">8·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">31·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">11·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">14·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">13·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">55·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">13·7</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">46·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">15·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">35·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">15·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">14·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">14·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">13·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">15·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">5·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">13·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">9·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">9·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">52·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">7·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">50·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">7·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">35·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">8·7</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">33·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">9·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">33·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">9·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">34·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">6·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">34·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">7·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">29·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">6·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">27·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78</td> - <td class="tdr">58·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">25·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>August</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">78</td> - <td class="tdr">56·9</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">40·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">0·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">6·2</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">25·4</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">6·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">24·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">16·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">27·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">7·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">29·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">31·0</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">31·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">44·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">43·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">23·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">42·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">5·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sept.</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">40·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">32·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">41·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">12·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">34·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">47·3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">33·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">45·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">32·2</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">53·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">45·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">30·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">49·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">61</td> - <td class="tdr">58·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">58·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">41·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Oct.</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">54·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">34·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">53·9</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">40·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">44·5</td> - <td class="tdr bl">60</td> - <td class="tdr">7·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">44·3</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">17·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">44·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">14·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">43·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">6·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">44·8</td> - <td class="tdr bl">59</td> - <td class="tdr">9·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">49·0</td> - <td class="tdr bl">58</td> - <td class="tdr">59·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">50·6</td> - <td class="tdr bl">58</td> - <td class="tdr">53·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="3">Ship in Land ice</td> - <td class="tdr bl">79</td> - <td class="tdr">51·1</td> - <td class="tdr bl">58</td> - <td class="tdr">56·0</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>9. The meteorological observations of the expedition, and -the course of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> have been ably analysed by Vice-Admiral -Baron von Wüllersdorf-Urbair in the <i>Mittheilungen</i> of -the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, and while I refer -the curious reader to these reports for a fuller discussion of -these questions, I subjoin the most important paragraphs of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -the Admiral’s report which concern the course of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i>:—</p> - -<p>“Under ordinary circumstances a ship drifts on with the -floe; is imprisoned, and necessarily obeys the force of the -wind and the sea-currents. Its course, consequently, corresponds -to the combined effect of these forces. But, inasmuch -as the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was not in the free sea, but was driven along -for the greater part of the time in close pack-ice, the ship not -only obeyed the general movement of the ice, which was -dependent on the direction of the winds and currents of the -sea, but was also influenced by its vicinity to coasts and by -the greater or lesser accumulation of ice.</p> - -<p>“In so far as the <i>Tegetthoff</i> with her hull and masts presented -a greater surface to the wind, the floe, on which it was -imprisoned, would necessarily receive an excess of movement -in the direction of the wind. If this excess formed an angle -with the direction of the movement of the ice, the ship’s floe -would deviate to the side of the least resistance, and drift -according to the resultant between wind and resistance. Thus -it might be that the ship’s course deviated from the wind, even -in a direction opposed to it. But these anomalies certainly -were not great, and could not well be estimated, because the -deviations which thus arose depended on the direction of the -wind, on the density and mass of the ice, on causes, in fact, -which could not be exhibited under numerical relations.</p> - -<p>“If we compare the statements, as given in the <i>Meteorological -Journal</i>,<a name="FNanchor_21" id="FNanchor_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> concerning the ice-drift and ice-pressures, it -is seen that the maximum of both occurred in those parts of -the sea in which the ship was within the action of the ice -coming from the Sea of Kara, and that the greatest deviations -in the ship’s course necessarily happened there.</p> - -<p>“With respect to another abnormal deviation in the ship’s -course, it cannot be doubted that this depended on the vicinity -of Franz-Josef Land, towards which the masses of ice drifted -under the action of continuous south-west winds; and were -again driven back, thus forming a circle in their movement. It -would seem natural to assume the existence of a sea-current -in order to explain this peculiarity; but the configuration of -that land and its coasts, or the greater or lesser amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -immovable ice, or, lastly, the prevailing winds in those regions, -may have influenced the direction of the movement of the ice, -and consequently of the ship’s course.</p> - -<p>“If we consider the prevalence of winds, as furnished by -Weyprecht’s observations for more than two years, we find -south-west winds prevailing in the southern part of the seas -that were navigated, and north-east winds in the northern part -of those seas.</p> - -<p>“If the sea to the east of Franz-Josef Land should not -be broken by larger groups of islands, or by masses of -land, but be a vast range of ocean, the winds would be free -from the influence of land, and blow in a north-easterly direction, -and exhibit, so to speak, the phenomenon of a Polar -north-east trade wind. If it should be the case that north-east -winds prevail to the north of the 78th or 79th degree -of north latitude, and, at the same time, south-west winds to -the south of that same degree, the notion of a sea-current -must be dismissed, and a revolving movement in the ice -assumed, in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock. -The observations of Weyprecht on these winds establish their -circulatory character. The curve of deviation in the course of -the <i>Tegetthoff</i> seems to be in harmony with this assumption. -But these suppositions cannot be accepted, until observations -be made on the winds to the south of 79° N. L. at the same -season of the year with those which were so successfully made -by Weyprecht to the north of this degree.</p> - -<p>“The following arguments, however, would seem to favour -the supposition of the existence of a sea-current. The curve -at the commencement of its deviation corresponds pretty -nearly with the direction which the Gulf Stream would -take after passing round Norway, and in its further course -with that current, which comes out of the Sea of Kara -between Novaya Zemlya and Cape Taimyr, and which undoubtedly -exists, though its course has to be more accurately -determined.</p> - -<p>“However small may be the value we assign to the winds -in explanation of the deviation in the <i>Tegetthoff’s</i> course, it is -at any rate impossible to ascribe those phenomena to the -influence of the coast formation. We must, therefore, assume -either, that the different directions of the wind produce a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -constant circulation of the ice in the sea to the north of 79°; -or that currents known to exist in this and contiguous seas -cannot be excluded from the small part of the ocean lying -between Novaya Zemlya and Franz-Josef Land.”</p> - -<p>From these and other grounds the Vice-Admiral Baron von -Wüllersdorf draws the following conclusions:—</p> - -<p>“It is probable that there exists a sea-current in the seas -between Novaya Zemlya and Franz-Josef Land; that at any -rate, its existence cannot positively be denied, although the -prevailing winds may produce similar phenomena.</p> - -<p>“That there is a great probability that the Ocean stretches -far to the north and east beyond the eastern end of Novaya -Zemlya.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus28"> -<img src="images/illus28.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SOUNDING IN THE FROZEN OCEAN.</p> -</div> - -<p>10. During the summer Orel took soundings of the depth -of the sea, which he was prevented from continuing in the -winter by the frost. These show its shallowness on the north -of Novaya Zemlya, especially towards Franz-Josef Land. A -bank, over which we drifted in the summer of 1873, and which -we explored with a drag-net, was the principal source of the -collection of marine fauna, which we shall speak of in a later -chapter. These soundings also enabled Orel to prove the -small increase of the temperature of the sea at any considerable -depth. He used in his experiments the maximum and -minimum thermometer of Casella. The specimens we collected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -showed, that the bottom of the sea consists of layers -of mud and shells. The soundings are exhibited in the -following table:—</p> - -<table class="borders" summary="Depth soundings"> - <tr> - <th colspan="3">Time.</th> - <th>Metres.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td>1872</td> - <td class="tdr bl">400</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">115</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">250</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Aug.</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">130</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">80</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">36</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sept.</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">100</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">90</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">85</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">190</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Oct.</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">450</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Nov.</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">345</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Jan.</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td>1873</td> - <td class="tdr bl">510</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Mar.</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">450</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">350</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>May</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">230</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">187</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">172</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">163</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">138</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">186</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">162</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">177</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">182</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">186</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">249</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">251</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">254</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">253</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">256</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>June</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">238</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">210</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">183</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">207</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">198</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">190</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">215</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">231</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">203</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">218</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">211</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">235</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">161</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">184</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">222</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">186</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">220</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">195</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">169</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">178</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">195</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">220</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">227</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">233</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">245</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">250</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">235</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">235</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">274</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">266</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">250</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">250</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">236</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">265</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">247</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">215</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">195</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">184</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">200</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">232</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">231</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">231</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">226</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">198</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">205</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">216</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">218</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">218</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">236</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">260</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">236</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">234</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Aug.</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">225</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">219</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">173</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">188</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">210</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">107</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">216</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">184</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">244</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">225</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">209</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">214</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">189</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">177</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">174</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">148</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">152</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">138</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">130</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">131</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">23</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">128</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">145</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">140</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">26</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">185</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">27</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">219</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">180</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">29</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">132</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">211</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">197</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sept.</td> - <td class="tdr">1</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">260</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">2</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">142</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">212</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">4</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">215</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">5</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">178</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">6</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">188</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">7</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">204</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">250</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">9</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">218</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">11</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">168</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">127</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">13</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">132</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">14</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">137</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">15</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">111</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">16</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">134</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">17</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">178</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">18</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">175</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">19</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">275</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">300</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">21</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">220</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">22</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">188</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">24</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">237</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">325</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Oct.</td> - <td class="tdr">28</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">165</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr">31</td> - <td class="center">”</td> - <td class="tdr bl">210</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">NEW LANDS.</span></h3> - -<p>1. We Spent the latter half of August in seal-hunting, for it -was only by the use of fresh meat that we were able to -contend with, if not prevent, cases of scurvy. Day after day -lines of hunters lay in wait before the fissures at the edge of -our floe, and in the evening our dogs generally had to drag in -the sledges several seals to the ship. Many of these creatures -which we wounded sank and disappeared. All these seals -belonged to the class Phoca Grœnlandica. Walruses were -never to be seen, and once only in an “ice-hole” we came -across a shoal of white whales, which however seemed to be -moving on. In the capture of seals we sometimes used a -light boat, made of water-proof sailcloth, which two men -could easily drag out of the water. Some of our people too -had learnt the use of the harpoon. By the end of September -we had killed in one way or another some forty seals, and as -we shot many of the birds which flew round us, and on an -average one bear a week, we were seldom without fresh meat. -With the exception of Krisch, the engineer, who suffered -from lung disease, and of the carpenter, who had become -lame from a scorbutic contraction of the joints, all on the sick -list recovered under the influence of work in the open air and -of the improved diet.</p> - -<p>2. The covering of deep soft snow, which had been so -troublesome, almost disappeared at the beginning of autumn, -and the surface of the ice had been transformed by evaporation -into a firm mass like the congealed snow of a glacier, so -that we were able to walk on its hard surface without sinking;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -only the numerous small ice-lakes, on the floes, impeded our -excursions. In all these signs, we were reminded of the near -approach of winter, and it seemed that, drifting as we were -constantly towards the north, we should spend it nearer to -the Pole than any other expedition had ever done. On the -25th the sun set at midnight. The period intervening between -this and the time when the sun ceases to reappear -may be regarded as the autumn of the Arctic region. For -some time the light had so diminished, that our quarters again -became dark at night, and from the 19th of July we were -obliged to use a light in order to read at midnight. On the -29th of August, after falls of rain and snow succeeded by -north winds, the ship was stiffened in a coating of ice. The -rigging was covered with an incrustation of ice of an inch -thick, and pieces of ice of a pound weight sometimes fell -on the deck, rendering walking on it neither comfortable nor -safe. After a succession of frosts and thaws, complete congelation -at last set in, and when the moon was up, the masts -and rigging shone like burnished silver.</p> - -<p>3. The second summer was gone. It had come in with the -hope and promise of liberation, and patiently had we awaited -this result. With sad resignation we now looked forward to -another winter. But once more it was to be seen, in our case, -how great is the power of men to endure dangers and hardships, -when these come upon them not suddenly but gradually. -A few months ago, the thought that we should be prisoners -on the ice, bound to our floe, for a second winter, would have -been unendurable. But now that the intolerable thought had -become a stern fact, we accepted and endured it. But often -as we went on deck and cast our eyes over the wastes, from -which there was no escape, the despairing thought recurred, -that next year we should have to return home—without -having achieved anything, or at most with a narrative of a -long drift on the ice. Not a man among us believed in the -possibility of discoveries, though discoveries beyond our -utmost hopes lay immediately before us.</p> - -<p>4. A memorable day was the 30th August 1873, in 79° 43′ -Lat. and 59° 33′ E. Long. That day brought a surprise, such -as only the awakening to a new life can produce. About -midday, as we were leaning on the bulwarks of the ship and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -scanning the gliding mists, through which the rays of the sun -broke ever and anon, a wall of mist, lifting itself up suddenly, -revealed to us, afar off in the north-west, the outlines of bold -rocks, which in a few minutes seemed to grow into a radiant -Alpine land! At first we all stood transfixed and hardly -believing what we saw. Then, carried away by the reality of -our good fortune, we burst forth into shouts of joy—“Land, -Land, Land at last!” There was now not a sick man on -board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>. The news of the discovery spread in -an instant. Every one rushed on deck, to convince himself -with his own eyes, that the expedition was not after all a -failure—there before us lay the prize that could not be -snatched from us. Yet not by our own action, but through -the happy caprice of our floe and as in a dream had we won -it, but when we thought of the floe, drifting without intermission, -we felt with redoubled pain, that we were at the -mercy of its movements. As yet we had secured no winter -harbour, from which the exploration of the strange land -could be successfully undertaken. For the present, too, it -was not within the verge of possibility to reach and visit it. -If we had left our floe, we should have been cut off and lost. -It was only under the influence of the first excitement that -we made a rush over our ice-field, although we knew that -numberless fissures made it impossible to reach the land. -But, difficulties notwithstanding, when we ran to the edge of -our floe, we beheld from a ridge of ice the mountains and -glaciers of the mysterious land. Its valleys seemed to our -fond imagination clothed with green pastures, over which -herds of reindeer roamed in undisturbed enjoyment of their -liberty, and far from all foes.</p> - -<p>5. For thousands of years this land had lain buried from -the knowledge of men, and now its discovery had fallen into -the lap of a small band, themselves almost lost to the world, -who far from their home remembered the homage due to -their sovereign, and gave to the newly-discovered territory the -name</p> - -<p class="center">KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF’S LAND.</p> - -<p>With loud hurrahs we drank to the health of our Emperor -in grog hastily made on deck in an iron coffee-pot, and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -dressed the <i>Tegetthoff</i> with flags. All cares, for the present -at least, disappeared, and with them the passive monotony -of our lives. There was not a day, there was hardly an hour, -in which this mysterious land did not henceforth occupy our -thoughts and attention. We discussed whether this or that -elevation in the grey and misty distance were a mountain, or -an island, or a glacier. All our attempts to solve the question -of the extent of the land lying before us were of course still -more fruitless. From the headland which we had first seen -(Cape Tegetthoff), to its hazy outline, in the north-east, it -seemed to extend nearly a degree; but as even its southernmost -parts were at a great distance from us, it was impossible -to arrive at anything more definite than a mere approximation -to its configuration. The size and number of the icebergs -which we had recently fallen in with were now amply -explained,—they were indisputable witnesses of its great -extent and its vast glaciation.</p> - -<p>6. At the end of August and the beginning of September -north winds drove us somewhat towards the south, so that -the outlines of the land were still more faintly defined. But -at the end of September we were again driven towards the -north-west and reached 79° 58′, the highest degree of latitude -to which the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and its floe drifted. We now saw an -island at some distance off—afterwards called Hochstetter -island—lying before us. Its rocky outlines were distinctly -visible, and the opportunity of <i>reaching the land by a forced -march</i> seemed more favourable than any which had been presented. -It might also be the last chance offered to us, for our -fears lest we might drift out of sight of this land were well -founded. Six of her crew now left the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and committed -themselves to the destiny which the movement of the -ice had in store for them. The east winds, which had prevailed -during the last days, had forced the ice landward, and -the pressures had crushed in the edges of our floe, and greatly -diminished its size. We rushed over the grinding, groaning, -broken walls of drifting ice, and so great was our ardour, that -we took no notice when some one or other of the party -tripped and fell. Each panted to reach the land. We had -already gone half way, the ship having long disappeared from -our eyes, when there arose a mist which enveloped everything,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -so that the masses of ice looked like high mountains through -the hazy atmosphere. Of the land itself we could see nothing, -and no choice was left to us but to return to the ship through -the mist. The compass was little help, and within the barriers -of recently broken ice the traces of our steps were lost. We -took at last a wrong direction and were following it up, in -spite of Jubinal’s loud barks to divert us. As he ran backwards -and forwards, magnified in the mist he ran many risks -of being mistaken for a bear. What the sagacity of six men -could not do, this the instinct of the animal effected. Exhausted -by our own exertions, we yielded ourselves to his -guidance, and he actually brought us into the right track—and -back to the ship.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE AUTUMN OF 1873.—THE STRANGE LAND VISITED.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The autumn was unusually mild, though stormy and -gloomy. The thermometer up to the 20th of September fell -daily some degrees below zero (C.), and occasionally we had -rain. At the end of the month the minimum temperature -ranged from 14° to 5° F., and the mean temperature of -the month was as low as 24·5° F. The mildness of the -season was, perhaps, connected with the unusual recession of -the ice-barrier in the south; though it might have been a consequence -of the open water which had been formed under the -land during the drifting of the floes. The land itself was but -seldom visible, and heavy masses of dark-blue clouds, which -are peculiar to southern latitudes, generally hung over it. -Frequent falls of snow again covered everything around us. -Parhelia were sometimes visible, and these were generally the -precursors of driving snow, which reared deep drifts round -the ship. The numerous little lakes on the ice-floes were -frozen over in the night even in the earlier part of August, -and at the end of the month these bore us during the day. -The clear mirror of their surface cracked whenever the temperature -fell suddenly some degrees, while the effect of contraction -in the ship was followed by the noises which we -called “Schüsse.” The “ice-holes” were overspread with a -viscous ropy ice, which was strong enough to bear us at -their edges. The ship now stood out from the ice; her -hull was about fourteen feet above the surrounding surface of -snow. To facilitate egress and ingress, we constructed steps -of ice on each side of the vessel. After the 7th of September -our efforts to free the ship were given up. The little basin at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -the fore-part of the ship—the result of the toil of many -months—was completely frozen over, and afforded us the -recreation of skating as a reward for our labours.</p> - -<p>2. The experience of the past greatly strengthened all the -grounds and motives which so readily presented themselves -to abandon our helpless vessel in the following summer and -attempt the return to Europe by means of sledges and -boats. If there had been no other reason for this resolution, -regard for our health would have dictated the step. -Our supply of lemon-juice was so reduced, as to leave scarcely -a doubt as to the necessity of attempting to return. But -amid these prudential considerations, we were filled with fear -lest we should be unable to explore the mysterious land we -had discovered.</p> - -<p>3. The daylight now began to fail. On the 9th of September -the sun set at 8.30 and the stars were visible at night. -About the middle of the month lamps were kept burning all -the night through in our quarters below, and our environment, -never very animated, again wore the aspect of the dark realm -of ice. The visits of birds became rarer, although they did -not quite leave us as long as there was any open water near. -The divers and auks had already disappeared. They flew in -long lines southward, and as they whizzed past us through -the rigging of the ship, we acknowledged the superiority of -these little creatures to us and to our ship, which was never -to hoist its sails again. The ice-birds, and the robber-gulls -still remained with us. We once shot a rose-coloured gull -(Ross’s gull), said to belong only to North America and -Iceland. On the 28th we saw the last snow-bunting. The -first aurora was seen on the 22nd, and during the winter its -light fell not merely on the Frozen Ocean but on the distant -Franz-Josef’s Land, showing us that we were not drifting away -from it. By the end of the month we had drifted to the -eightieth degree of latitude, nearly; and every cliff of the -land, even the most insignificant, emerging at a distance from -the ice, had charms enough to call us all on deck.</p> - -<p>4. In the second half of October, winds from the north and -north-east had driven us towards the south and south-west, -and as we neared the land we saw that the ice-fields were -broken up by their contact with its immovable barrier. Our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -own floe had been greatly diminished from the general pressure -of the ice. On the 1st of October we were driven so -near the land that we found ourselves in the midst of the -destruction going on in the ice. Our ice-floe was shattered -and broken, and so rapidly had it diminished in size, that the -distance of the ship from the edge of the floe, which was -1,300 paces on the 1st, amounted to only 875 two days afterwards. -On the 6th it had diminished to 200 paces, so that it -was reduced to a mere fragment of its former size. The -shocks it now received caused the ship to quiver and shake, -and we heard the cracking and straining in its timbers, which -kept us on the tenter-hook of expectation lest the ice should -suddenly break up. It seemed as if we were doomed to a -repetition of the trials and dangers of the preceding winter. -The bags of necessaries to be taken with us if we should be -forced to leave the ship, were kept in readiness for immediate -use. As we watched the advancing wall of ice, and heard -the too well known howl it sent forth, and saw how fissures -were formed at the edge of the floe, the days of the ice-pressures -were painfully recalled, and the thought constantly -returned—what will be the end of all this? The Land we -had so longed to visit lay indeed before us, but the very sight -of it had become a torment; it seemed to be as unattainable -as before; and, if our ship should reach it, it appeared too -likely that it would be as a wreck on its inhospitable shore. -Many were the plans we formed and debated, but all were -alike impracticable, and all owed their existence to the wish -to escape from the destruction that stared us in the face. -Such were our out-looks when on the 31st of October we were -driven close to a headland of no great height, about three -miles distant from the ship, and found ourselves in the midst -of icebergs, several of which were of considerable magnitude. -Towards this, the bergs, or we ourselves, or both, were -rapidly drifting, as the soundings showed. If the icebergs -drifted they would of course crush all the ice-fields which -stood in their way. We were now in 79° 51′ N. Lat. -and 58° 56′E. Long. Here exactly in the longitude of -Admiralty peninsula of Novaya Zemlya, and with the ship -lying north and south, we were to pass the winter—but -harbourless.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. On the forenoon of the 1st of November, the land lay -to the north-west of us in the twilight. The lines of rocks -were so clearly and distinctly seen, that we were convinced -that it could be reached without endangering our return to -the ship. There was no room for hesitation; full of energy -and wild excitement, we clambered over the ice-walls lying to -the northward, which consisted of barriers, fifty feet high, of -huge pieces of ice recently forced up amid the pressure. -These passed, we came on a broad surface of young ice, -which showed that there had been open water there a short -time before. Over the surface of this young ice we now ran -towards the land. We crossed the ice-foot and actually -stepped on it. Snow and rocks and broken ice surrounded us -on every side; a land more desolate could not be found on -earth than the island we walked on; all this we saw not. To -us it was a paradise; and this paradise we called Wilczek -Island.</p> - -<p>6. So great was our joy at having reached the Land at last, -that we bestowed on all we saw an attention which, in itself -it in no way merited. We looked into every rent in the rocks, -we touched every block, we were ravished with the varied -forms and outlines which each crevice presented. We talked -in grand style of the frozen slopes of its hollows as glaciers! -Nothing was of greater moment in these first hours than the -question of its geological character, and great was our surprise -to find here the same rocks, with which we had become -acquainted at the Pendulum Islands during the second -German North Polar Expedition. The columnar conformation -of these Dolerite rocks singularly resembled those of -Griper Roads and Shannon Island. The vegetation was -indescribably meagre and miserable, consisting merely of a -few lichens. The drift-wood we expected to find was no -where to be seen. We looked for traces of the reindeer and -the fox, but our search was utterly fruitless. The land -appeared to be without a single living creature. We then -ascended a rocky height on the southern margin of the island, -whence we had a view of the frozen ocean extending some -miles beyond the ship. There was something sublime to the -imagination in the utter loneliness of a land never before -visited; felt all the more from the extraordinary character of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -our position. We had become exceedingly sensitive to new -impressions, and a golden mist which rose on the southern -horizon of an invisible ice-hole, and which spread itself, like -an undulating curtain, before the glow of the noontide -heavens, had to us the charm of a landscape in Ceylon.</p> - -<p>7. How vexatious was it to feel, that if we had reached -this Land some weeks earlier, we might have explored it -without the risk of being cut off from the ship. For some -days the sun had sunk below the horizon, and the twilight -of noon admitted of only a few short excursions from the -ship, quite insufficient to satisfy our earnest desire to learn -more of its structure and configuration; and we much feared -lest the constant north winds should cause us to drift out -of sight of it. Southwards stretched a flat surface of bluish-grey -ice, and beyond the distant ship, a large “ice-hole” -from whose yellow mirror there arose undulating mists. -Beyond this again stretched dark lines of floes running -parallel to the horizon, over which, in the south, hung the -sky in deep carmine. We scrambled over a rugged slope -covered with ice as smooth as glass, which ran into the -interior of the little island, in order to get a clear view -northward; but we were compelled to return without achieving -our purpose, for we feared to absent ourselves longer -from the ship. We accordingly went back, but returned -next day to explore. But these barren days and small -events made a profound impression on our minds, and even -Carlsen, the old and tried navigator of the frozen deep, wore -on his breast, beneath his fur coat, the star of the order -of St. Olaf, to do due honour to the dignity of discovery. -We built a pyramid of stones six feet high on the island, -and fixed in it one of our flags attached to a pole.</p> - -<p>8. On the 3rd of November a party of us started about -eight o’clock in the morning, when it was quite dark, to -attempt to reach a glacier which we had seen, on the north -of the island and on the other side of a frozen inlet of the -sea. We took with us a small sledge drawn by three dogs, -and, in constant fear of being cut off from the ship, we pressed -on over a level surface of snow towards some objects suffused -with a dim rosy light, which seemed to float over them. As -we neared them we found them to be icebergs, which sparkled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -like jewels, and which we took to be the terminal precipice -of the glacier we were in search of. It was only, however, -after some hours that we came actually in sight of it; the -ship having meanwhile disappeared from our view. Suddenly -there emerged before us, in the east, a white band, which -proved to be the terminal front of the glacier, which, as we -approached it, we were surprised to find had an inclination of -only two or three degrees. Its highest point, therefore, must -have been at a very great distance. On its left side there -was a moraine of great depth. When we began our return -to the ship, the rosy evening light had disappeared from the -higher clouds, while it became clearer behind the gigantic -mass of the glacier, so that its dark outline stood out strongly -marked on the heavens. It was quite dark when we again -drew near the ship, but the brave Carlsen, armed with rifle -and walrus-lance for any emergency, came out to meet us.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus29"> -<img src="images/illus29.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">APPROACHING THE LAND BY MOONLIGHT.</p> -</div> - -<p>9. In an excursion on the 6th of November we reached -a point on the north-west of Wilczek Island—passing for the -first time during this expedition beyond the eightieth degree -of north latitude—whence we could see the mainland of the -new country stretching before us under the silver light of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -moon. An indescribable loneliness lay on its snowy mountains, -faintly illuminated by the span of twilight in the south -and by the light of the moon. If the ice on the shore, as it -was moved by the ebb and flow of the tide, had not sent forth -shrill notes, and had not the wind sighed as it passed over -the edges of the rocks, the stillness of death would have lain -on the pale and spectral landscape. We hear of the solemn -silence of the forest or of the desert, or of a city buried in -sleep during the night; but what is this silence to the silence -of a land with its cold glacier mountains losing themselves in -snows and mists which can never be explored, and the very -existence of which had remained unknown from creation till -this moment?</p> - -<p>10. On the 7th another short expedition towards the south-west -of Wilczek Island was carried out; but notwithstanding -all our exertions we were unable to determine its configuration, -even of the parts immediately contiguous to us. Until the -spring of the following year, the whole island, except -perhaps a portion of its southern side, remained a mystery -to us.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">OUR SECOND WINTER IN THE ICE.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The Land had meantime been thickly enveloped in its -pure white mantle, and wreaths of snow-drifts lay over the -rocks scattered over its surface. The light became fainter. -Sometimes the precipitous faces of the glaciers seemed to -glow in subdued rose-colour through the leaden grey of the -atmosphere. When new “ice-holes” appeared, a frosty vapour -rose and spread over the surface of the ice; the ship and -surrounding objects were covered as if with down; even the -dogs were frosted white. We used to stand on deck and -gaze on the sun as it sank, surrounded by the evening clouds, -behind the jagged edges of the hummocks. Raised by refraction, -he appeared for the last time on the 22nd of October -with half his disc above the horizon, and the whole southern -sky was for a time like a sea of fire over the cold, stiff forms -and lines of ice. At length the disc disappeared, and masses -of dark clouds moved up and obscured the light still lingering -in the sky. The long reign of night began, and the wastes -around us relapsed into the stern sway of winter. A pale -twilight still lingered for some time, but its faint arc became -smaller and feebler. No shadows accompanied the forms of -those who strayed over the ice. The wind moaned in the -frozen desert. The darkness and the cold continually increased, -till the dome of night vaulted the lonely spot which had -become our home.</p> - -<p>2. But the hope and expectation of successes to be achieved, -and the feeling that our safety was not immediately threatened, -rendered this second winter a happy contrast to the preceding -one. We had now leisure and calmness for intellectual occupations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -which were, indeed, the only means of relieving the -monotony of the long period of darkness. We lived like -hermits in our little cabins in the after-part of the ship, and -learned that mental activity without any other joy suffices to -make men happy and contented. The oppressive feeling of -having to return ingloriously home, which had always been -disagreeably present to our minds during the first winter, was -no longer felt. We had now a hope, the charms of which -grew day by day, that in the spring we should be able to leave -the ship and start on expeditions to explore the land we had -discovered. Happy in this expectation, we could enjoy the -indescribable pleasures of good books, all the more that we -were far from the busy haunts of men, and that the presence -of danger clears and sharpens the understanding. Nowhere -can a book be so valued as in such an isolated position as ours -was. Great, therefore, was the advantage we possessed in a -good library, consisting of books of science, and of the classics -of literature. In fact, freed from the constantly recurring -perils, which had been our portion in the first long Arctic -night, this second winter was, to all who actively employed -their minds, comparatively a state of happiness, undisturbed -by cares. With regard to the crew, they were kept in good -humour by the increase of their comforts. As we had not the -prospect of a third winter in the ice—which would have -rendered a greater economy of our provisions imperative—we -were enabled to provide them with a more generous diet.</p> - -<p>3. In the last three weeks of November we had complete -darkness, the sky clouded over and the weather bad. So -dark was it, that our environment, though it was overspread -with countless hummocks and ice-cliffs, looked like one black -unbroken level. On the 31st of October most of the stars -were visible about 3 o’clock in the afternoon; by 4 o’clock -actual night prevailed. On the 16th of November large print -was barely legible even at noon. On the 18th of the month -we were able to read the larger letters on the title-page of -Vogt’s <i>Geology</i> at the distance of a foot. At noon, on the -13th of December, not a letter of this same title-page was -legible, even in clear weather. On the 5th of November there -was a total eclipse of the moon, which then sank below the -horizon and did not return till the 29th of that month. Its -beams then fell on a large ice-hole, which had formed itself -twenty miles to the south of the ship, which made us apprehensive -lest our floe should be driven by the north winds in -a southerly direction. On the 4th of December the moon -reached its highest declination, but, as it waned, it was constantly -obscured by bad weather. I had reckoned on the -return of moonlight to make an excursion of some days to -the mainland. But the fickleness of the weather at the -beginning of December compelled me to confine my wanderings -to Wilczek Island, which I frequently visited, although -with a thermometer at -35° F. I was exposed to frost-bites -in the face and hands, whenever I attempted to draw by the -light of a lamp, and with only the protection of light woollen -gloves.<a name="FNanchor_22" id="FNanchor_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus30"> -<img src="images/illus30.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DEPARTURE OF THE SUN IN THE SECOND WINTER.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<p>4. We observed during this winter, that, on the clearest -nights, snow of the finest texture continued to fall, so that we -saw the heavenly bodies, as it were, through a veil of fine -gauze. In the moonlight this fine snow sparkled faintly, and -its presence could only be discovered by a prickling on the -skin. The constancy of these downfalls added of course to -the depth of the snow under which the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was almost -buried; indeed at the beginning of the spring she no longer -stood out from the covering of snow, although her fore-part -was eleven-and-three-quarter feet, and her after-part four-and-a-half -feet, above the ice on which she rested. The air was -also often filled with an indescribable quantity of driving -snow; and when the wind dropped and permitted it to fall, -we were struck with the profound stillness of our environment. -The cold constantly increased and penetrated all the parts -of the interior of the ship which were not artificially heated,<a name="FNanchor_23" id="FNanchor_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> -and almost all the fluids, which were not specially protected, -were frozen. The various kinds of spirits on board were -exposed on the 23rd of November to the cold at -26° F.; at -the end of an hour-and-a-half they still remained fluid. -When the temperature fell to -31° F., hollands, common gin -and maraschino were congealed in two-hours-and-a-half, but -rum and brandy remained unchanged. On another occasion -a mixture of two parts of pure alcohol to one part of water -froze at -47° F., cognac at -53° F. This low temperature -had so increased the thickness of the ice, that the basin of -open water, which had been sawed through in the previous -summer, was covered on the 3rd of January with ice three-and-a-half, -and on the 20th with ice six-and-a-half feet thick.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus31"> -<img src="images/illus31.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">NOON ON DECEMBER 21, 1873.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. On the 21st of December, the middle of the second -long Polar night—which lasted in all 125 days—was reached; -and although we knew where the south lay, every trace of -twilight had disappeared, and for six weeks we were enveloped -in unbroken darkness. The figure of a man could not be discerned -at a very short distance. In order to be able to sketch -the ship, I had to illuminate it by torches. Those who made -expeditions afoot were struck, as it were, with blindness. If -they approached what seemed to be a lofty chain of mountains, -over the ridge of which the planet Jupiter hung like a -glowing point, they came at once on a dark wall of ice; and -when they ascended the apparently far distant ridge, the -planet stood almost in the zenith. There was something -approaching to twilight only when the crescent moon shone -in her first quarter. On the 7th of December the sun was -12°, and on the 21st 14½°, below the horizon. We should not -have seen the sun, could we have ascended the pinnacle of the -Alps, which Pliny imagined to be 120,000 feet high, or even -from that summit of the Caucasus which Aristotle reckoned -at 230,000 feet.</p> - -<p>6. Distrusting the quiescent state of the ice, we had again -stretched a tent over one-half of the ship’s deck, while the -other portion was covered with snow trodden down as hard as -a skating-rink. The space for free movement was narrowed -still further by the long-boat placed between the two masts, -by the stores of provisions kept in readiness for the possible -disaster which might compel us to leave the ship, by the stand -of rifles, by dog-kennels, and other inevitable impediments. -In bad weather the dogs sheltered themselves under the tent, -and sometimes showed ill-temper if their feet were trod on. -There were places on deck where only their particular friends -were safe from being bitten; Sumbu especially had a bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -habit of lying behind a cask and springing out on every one -that passed by. Here under its friendly shelter the men -waited the summons to their meals. Hither came Carlsen to -enjoy the opportunity of talking Norwegian with some one or -other. The deck light shone feebly on all this, shedding its -rays on the fine snow which fell through the tent-roof. In the -second half of the winter, when the deck was less frequented, -the lantern became, like the crew—more sleepy; and its dull -light fell on hard-frozen sailcloth, boards covered with snow, -and on empty tin cases. Here, too, walked, of course, the -deck-watch, enveloped in clothes from head to foot, with only -their eyes uncovered, looking more like moving figures than -men. The deck-watch had also to keep open the water-hole -in the ice, to look out for bears, and to assist in reading off -the thermometers exposed on the ice. They were on duty for -two hours, and the moment they were relieved, they shot -down into their quarters, as quickly as a harpooned whale -dives under the waves. He, too, whose duty it was to fetch -the snow to be converted into water was often to be seen on -deck. Although the store of snow in which we lived was -inexhaustible, yet, in order to be exempt from this duty in -bad weather, it was the practice of those who were told off -for this service to lay up a supply of blocks of frozen snow -under the tent. Some of the crew showed the scrupulosity of -chemists in their work. Before they proceeded to build up -their pile, they brought specimens to the cook, in order to -learn his opinion as to the residuum of salt in the ice.</p> - -<p>7. With December a new era began for the dogs. A large -snow house was built for them outside the ship, in which were -placed their kennels, well filled with straw. The name of -each dog was written on his house. And here let me remark, -that the winter quarters of the dogs should always be on the -ice. To keep them under the deck-tent is unhealthy and inconvenient, -and would be an impossibility if their numbers -were great. Every morning Haller opened the door of the -snow house, and out rushed the dogs, with their tails in the -air, to begin forthwith a general fight. No shouts, no blows, -not even the discharge of a rifle could separate the combatants. -Pouring water over them at a temperature of -35° F., though -a somewhat barbarous way of producing peace, was successful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -only with the younger dogs. When the fight was over, the -next object was to find out their special patron, and the instant -they recognised him they rushed upon him, tugged at his -clothes, and thrust their noses inquiringly into his pockets. -Each then made his morning round, visiting the places where -he had hid in the snow a piece of bread or covered up a bit -of seal. When they had satisfied their appetite, it was curious -to observe how they would make it smooth over the hole in -which they deposited their treasure, all the time cunningly -turning their eyes right and left to see whether they were -observed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus32"> -<img src="images/illus32.jpg" width="500" height="225" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">PEKEL, SUMBU, AND JUBINAL.</p> -</div> - -<p>8. Their violence and eagerness having somewhat abated, -we may observe the members of our pack one by one. The -red giant there, who offers his paw as huge as a bear’s, is -named after a god of the heathen days of Lapland, “Jubinal;” -and not a few legends surrounded the accounts of his early -life. A Siberian Israelite, so it was said, brought him from -the north of Asia over the Ural. He was the victor in all -fights, the leader of the sledge team, and could drag four men -on a hard level path without any effort. The day before we -sailed from Bremerhaven he tore a sheep to pieces. Every -summer when he changed his coat, the sailors clad him in a -canvas dress. Bop was his inferior in strength, but his superior -in wisdom; Matoschkin surpassed him in gravity. The -latter used to sit for hours in a moody manner on a pile of -chests looking at the ice world. Bop and Matoschkin were -Newfoundlands; the first died of cold in our first winter, the -latter, as our readers may remember, was carried off by a -bear and torn to pieces. We had also two Newfoundland -bitches, who were called respectively “Novaya” and -“Zemlya;” the former died in the first year, the latter, though -she was of little use in sledging from her laziness, may claim -indisputably the merit of being the mother of her hopeful -son, “Torossy,” who grew to a considerable size, and was the -pride of the whole crew. He knew no other world than the -frozen ocean, and no other destiny than to draw a sledge; and -to this work he had devoted himself zealously since the commencement -of winter. In the happy courage of ignorance -he wagged his tail all day on deck; wagged his tail as he -followed us on the ice; wagged it, even when Sumbu stole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -his dinner; wagged it, even before the jaws of a bear. Gillis, -the fifth Newfoundland, was incessantly quarrelling, and was -the irreconcilable enemy of Jubinal; he was a favourite with -no one, chiefly because he had killed the two cats which we -brought from Tromsoe as pets for the dogs. His body was -covered with scars, and half his time was spent under the -medical treatment of the Tyrolese. He was not wanting in -docility, but he was essentially an eye-pleaser; all his efforts -in the sledge were mere sham. Pekel, the Lapp, was the -smallest of all the dogs. In his early days he had tended the -reindeer at the North Cape and on the plains of Tana Elf, and -his ways did not fit him for life amid the ice, but for the brown -herd which roamed at the foot of Kilpis. Hence he was -quarrelsome, and showed special enmity to Sumbu, the mere -sight of whom was enough to stir up the most hostile feelings. -He was therefore banished with his house to a high ice-cliff, -but the thaw destroying its supports, house and dog fell plump -into an ice-lake. Among all the dogs there was no such desperate -hypocrite as Sumbu, the most demonstrative in his friendship, -but withal the most greedy and dissatisfied. He was the -first to slink away with tail between his legs and find out the -most secluded nook, when he saw the other dogs being harnessed -in the sledges; and, when pulled out and put in a -team, at once laid himself down on the sledge, not to draw, -but to be drawn. When at last he was set in motion, he was -no longer the same dog. He was then full of action, unsurpassed -in speed and agility, and his sportiveness was as great -as his cunning. From the carpenter he would carry off a hoop,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -or a bag of nails from the stoker, or he lay flat on his belly and -thrust out his long nose in the snow. His agility stood him -in good stead, for it enabled him to catch all the mice that -ventured on deck. Neither the stores of provisions for the -dogs nor the depôt of food for the crew were safe from his -depredations. He hated bears so fiercely, that he began to -howl like a wolf when we turned out to hunt them. Boldly -he followed up their trail, even when at a distance from the -hunters and close to the heels of the bear. The dogs were -fed once a day with bear’s flesh or blubber, or dried horse-flesh, -as long as it lasted.<a name="FNanchor_24" id="FNanchor_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> They well knew the hour of feeding, -and gathered together before it arrived. At night they -were shut up in their house, and when the snow drifted they -all lay huddled in a heap before the door. The dog-house -was about eight feet high, but after a few weeks we could -scarcely discern it from the accumulation of snow-drifts. For -some time we kept up communication with it by means of -a shaft dug in the snow; but one day in February a fissure in -the ice was formed right across where the house stood, which -compelled us to remove it.</p> - -<p>9. The end of December came, and with it the season of -those festivals which animate the Christian world—Christmas-tide -and the New Year. In order to celebrate them in -common, we built a snow house, decorated its interior with -flags, and placed in it a Christmas tree, which, however, more -resembled a wooden hedgehog or a <i>cheval de frise</i>. About -six o’clock in the evening all our preparations were made, and -the ship’s bell, sounding mournfully in the dark and misty -atmosphere, summoned us to our snow house on the ice. Here -lots were drawn, and cigars, watches, knives, pipes or rum fell -to the fortunate drawers. For all these presents we had to -thank friends in Vienna, or Pola, or Hamburg. Then came -the Christmas dinner, but no one’s heart was in the matter. -Our bodies, indeed, were present, but our thoughts were far -away with those we loved at home. New Year’s Eve passed -off somewhat more cheerfully. Better grounded seemed our -expectations that 1874 would at last bring us our long-desired -activity and a not inglorious return to Europe. Scarcely had -the new year begun than the crew knocked at our cabin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -doors with their congratulations, and such salutations continued -to be the order of the day. On the whole this second winter -both before and after the new year (1874), passed away without -the fearful events of the preceding. Although floes lay -close to us on every side, and we had no harbour in which to -pass the winter with comfort—like a bear in its winter sleep—the -quiescent state of the ice allowed us to hope that our floe -would remain in the position it had hitherto maintained. This -hope, indeed, lay at the mercy of the winds; for if north -winds should set in, it was extremely probable that the ice -would break up and drift asunder.</p> - -<p>10. The life we now led below in the ship had ceased to be -in any way disagreeable, and cheerful and entertaining reading -seemed to be healthier than bodily exercise. We did not -suffer from any want of the necessaries of life; the temperature -of our living-rooms generally admitted of our sitting for -hours even without our overcoats. The long night of this -Polar winter was gloomy and oppressive only to those who had -time and leisure to weigh the burden of the hours. There -were, of course, even in this second winter, some of those discomforts -and dangers of which the reader has heard enough, -and which lead him when he reads of life in the frozen -regions to think of ice-floes rather than of a room in which -comfort is quite possible. We had, indeed, the usual inconveniences. -As early as the middle of October the skylight -was so covered with frost that we could scarcely read -even at noon. On the 20th of that month we were obliged -to keep the lamps constantly burning, and to close in the skylight, -which brought night into the mess-room before the night -of Nature had arrived. By the middle of November the -condensation of moisture was perceptible, and our bed-clothes -were frequently frozen to the wall, and had to be torn from it -before we could go to rest. Yet what signified all this? We -all slept soundly notwithstanding, and during the day had to -complain rather of warmth than of cold. The condition of -the crew, however, was not so happy. We could not follow -the example set by Hayes and others of removing the contents -of the hold to the land, and so transforming it into -quarters for the men. On board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> we suffered -some of the evils of over-population, and the moisture was so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -much increased from it, that some of the berths were completely -saturated. The employment of hammocks would -perhaps avert this evil.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus33"> -<img src="images/illus33.jpg" width="500" height="425" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">IN THE MESS-ROOM.</p> -</div> - -<p>11. The number of those afflicted with scurvy decreased -with the approach of spring. Their gums recovered their -fresh and natural appearance, and the general weakness, the -pains in the joints, the leaden weight of the feet, the depression -of spirits—symptoms of this terrible malady—abated, -and the scorbutic marks disappeared from their bodies. -Pachtusow, when he wintered in Novaya Zemlya, so abundant -in supplies of drift-wood, caused his people to use the -bath once a week in a log house constructed on the land, as a -preservative against scurvy, and had their inner clothing -washed twice a week, but even these steps were insufficient to -avert the malady. In our case baths so added to the moisture -that we were obliged to put a stop to them, and our under-garments -could be changed only as our stock of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -permitted. Hence we could hope to prevent the spread of -scurvy only by the improvement of our diet. Several hundred-weight -of potatoes and a large supply of preserved meat had -been kept in store for the second winter. These now came -into use, and were the more welcome as our supply of lemon-juice—the -most important preservative against scurvy—was -diminishing. By the advice of our physician, Dr. Kepes, we -departed from the maxim, so generally adhered to in Arctic -expeditions, of avoiding spirituous liquors. From the beginning -of October our men daily received rations of brandy. -When I compare the sanitary condition of the crew of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> with the better state of that of the <i>Germania</i>, I -attribute this to the lesser power of resistance to disease in -some of our people on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and to the moral -depression so easily explained by our disasters in this ship.</p> - -<p>12. The Arctic voyager is exposed to no disease so much -as to scurvy. Its appearance among a crew exercises a most -untoward influence. Its causes are still but little known; the -means, however, of combating it are numerous. It is no -longer the scourge it was in the days of Barentz, when he and -all his men were attacked with it on the short summer excursion -of 1595, or when in Munk’s expedition of 1619 all -died but two. In Behring’s expedition of 1741, out of seventy-six -men, forty-two were attacked and thirty died. In Tschirikoff’s -summer expedition during that same year (1741), out of -seventy men, twenty died. Rossmyslow, who passed the -winter of 1768-69 in “Matoschkin-Schar,” lost seven out of -thirteen men. When the disease gains the mastery, the utter -incapacity of the expedition for further exploration follows as -a necessary consequence. Lassinius, who was sent out to -explore Novaya Zemlya in 1819, had to return in the height -of summer, all his men having fallen down with the scurvy. -This disease has been a frightful enemy to expeditions which -have wintered in that region, and carried off numerous victims. -All these, it is true, were miserably equipped, and depended on -the medicinal virtues of the “Löffel-kraut” of that country -for remedies against the disease. In 1832-33 Pachtusow, -wintering in the south of the island, out of ten men lost three; -in 1834-35, two more died of the same disease. In the expedition -of Ziwolka and Mojsejew, 1838-39, the scurvy gained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -such mastery that at the end of February half of the crew were -attacked, and Ziwolka himself with eight men died. Parry -regarded damp, especially damp bedding, as the principal cause -of the malady. During his wintering at Melville Island he -found sorrel an effective remedy or palliative. He attributed -the greatest anti-scorbutic effect to beer; and according -to him and to most of the English expeditions, beer and wine -take the place of brandy. The disease generally has a fatal -issue when there has been excessive loss of blood, or when -dropsy supervenes. Most of Ross’s second expedition suffered -more or less from it, and the experience of that expedition -showed that vegetable nourishment alone was not competent -to make head against it. Ross regarded the addition of fish -or seals to the ordinary diet as an effective preservative, and -did not disdain the use of blubber for the same purpose. -Lemon-juice, uncooked potatoes, fruit with much acidity, -fresh vegetables and fresh meat, wine and yeast, exercise in -the open air, and cheerfulness, have always proved sufficient to -prevent its appearance, or at any rate to render it improbable. -But however valuable these may be as preventives, they -almost cease to have any effect when the disease has once -broken out. The lime-juice must be fresh, and, like vinegar, -be taken in as concentrated a form as possible. It is decomposed -and useless by being kept too long, and also by the -action of frost. This was the case with the lemon-juice which -Sir John Ross found among the stores of the <i>Fury</i>. An anti-scorbutic -effect has been attributed also—and with justice—to -the chewing of tobacco. It appears that liability to scurvy is -very different among different races, and that neither vegetable -nor animal food is an absolute preservative. The -Eskimos, and even the Lapps, who seldom or never use vegetables, -are almost exempt from it, and McClure’s men fell -down with it in their second winter, although they had fresh -meat three times a week. Steller relates that in Kamschatka -scurvy attacks strangers only, but not the natives, who live -largely on vegetables; he states also, that the scurvy when it -does appear among strangers and visitors there, is cured by a -diet of the fresh fish of spring.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">SUNRISE OF 1874.</span></h3> - -<p>1. An unbroken sleep for the whole winter would, undoubtedly, -be a blessing to the Arctic navigator, and the most -energetic among us resigned himself to slumber for a few -hours in the afternoon—the profane time of the day for all -zones of the earth—especially after the coming in of the New -Year, when the long unbroken night is intensely felt. The -darkness diminished very gradually, and as the weather was -frequently cloudy and dull, it was little lessened by the full -moon, which we had at the beginning of January and February. -December 26, we were able to read only the title of <i>New -Free Press</i>, at the distance of a few inches, but not a word -of Vogt’s <i>Geology</i>. January 11, the word Geology on the -title of that book was discernible in clear weather, but -only when the book was held up to the light of the midday -twilight. On the following day it was as dark at nine -o’clock in the morning as at noon on December 1st. The -moon returned again on the 24th of January, and after it -was four days old we could distinguish the common print -of the “Press” by its light, and for the first time read off -the degrees of the thermometer without artificial means. -During the whole of the month we had alternations of high -temperatures and snow-drifting, and at the end of it the wind -dropped and the cold became exceedingly great, causing the -ice to break up to the south of our position. It would be -difficult to give in an illustration any notion of the wonderful -forms produced by the twilight, and its glowing colour-effects, -and quite impossible to describe the blaze of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -meridian heavens, while deep shadows still lay over the ice-plains -and a dark ridge fringed and closed the horizon.</p> - -<p>2. At noon on the 23rd of February the rolling mists -glowed with a red light, announcing the reappearance of the -sun. The next day the sun himself, raised and distorted into -an oval shape, appeared above the horizon about 10 A.M. -Again there was spread over the snow that magical rosy hue, -those bright azure shadows, which impart a poetical character -even to the landscape of the frozen north. The return of the -sun was this year the deliverance from our long night of 125 -days.<a name="FNanchor_25" id="FNanchor_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> Anxiously had we waited his return, and joyously we -greeted it, but not with the frenzied feelings of the previous -year. Then the reappearance of the sun was tantamount -almost to a deliverance from hell itself; but now the sun was -nothing to us but as a means to an end: would it enable us to -begin our sledge-journeys to explore the Kaiser Franz-Josef -Land? The mere thought of the possibility of making new -discoveries threw us into a feverish impatience, and our fears -became intense lest the ship with its floe should drift away -and frustrate the execution of our plans just as they seemed -feasible.</p> - -<p>3. On that same day Lieutenant Weyprecht and I resolved -to abandon the ship after the termination of our projected -sledge-journeys of discovery, and to attempt to return to -Europe by means of the boats and sledges. No arguments -were needed to convince every one of the ship’s company of -the absolute necessity of this resolution. Our ship lay on its -icy elevation, beyond the power of man to liberate her, and -the provisions would not be sufficient to sustain us for -another year. But fear lest the state of our health should -greatly deteriorate in a third winter spoke more forcibly than -anything else in favour of our decision. When we looked at -our medical stores, once so ample, now so reduced, at the few -bottles of lemon-juice we could count on, all saw the impossibility -of our remaining longer in these latitudes. The -melancholy issue of Franklin’s expedition forced itself on our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -mind as an instructive example and warning. In all likelihood -that ill-fated expedition had delayed its return a year longer -than it should have done, and began it in so weakened a condition, -that it was next to an impossibility that they should -have succeeded in their purpose. We began to be pinched -also in many of our stores, in spite of the greatest economy -in their use. To add to our perils, the doctor drew a sad -picture of the sanitary condition of our crew. Of nineteen -men, several had fallen sick: Krisch still suffered from scurvy -and consumption; Marola from the first scorbutic symptoms; -Fallesich from its consequences; Vecerina from the utter inability -to move his lower extremities produced by the same -malady; Palmich from a constant tendency to it and the contraction -of his lower extremities; Pospischill from lung disease; -and Haller from a rheumatic affection of his extremities -which almost incapacitated him for any exertion.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_III_CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE AURORA.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The Northern lights had shone for these two winters with -incomparable splendour, not, indeed, with the quiet diverging -beams, sometimes observed in our northern latitudes, and -different also from the phenomena which have been seen and -noted in recent years, even in Central Europe; they resembled -rather those we saw in East Greenland, save that the brilliancy -and intensity of their colours were far greater.</p> - -<p>2. It is very difficult to characterize the forms of this phenomenon, -not only because they are manifold, but because -they are constantly changing. Sometimes the Aurora appears -like flaming arches with glowing balls of light; sometimes in -irregular meridians painted on the heavens, sometimes in -brilliant bands and patches of light on the sky. Each of -these forms was frequently developed from a different one, -but towards morning the last-named appearance was the most -general.</p> - -<p>3. The movement of the waves of light gave the impression -that they were the sport of winds, and their sudden and -rapid rise resembled the uprising of whirling vapours, such as -the Geysers might send forth, which generally assumed the -form of enormous flames, except that they were transparent -and mist-like. In many cases the Aurora much resembled a -flash of summer lightning conceived as permanent. It -appeared almost always in the south, and was visible from -September till March, during which period it was to us the -only external excitement which we had. The illuminating -power of the Aurora, when its colours were most brilliant and -intense, was inferior to the illuminating power of the full moon.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -Some rare cases excepted, this was either so small or so transitory, -that it had no influence on the darkness of our long -winter nights. Like a stream, or in brilliant convolutions, the -light rushed over the firmament, as well from east to west as -from west to east. The formation of the corona (or the convergence -of the streamers in the direction of the inclination -needle) was sudden, and short in its duration, and frequently -happened more than once in the course of a night. Its greatest -intensity was from eight till ten o’clock at night. It was -never accompanied with sound.<a name="FNanchor_26" id="FNanchor_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> The sketch we have given -represents one of its most characteristic forms. The inner -parts of the flames are usually whitish green, and their edge -on the upper side red, on the lower green.</p> - -<p>4. Brilliant auroras were generally succeeded by bad -weather. Those on the other hand which did not rise to any -great height in the sky, or which did not show any special -mobility, were regarded as the precursors of calms. None of -the theories which have been ventilated are in exact accordance -with all the manifestations of these northern lights. The -undulating motion of their waves of light, their rolling forth -like pillars of smoke driven by winds, has hitherto remained -unexplained. Although electrical processes, still unknown, -seem to be the main causes of the Aurora, atmospheric -vapours may, however, have a considerable part in producing -the phenomenon; and nothing so much favours this supposition -as the indefinite form in which it often appears. Its -occurrence during the day, <i>i.e.</i> light clouds with its characteristic -movement, has been rather imagined than actually -observed. The transition of white clouds into auroral forms -at night has never at least been satisfactorily proved. Falling -stars pass through the northern lights without producing any -perceptible effect, or undergoing any change. A dirty sulphur -yellow was characteristic of all auroras when the sky was -overcast with mists or when they were seen by moonlight. -In clear weather they were colourless.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus34"> -<img src="images/illus34.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE AURORA DURING THE ICE PRESSURE.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. Their influence on the magnetic needle was very variable. -While the quiescent and regular arches had little or no effect, -the quicker and more fitful streamers, especially when accompanied -with prismatic colours, produced great disturbance in -it. Sir John Ross remarked, that the aurora when tinged -with deep red colour had a great effect on it, although he -completely stultifies his observation by his supposition, that the -phenomenon was produced by rays of the sun reflected on -the vast fields of snow and ice surrounding the Pole. Parry -in 1820 could discover no effect from it either on the magnetic -needle or on the electrometer. During the winter of 1872-3, -the character of the northern lights was much altered, though -their colour remained constant. At first they consisted chiefly -of bands of light, running from the south-northwards. At -a later period of that winter they assumed for the most -part the appearance of coronæ, and then their direction was -from the north southwards. During the voyage of the -<i>Tegetthoff</i> the observations of the behaviour of these lights -and of the magnetic constants were taken by Weyprecht, -Brosch, and Orel by means of a magnetic theodolite, a -dipping needle, and three variation instruments. The extraordinary -disturbances of the needle rendered the determination -of exact mean values for the magnetic constants impossible. -The diminution of their intensity was considerable -during the continuance of auroras. In 79° 51′ N. Lat. and -58° 56′ E. Long. the declination amounted to 19½° E. and the -inclination to 82° 22′. The ice-pressures which occurred in -December, 1873<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> together with the tedious preliminaries in -fixing the magnetic instruments, prevented these officers from -carrying out their labours regularly till the next month. The -following are the principal results of these observations: (1) -The magnetic disturbances were of extraordinary magnitude -and frequency. (2) They were closely connected with the -aurora; and they were greater as the motion of the rays was -more rapid and fitful, and the prismatic colours more intense. -Quiescent and regular arches, without changing rays or -streamers, exercise almost no influence on the needle. (3) In -all the disturbances the declination needle moved towards -the east, and the horizontal intensity decreased while the -inclination increased.</p> - -<p>6. In spite of the extreme difficulty of describing the -appearances of those fitful and changing lights, I believe that -the following description of Lieutenant Weyprecht will be -found equally faithful and effective:—</p> - -<p>“There in the south, low on the horizon, stands a faint -arch of light. It looks as it were the upper limit of a dark -segment of a circle; but the stars which shine through it in -undiminished brilliancy convince us that the darkness of the -segment is a delusion produced by contrast. Gradually the -arch of light grows in intensity and rises to the zenith. It is -perfectly regular; its two ends almost touch the horizon and -advance to the east and west in proportion as the arch rises. -No beams are to be discovered in it, but the whole consists of -an almost uniform light of a delicious tender colour. It is transparent -white with a shade of light green, not unlike the pale -green of a young plant which germinates in the dark. The -light of the moon appears yellow, contrasted with this tender -colour so pleasing to the eye, and so indescribable in words, a -colour which nature appears to have given only to the Polar -regions by way of compensation. The arch is broad, thrice -the breadth, perhaps, of the rainbow, and its distinctly marked -edges are strongly defined on the profound darkness of the -Arctic heavens. The stars shine through it with undiminished -brilliancy. The arch mounts higher and higher. An air of -repose seems spread over the whole phenomenon; here and -there only a wave of light rolls slowly from one side to the -other. It begins to grow clear over the ice; some of its -groups are discernible. The arch is still distant from the -zenith; a second detaches itself from the dark segment, and -this is gradually succeeded by others. All now rise towards -the zenith; the first passes beyond it, then sinks slowly -towards the northern horizon and as it sinks loses its intensity. -Arches of light are now stretched over the whole -heavens; seven are apparent at the same time on the sky, -though of inferior intensity. The lower they sink towards -the north, the paler they grow, till at last they utterly fade -away. Often they all return over the zenith, and become -extinct, just as they came.</p> - -<p>“It is seldom, however, that an aurora runs a course so -calm and so regular. The typical dark segment which we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -see in treatises on the subject, in most cases does not exist. -A thin bank of clouds lies on the horizon. The upper edge -is illuminated; out of it is developed a band of light, which -expands, increases in intensity of colour, and rises to the -zenith. The colour is the same as in the arch, but the intensity -of the colour is stronger. The colours of the band -change in a never-ceasing play, but place and form remain -unaltered. The band is broad and its intense pale green -stands out with wonderful beauty on the dark background. -Now the band is twisted into many convolutions, but the -innermost folds are still to be seen distinctly through the -others. Waves of light continually undulate rapidly through -its whole extent, sometimes from right to left, sometimes from -left to right. Then again it rolls itself up in graceful folds. -It seems almost as if breezes high in the air played and -sported with the broad flaming streamers, the ends of which -are lost far off on the horizon. The light grows in intensity, -the waves of light follow each other more rapidly, prismatic -colours appear on the upper and lower edge of the band, the -brilliant white of the centre is inclosed between narrow stripes -of red and green. Out of one band have now grown two. -The upper continually approaches the zenith, rays begin to -shoot forth from it towards a point near the zenith, to which -the south pole of the magnetic needle, freely suspended, -points. The band has nearly reached it, and now begins a -brilliant play of rays lasting for a short time, the central -point of which is the magnetic pole—a sign of the intimate -connection of the whole phenomenon with the magnetic forces -of the earth. Round the magnetic pole short rays flash and -flare on all sides; prismatic colours are discernible on all -their edges; longer and shorter rays alternate with each -other; waves of light roll round it as a centre. What we see is -the auroral corona; and it is almost always seen when a band -passes over the magnetic pole. This peculiar phenomenon -lasts but a short time—the band now lies on the northern side -of the firmament; gradually it sinks, and pales as it sinks; it -returns again to the south to change and play as before. So -it goes on for hours; the aurora incessantly changes place, -form, and intensity. It often entirely disappears for a short -time only to appear again suddenly, without the observers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -clearly perceiving how it came and where it went: simply—it -is there.</p> - -<p>“But the band is often seen in a perfectly different form. -Frequently it consists of single rays, which, standing close -together, point in an almost parallel direction towards the -magnetic pole. These become more intensely bright with -each successive wave of light; hence each ray appears to flash -and dart continually, and their green and red edges dance up -and down as the waves of light run through them. Often -again the rays extend through the whole length of the band -and reach almost up to the magnetic pole. These are sharply -marked but lighter in colour than the band itself, and in this -particular form they are at some distance from each other. -Their colour is yellow, and it seems as if thousands of slender -threads of gold were stretched across the firmament. A glorious -veil of transparent light is spread over the starry heavens; -the threads of light with which this veil is woven are distinctly -marked on the dark background; its lower border is a -broad, intensely white band, edged with green and red, which -twists and turns in constant motion. A violet-coloured -auroral vapour is often seen simultaneously on different parts -of the sky.</p> - -<p>“Or again, there has been tempestuous weather, and it is -now—let us suppose—passing away. Below on the ice the -wind has fallen, but the clouds are still driving rapidly across -the sky, so that in the upper regions its force is not yet laid. -Over the ice it becomes somewhat clear; behind the clouds -appears an aurora amid the darkness of the night. Stars -twinkle here and there; through the openings of the clouds -we see the dark firmament and the rays of the aurora -chasing one another towards the zenith. The heavy clouds -disperse; mist-like masses drive on before the wind. Fragments -of the northern lights are strewn on every side; it -seems, as if the storm had torn the aurora bands to tatters -and was driving them hither and thither across the sky. -These threads change form and place with incredible rapidity. -Here is one! lo, it is gone! scarcely has it vanished before it -appears again in another place. Through these fragments -drive the waves of light; one moment they are scarcely -visible, in the next they shine with intense brilliancy. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -their light is no longer that glorious pale green, it is a dull -yellow. It is often difficult to distinguish what is aurora and -what is vapour—the illuminated mists as they fly past are -scarcely distinguishable from the auroral vapour which comes -and goes on every side.</p> - -<p>“But, again another form. Bands of every possible form -and intensity have been driving over the heavens. It is now -eight o’clock at night, the hour of the greatest intensity of -the northern lights. For a moment some bundles of rays only -are to be seen in the sky. In the south, a faint scarcely-observable -band lies close to the horizon. All at once it rises -rapidly and spreads east and west. The waves of light begin -to dart and shoot; some rays mount towards the zenith. For -a short time it remains stationary, then suddenly springs to -life. The waves of light drive violently from east to west; -the edges assume a deep red and green colour, and dance up -and down. The rays shoot up more rapidly; they become -shorter; all rise together and approach nearer and nearer to -the magnetic pole. It looks as if there were a race among -the rays, and that each aspired to reach the pole first. And -now the point is reached, and they shoot out on every side, to -the north and the south, to the east and the west. Do the -rays shoot from above downwards, or from below upwards? -Who can distinguish? From the centre issues a sea of flames; -is that sea red, white, or green? Who can say?—it is all three -colours at the same moment! The rays reach almost to the -horizon; the whole sky is in flames. Nature displays before -us such an exhibition of fireworks as transcends the powers -of imagination to conceive. Involuntarily we listen; such a -spectacle must, we think, be accompanied with sound. But -unbroken stillness prevails, not the least sound strikes on the -ear. Once more it becomes clear over the ice, and the whole -phenomenon has disappeared with the same inconceivable -rapidity with which it came, and gloomy night has again -stretched her dark veil over everything. This was the aurora -of the coming storm—the aurora in its fullest splendour. No -pencil can draw it, no colours can paint it, and no words can -describe it in all its magnificence. And here below stand -we poor men, and speak of knowledge and progress, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -pride ourselves on the understanding with which we extort -from Nature her mysteries. We stand and gaze on the -mystery which Nature has written for us in flaming letters on -the dark vault of night, and ultimately we can only wonder -and confess that, in truth, we know nothing of it.”</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_IV">THE EXPLORATION OF -KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND.</h2> - -<p class="center larger"><i>THE SLEDGE JOURNEYS.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="map2"> -<p>Transcriber’s Note: The map is clickable for a larger version, if -the device you’re reading this on supports that.</p> -<a href="images/map2.jpg"><img src="images/map2-small.jpg" width="190" height="250" alt="" /></a> -<p class="caption">ORIGINAL MAP<br /> -<span class="smaller">of the</span><br /> -<span class="larger">KAISER FRANZ JOSEF LAND</span><br /> -<span class="smaller"><i>surveyed by</i></span><br /> -JULIUS PAYER.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE EXPLORATION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND -RESOLVED ON.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The necessity of returning home admitted of no question; -but the exploration of the Land of which we had seen hardly -anything, beyond the cliffs that lay in our immediate neighbourhood, -was also felt to be a necessity. That land, which -we were all predisposed to imagine as stretching far beyond -this wall of rocks,—of what did it consist? Was it an island or -a group of islands? And those white masses lying on these -lofty ranges, were they glaciers? To these questions no one -as yet could give an answer. But of this there could be -neither doubt nor question, that we could not count on our -floe for a moment, and that those were lost who were not on -board the ship if the floe with the ship began to drift. On -the 1st of March the Tyrolese announced, that a fissure had -appeared half-way between the ship and the shore, and the -danger of being cut off became the chief subject of talk, both -in the cabin of the officers and in the quarters of the men. -When, however, we considered the importance of the venture, -all hesitation disappeared, and there was not a man in the -ship who would not have made his apprehensions subordinate -to the necessity of exploration.</p> - -<p>2. As the commander of the expedition on shore, I explained -to the council we held on the 24th of February, my plan for -the projected sledge-journeys, namely: that the sledge-parties -count on the means of escape being left behind to supplement -those they may have at their command, and that the -depositing of these means be completed before the sledge-parties -start; that the expeditions shall begin between the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -10th and 20th of March, be continued for six or seven weeks, -and take, if possible, the following directions:—one along the -coast towards the North, a second towards the West, and a -third into the interior, and each to be concluded by the ascent -of a dominating height; that in the event of the sledge-parties -not finding the ship on their return, they should attempt to go -back at once to Europe, and only under the most urgent -circumstances pass a third winter in the ice, though the superfluous -stores, which were to be transported to the land, would -to a certain extent enable them to do this. I engaged also -not to extend these journeys to a date which would prevent -the men recruiting their strength before the return of the -whole expedition to Europe.</p> - -<p>3. The exploration of the strange land having been resolved -on, the greatest activity reigned in the ship. There was not -a man on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i> who was not eager to prepare -for the sledge-journeys, though all knew that besides the two -Tyrolese only four men were to accompany me. Every one -longed to take part in the exploration of the unknown land, -and the monotony of our life was now exchanged for a state -of great excitement; a great venture had been resolved on, -and expectations rose with the possibility of discoveries. The -comparatively short period for which our stores had now to -last enabled us to indulge in what, under the circumstances, -might be called luxury. We could thus dispose of more than -two hundred bottles of wine, which had been reserved for the -sick in the event of a third winter being passed in the ice. -Three-and-twenty men now in three months drank two -hundred bottles of wine and smoked like chimneys the superfluous -stores of cigars and tobacco. Potatoes, preserved -vegetables and fruit, were daily on our table. Our allowance -of rum was increased; lights were freely burnt in every corner, -and the novel sensation of luxury was universal.</p> - -<p>4. While we were all living as if the oppressive load under -which we had lain so long had suddenly been removed, in -these days of general hilarity and amid the excitement of -new plans, our comrade Krisch drew toward his sad and -melancholy end. From the beginning of February his -malady had made great progress. His body was covered -with scorbutic spots; but in spite of all this the hope of speedy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -recovery constantly animated our afflicted companion, who -set us a lofty example of the fulfilment of duty by his zealous -activity. In the summer, though already under the influence -of his mortal disease, he had been busy in the construction of -new ice-saws and borers, in order that he might contribute -something to the liberation of the ship, and when he heard of -the projected expeditions to Franz-Josef Land, he gathered -sufficient strength to extort from me the assurance that I -would take him with me. But his end was surely though -slowly drawing on; his nights were sleepless, and pain left -him neither day nor night. At the beginning of March a -state of unconsciousness supervened, and the action of his -diseased lungs was now to be heard in an uninterrupted -rattling in his throat. Moments of mental clearness became -more infrequent in his delirium; help had become impossible; -all the care of our physician and of the watchers, who never -left him, was now directed merely to the alleviation of his -sufferings. He lingered till we returned from our first sledge -expedition on the 16th of March.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus35"> -<img src="images/illus35.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">KRISCH, THE ENGINEER.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">OF SLEDGE TRAVELLING IN GENERAL.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The sledge is pre-eminently the means of geographical -exploration in high latitudes, and as discovery now forms the -main purpose of Polar expeditions, it may be important to -describe clearly and precisely the system we followed, that -others may either adopt or improve on our methods. Thus I -will enter into many details, not in order to dwell on the -inconveniences incident to this mode of travelling, but to -show how the greatest amount of safety and protection may -be secured to the sledge-party.</p> - -<p>2. Sledge-journeys presuppose that the ship is safe and -secure in a winter harbour. A ship which has not yet completed -its summer voyage should avoid them as exceedingly -hazardous; and as a principle such expeditions are to be -absolutely declined by a ship which is beset in the ice; the -success which may have attended some must by no means -stimulate others to imitate them. Their object is the exploration -of lands still unknown or imperfectly known. They -presuppose also the existence of ice, closely adhering to a -coast, on which the journeys are performed, and this coast-line -must run in a northerly direction, if the North Pole be -the goal of discovery. Though sledge-parties follow the -coast-line they actually travel on the frozen sea; for it is -never safe to abandon that line and make for pack-ice at a -distance from it. The crossing of glaciers, however small -may be their inclination, is always attended with danger; and -if the route be stopped by a stretch of land whose extent -forbids dragging, it is of course impossible to proceed. The -roughness of the land and its insufficient covering of snow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -even in winter sufficiently explain this. A sledge cannot, for -any considerable length of time, be dragged up an inclination -exceeding two or three degrees.</p> - -<p>3. The season of the year for sledging must depend on the -climate of particular Arctic localities, and the capacity of the -men to endure low temperatures during the night-camping, -and driving snow during the march. It is advisable, when -more than one year is to be spent in the ice, to begin the -more extended sledge-journeys in the first year, because the -capacities of Europeans to endure cold rather decrease than -increase. Sir John Ross, for example, says that his people at -the beginning of a third winter were incapable of bearing -hardships, especially those of travelling on the ice. The -best season for sledging must always be that time of the year -when snow-storms are infrequent, for even a healthy and -seasoned party will more easily confront a very low temperature -than driving snow-storms. As a rule, these conditions -are found most perfectly in autumn; and I do not understand -the objection which Hayes makes to this season as being the -most damp; whereas as a matter of fact it is the least so. -Autumn journeys are preferable to those in spring, both with -respect to climate and the state of the road; only they must -be commenced early, on account of the rapidly decreasing -length of the days.<a name="FNanchor_27" id="FNanchor_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> The darkness of winter puts an end to -all sledging, and the excessive cold of spring renders it difficult. -Summer makes it impossible by breaking up the land-ice, or -impedes it by transforming the snow into thaw-water and -sludge. Next to autumn, therefore, the latter part of March, -all April, and a part of May, are most adapted for this purpose. -It must at the same time be remarked, that Captain -Lyon (1822) and Dr. Kane regarded March as peculiarly -dangerous on account of the prevalence of storms.</p> - -<p>4. Next to the season, the state of the snow road, depending -on the hardening action of wind and cold, has to be -considered. The cold should not vary more than from -2° to --24° F., because greater frost transforms the smooth evaporating -surface of snow into a rough plain, bestrewed with sharp -pointed crystals, so that the sledge instead of gliding along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -encounters the friction, as if of a sandstone surface, and stops -at the least obstacle. Snow of an ivory-like smoothness rarely -occurs; on the contrary, we find the snow in deep layers as -fine as powder, into which we sink knee-deep, or among -barriers of hummocks, miles in extent, which impose enormous -détours in the transport of the baggage. During the journey -from 2° to 13° below zero F. constitutes the pleasantest temperature, -and even the nights, under this condition, are passed -without inconvenience by a party inured to exposure. Snow-storms, -however, in their mildest form—snow-drifting—are, at -this moderate temperature, distressing and dangerous. In -fact, among all the contingencies which may occur during a -Polar expedition, there is no severer test of enduring perseverance -than dragging a sledge in the face of drifting snow at a -temperature from 13° to 35° below zero F.</p> - -<p>5. The ship in its winter harbour is the only place of refuge, -in all cases where a meeting with Eskimos cannot be counted -on. Except for the accidents of hunting, on which no -dependence should be placed, the country itself affords no -kind of means of subsistence; hence all the necessaries of -life must be carried in the sledges. The heavily laden sledge -becomes in truth a ship of the icy wastes, and its loss involves -the destruction of the whole party. In order to lighten its -load and yet prolong the journey as much as possible, supplies -of provisions are often deposited along the routes to be -traversed. This may be done, either by previous shorter -journeys, or by leaving behind a part of the provisions which -have been taken from the ship, or by burying the product of -the chase in the manner adopted by fur-hunters and Indians. -The danger to such stores from the inroads of bears or the -breaking up of the ice must be guarded against by a careful -selection of localities; and the place being chosen, the provisions -should either be buried four feet deep in snow between -steep rocks, somewhat above the level of the sea, or the bags -containing them should be suspended on the inaccessible faces -of the rocks. The choice of an elevated point is some security -against visits from bears. But it is never advisable to build -confidently on finding the depôt, or to make the possibility of -return dependent on this contingency. A small stock of the -necessaries of life should always be kept in reserve, as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -prudent precaution in case the depôt should be destroyed. If -however the depôts remain untouched and uninjured, and -their numbers be considerable, the duration of the journey, -which can be prolonged for thirty or forty days only where -provisions are carried in the sledges, may thus be doubled in -extent. The depôts for journeys in the spring are often -formed in the preceding autumn, though their preservation is -of course exposed to great risk.</p> - -<p>6. Sledges are dragged sometimes by men and dogs conjointly, -sometimes by men without dogs, or by dogs alone. -Reindeer are found to be unfit for sledge dragging; although -Parry in former days, and Nordenskjöld more recently, frequently -attempted to employ them in this service. Though -a reindeer is able to make with a sledge as many as 120 miles -in three days, it cannot continue such efforts without long -periods of repose, nor drag the heavy loads which are requisite -in longer journeys. Besides this, he who has had any -experience in this mode of travelling, knows the unaccountable -capriciousness of these animals, their stubbornness, and -the difficulty of feeding them. Natives alone are able to -manage them, while to strangers they refuse subjection. -When the sledges are dragged by men alone, unexpected -contingencies are less to be apprehended, but at the same time -their rate of progress is diminished. In an expedition calculated -to last a month, ten miles constitute the average day’s -march, when circumstances are favourable. If the length of -the journey be prolonged, this average will be considerably -diminished. The combination of men and dogs in the work -of dragging accelerates the speed. With regard to the men -employed in this work, it is advisable to engage experienced -mountaineers<a name="FNanchor_28" id="FNanchor_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> of great bodily strength, such men being able -to do work for which, it is admitted, sailors have neither training -nor inclination.</p> - -<p>7. No form of sledge travelling, when measured by results, -can be compared with sledging by the help of dogs alone; -for this method enables us to compass the greatest possible -distance, and diminishes the dead-weight of the load in the -sledge. Besides this, dogs are not only active but tractable;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -they show no fear; they can endure hunger longer than men, -even while making great exertions; they neither drink nor -smoke; neither fuel for the stove to liquefy the snow, nor -tent, nor sleeping bag, need be taken for them; none, in fact, -of those many little things which are indispensable for men. -In extreme necessity they may be even used for food. And -since a strong dog is able to drag, even for a long journey, -double of what he needs for his own support, the surplus falls -to the share of the man who accompanies him, and who is -able, therefore, to prolong his absence from the ship. Without -considering the forced marches which Englishmen, -Americans, and Russians have frequently made on the ice -with a number of dogs, the employment of a few dogs in -sledge expeditions has such conspicuous advantage over teams -of men, that I would earnestly recommend the following -method of procedure: two teams of dogs, each of two or -four strong Newfoundlands, should be employed, one to be -driven by the leader of the expedition and the other by one -of the most experienced and trustworthy of the party. Each -sledge should carry at starting, a weight of from 4 to 7 cwt., -i.e. provisions for thirty to fifty days, only needing a slight -supplement from the products of the chase. Sixteen miles a -day, on an average, may easily be thus accomplished, -especially if the rest of the party attached to each sledge -walk on before their respective teams. Distances varying -from 500 to 800 miles may thus be reached, while 300 or at -the most 500 miles are all that men alone in the same time -can perform. Journeys of this kind require much experience, -so that those men only are serviceable who have much -practical acquaintance with life in the Arctic wastes, and not -merely with life as it is in the ship, but who are inured to -fatigues and skilled in the use of those precautions which -distance from the ship imperatively demands during the prevalence -of extreme cold. With regard to the route itself, -whenever the object is the reaching of higher latitudes and -the exploration of a still unknown country, it is advisable to -choose one from four to eight miles distant from the land. -The search for a route is greatly facilitated whenever we can -ascend dominating heights to enable us to determine our -position. Such a course not only saves us from the necessity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -of making détours, but affords the only possibility of being -able to touch the land at desirable points and of ascertaining -the character of the intervening districts. A survey may be -made either by triangulation, the base being measured by -those who remain behind in the ship and the summits of the -mountains serving as the points of the triangles, or by the -determination of the geographical latitude and longitude of -the different spots. The combination of both methods is of -course most desirable.</p> - -<p>8. The following instruments may be employed in sledge -journeys, according to the degree of exactness which is -required: a small universal instrument, a sextant with an -artificial horizon, a pocket chronometer, an azimuth compass, -a boat compass of simple construction, an alcohol and -mercurial thermometer, and two small aneroids.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE EQUIPMENT OF A SLEDGE EXPEDITION.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The equipment of a sledge expedition on a large scale -demands an amount of circumspection and precision which -experience alone can give, and its safety and success may be -endangered by the neglect of apparently trifling precautions. -At a distance from the ship the most formidable dangers may -arise, from allowing the matches to become damp, from the -leaking or the loss of a vessel containing spirit, from the -setting fire to a tent, which only too probably may happen -from the carelessness of the cook, to say nothing of those yet -greater perils,—the inability of some of the party to march, -the destruction of depôts of provisions by bears, or the -breaking in of the sea. The first principle in fitting out such -an expedition should be the rejection of everything not -absolutely necessary for the support of life, the instruments -only excepted; and the second, that the whole of the -travelling gear should be of the most perfect and convenient -form. The departure from these rules contributed, among -other things, to the melancholy issue of the Franklin expedition. -McClintock speaks most emphatically of the evils of -over-loading with things not absolutely necessary. The -success of an undertaking may be defeated by the neglect -even of things apparently insignificant. Mojsejew’s sledge -expedition along the coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1839 was a -proof and illustration of this. It was wrecked within a few -days by the snow-blindness of the entire party, caused by -their want of snow-spectacles. If we except the journeys of -the Russian explorers of the Siberian coast, carried out, however, -at the sacrifice of the whole nomad population, and of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -all the dogs and reindeer of North Asia—from which to this -day the exhausted country has not recovered—the merit of -the organization of sledge expeditions belongs pre-eminently -to the English. It was by Parry and James Ross that those -experiments with sledges were begun, which have since been -brought nearly to perfection by McClintock.<a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> The method thus -perfected serves to this day as a pattern to be imitated, as it -enables a party of men, inured to hardships and fatigues, to -pass many weeks without the help of those resources which -only a ship in such icy wastes can afford. I will now endeavour -to describe with sufficient detail the equipment of our -sledges in the journeys we carried out.</p> - -<p>2. The changeableness of the weather during the season -for sledging, and the character of our expeditions, required -the employment of three sledges of different sizes. The -smallest of these was a dog-sledge, and the two others were -larger and intended to be drawn by men. The runners were -respectively 6, 8 and 11 feet long, and 1½, 2 and 2¾ inches -broad<a name="FNanchor_30" id="FNanchor_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>—gently curved at each end—and about one foot high, -so as to raise the lading above the snow. The sledges were -constructed of the best ash, and carried loads amounting to 7, -12, and 20 cwts. respectively. The two runners were fastened -together by two strong front boards, and by four cross-pieces -of wood firmly lashed to the upright standards of the sledge, -which were themselves dovetailed into the runners. Screws -were sparingly used, and chiefly in the fittings of the two -horns of the sledge, and of the rail on which the rifles were -suspended, and which also was used to push and guide the -sledge. The rail was, therefore, of considerable strength, in -order to withstand the pressure of a man’s force. The runners -were shod with steel carefully riveted on. The accompanying -sketch shows the manner in which a sledge is drawn by a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -team of men and dogs combined. Those who take the -longest steps in the march should precede, and the less active -should be placed in the middle, so that any slackness may -be easily detected; for in a sledge journey it is disgraceful -to draw a weight less than the weight of what we can eat. -The centre trace should never be grasped, as this diminishes -the force of the pull.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus36"> -<img src="images/illus36.jpg" width="500" height="120" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">TEAM OF SEVEN MEN AND THREE DOGS.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;" id="illus37"> -<img src="images/illus37.jpg" width="450" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE COOKING APPARATUS.</p> -</div> - -<p>3. The proper construction of the cooking apparatus is of -the greatest importance, the great principle being to develop -heat and prevent its escape as much as possible. The accompanying -woodcut represents an apparatus which excellently -well fulfils this condition. A, is the inner compartment; B, -the holder containing about a bottle of spirit, with seven -wicks; C, the covered pan for cooking; D, the outer case; -and E, a pan filled with snow and fitted with a moveable -handle, which, being placed over an opening in the outer case, -utilizes the ascending heat, which would otherwise escape, to -liquefy the snow. The apparatus should be made of sheet -iron, each of its parts of one piece, and there should be no -soldering, in order to diminish the risk of breakage and the -setting fire to the tent by the escape of the spirit in a state of -combustion. These cooking machines should be of different -sizes, according to the number of men in the expedition. The -largest of those used by us consumed ¾lb. of spirits of wine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -to convert snow, with a thermometer from 13° to 22° below -zero F., into three gallons of boiling water. On account of -the smaller consumption of alcohol, it is better to use ice than -snow for the purpose of cooking.</p> - -<p>4. Alcohol of the greatest purity and strength is the best -fuel, and is most easily transported in vessels containing about -ten gallons. Next to alcohol, stearine is most to be recommended, -on account of its great heating powers; and then -train-oil, though the smoke and dirt produced by it in the -tent are almost unbearable evils. Petroleum ought not to be -employed, on account of its dangerous character and its being -prejudicial to health. Wood and coals generate too little -heat in proportion to their bulk. Parry was the first who, -in his journey of 1827, employed spirits of wine; he still used -wood and coals in 1820 and Lyon in 1822.</p> - -<p>5. The nights are passed either in snow huts, or in tents. -If tents be used, the climate must determine their material, -whether cotton or sailcloth. A mackintosh floor-cloth should -always be spread over the ground of the tent. It is indispensable -to make the walls of the snow huts two or three -feet high, in order to allow room for movement, and the closed -side, <i>i.e.</i> the side opposite the entrance, must be made double, -as it is always exposed to the direction of the wind. The -tent entrance must be carefully closed with hooks and rings, -and should not reach to the ground. A tent formed by two -poles, about eight feet long, crossed at each end, with another -to rest on these supports, is the most simple and secure form -of erection. During the journey, a small sail may be advantageously -used, whenever the wind is favourable; one of the -tent-poles may be used as a mast, and an “Alpine stock” may -serve as a yard for the sail.</p> - -<p>6. The sledge party passes the night in a common sleeping -bag, in which there may be, under propitious circumstances, -smaller separate bags for each. When the temperature is not -below -13° F., the sleeping bag may be made out of a warm -strong quilt; but when the cold is more intense, it must be made -of buffalo-skin, and to prevent its being pulled off during the -night it should be buttoned at the top in the middle. Sheep-skins -cannot be recommended for this purpose, as they are -far heavier than buffalo-skins; and as they more easily collect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -moisture, so they freeze more quickly. The sleeping bag -should always be wrapped up in the tent and packed with it -on the sledge, so that it may come as little as possible in -contact with the snow. If the temperature should fall below --35° F., the travelling party suffers greatly from the frost -even in such a sleeping bag, and it would then be advisable -to lay an inflated india-rubber mattress under the bag, so -that only the legs of the sleepers should be exposed to the -influence of the cold.</p> - -<p>7. As for arms, it is enough to have three double-barrelled -Lefaucheux rifles and one revolver; and even in districts -where encounters with bears may be daily expected, three -cartridges a day are a sufficient stock of ammunition. These -should be explosive shells, with steel points. Small shot -cartridges are indispensable on sledge expeditions, as birds -are not unfrequently met with. When the cold is excessive, -great caution must be used with the cock of the lock, as the -brittleness of the metal then causes it to be easily broken; -and from the same cause the hammer will often not stand at -half-cock. The guns must not be oiled, as it sometimes -happens that the hammer on full-cock will not go down -where the lock is smeared with oil. Light woollen gloves -should be worn for shooting, in order that the fingers may -not be frozen in handling the guns.</p> - -<p>8. A chest, fixed on the fore-part of the sledge, contains -the instruments used in surveying and in the determination -of localities; also a thermometer and an aneroid barometer, -lucifer matches and cartridges, packed in tin boxes and carefully -protected from damp; a supply of nails and screws, -wind-screens for the travellers, sewing materials, the spoons -of the party, extra soles of felt for shoes, medical stores, -brushes, sketch-book, flags, and a supply of light cord. The -pocket-chronometer must be worn in close contact with the -body of the leader of the party, to guard it against the -hurtful influences of the cold.</p> - -<p>9. The provisions should be placed below everything, -when the sledge is loaded. The daily allowance for each -man ought to be increased by half a pound above the usual -rations on board ship, so that about 2½ lbs. or 2¾ lbs. of solid -food fall to the share of each man, and about an equal weight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -to each dog. McClintock allowed 2½ to 3 lbs. a head for the -men; but only 1 lb. pemmican a day for the Eskimo dogs. -Hayes calculates provisions for fourteen dogs for twelve days -at 300 lbs.—almost 2 lbs. a day; and, on another occasion, for -fifteen dogs for thirty-eight days, at 800 lbs; and considers -1½ lbs. for Eskimo dogs as too little, when great demands are -made on their strength and endurance. From my own -experience, I should say, that the least diminution of this -quantity of nourishment reduces the capacity to endure great -cold and excessive exertions, and produces, after even a few -days, a feeling of lassitude both in the men and the dogs, -harder to endure than even the sensation of hunger. Parry, -in his sledge and boat expedition of 1827, found that 10 oz. of -biscuit and 9 oz. of pemmican were hardly sufficient to sustain -a man’s strength. “It may be useful,” he observes,<a name="FNanchor_31" id="FNanchor_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> “to -remark, as the result of absolute experience, that our daily -allowance of provisions, although previously tried for some -days on board the ship, and then considered to be enough, -proved by no means sufficient to support the strength of men -living constantly in the open air, exposed to wet and cold for -at least twelve hours a day, seldom enjoying the luxury of a -warm meal, and having to perform the kind of labour to -which our people were subject. I have before remarked, -that, previously to our return to the ship, our strength was -considerably impaired, and, indeed, there is reason to believe, -very soon after entering upon the ice the physical energies -of the men were gradually diminishing, although for the first -few weeks they did not appear to labour under any specific -complaint. This diminishing of strength, which we considered -to be owing to the want of sufficient sustenance, -became apparent, even after a fortnight, in the lifting of the -bread bags; and I have no doubt that, in spite of every care -on the part of the officers, some of the men, who had begun -to fail before we quitted the ice, would, in a week or two -longer, have suffered very severely, and become a serious -incumbrance, instead of an assistance, to our party; and we -were of opinion, that in order to maintain the strength of -men thus employed, for several weeks together, an addition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -would be requisite of at least one-third more to the provisions -we daily issued.”</p> - -<p>10. To facilitate inspection, it is advisable to portion off -the stock of provisions for each week in separate sacks, and -never to open a fresh sack till the previous one has been -emptied. The contents of the sacks for the latter weeks -should be increased a fifth-part at least above the normal -weight; because hunger with its accompanying loss of strength -generally grows in a distressing manner. The provisions -should consist of boiled beef, hard bread, extract of meat, -chocolate, grits, pea-sausages, sugar, rice, condensed milk, -and coffee. Tea and the two last mentioned articles of food -have an indescribably reviving effect, especially in the morning, -and enable the party to make long forced marches, warding -off the great enemy of such expeditions—thirst. Pemmican -and fatty substances, however, when the temperature is very -low, must be used in moderation, inasmuch as they tend to -promote this evil. The fact that we require more carbon in -our food in winter than in summer, and that the colder a -country is, the more of this element should be found in its -nourishment, may, indeed, be true for life in settled abodes -or on board an Arctic ship, but does not hold good of sledge -journeys. As fresh meat affords, under all circumstances, the -strongest nourishment, the business of hunting must not be -left to chance. In order to diminish the weight, all preserved -foods—with the exception of milk—are turned out of their -tin cases, and kept in small bags. Wherever there is a certainty -of finding drift-wood, I would recommend, as Back does, -vermicelli or macaroni, which can then be properly prepared. -Good strong tea is of the greatest importance, though at -first we set little store by it. A small ration of rum daily -is almost indispensable in sledge journeys, especially when the -temperature is very low. Franklin (1819) and John Ross -(1829) both pronounce in favour of the moderate use of this -spirit, though they were of opinion that rum, when the crews -were leading an inactive life on board ship, promoted scurvy. -The provisions we have specified do not altogether correspond -with the views of earlier Polar navigators. Pachtussow and -Ziwolka provided themselves in their sledge journeys (1835) -with the following stores:—Salted meat, barley-meal, grits,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -biscuit, butter, tea and sugar; and Parry’s provisions, in 1827, -consisted of pemmican, wheat-meal, sweet cocoa-powder, -biscuit, and 300 lbs. of concentrated rum.<a name="FNanchor_32" id="FNanchor_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> Hayes preferred -dried meat, beef-soup, and potatoes to the usual pemmican.</p> - -<p>11. The equipment should be supplemented by the following -articles:—A small cask of strong rum, a funnel, an india-rubber -bottle to measure out the daily allowance of spirit, a -snow-shovel, and a stand for surveying purposes. The sketch -given below exhibits a sledge laden and packed for a long -journey.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus38"> - -<img src="images/illus38.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">THE SLEDGE WITH ITS LOAD.</p> - -<ul class="smaller"> -<li><i>a</i>, Spirit-can.</li> -<li><i>f</i>, Axe, Thermometer.</li> -<li><i>h</i>, Dog-sledge.</li> -<li><i>i</i>, Cooking-machine.</li> -<li><i>k</i>, Box of instruments.</li> -<li><i>m</i>, Tent and sleeping-bags.</li> -<li><i>n</i> and <i>z</i>, Surveying-stand and tent-pole.</li> -<li><i>o</i>, Sledge-sail</li> -<li><i>r</i>, Sacks of provisions.</li> -<li><i>s</i>, India-rubber bottle.</li> -<li><i>t</i>, Funnel.</li> -<li><i>u</i>, Shovel.</li> -</ul> - -</div> - -<p>12. To obviate the danger of being cut off from the ship -by the breaking up of the ice, or to enable the party to push -on further, boats have frequently been taken in sledge -expeditions. For such purposes, boats of thin metal or of wood -are not to be commended; those made of leather, india-rubber, -or waterproof sailcloth, are preferable. But even when -their wooden frame-work is made as light as possible, their -weight is not less than 300 or 400 lbs. The addition of this -weight, and the difficulty of lading them, are so much felt on -such journeys, that the boat is usually left behind at a little -distance from the ship, as was the case in Kane and Hayes’ -journeys up Smith’s Sound. The case is different, however, -in journeys which have to be carried out partly on the ice and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -partly—and, indeed, chiefly—on the sea. In such cases, boats -of sufficient size to carry both the crews and the baggage are -requisite. The whale boat of the Norwegian whalers, carrying -seven or eight men, is best adapted for this purpose; although, -in long reaches of deep snow, they have their inconveniences, -as almost double the number of men is then needed to drag -them along. The boats in such expeditions are transported -over the ice when the snow road is good, or only passably -good, by means of the largest of the sledges we have -described; but, if the snow be very deep, it would be advisable -to use sledges with three runners underneath, boarded -over, so as to prevent the load from sinking into the -snow.<a name="FNanchor_33" id="FNanchor_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p> - -<p>13. As the sledge party has to endure for several weeks -all the horrors of Arctic weather, the article of clothing -demands special care and consideration. Abundance of -woollen under-garments and light furs best answer this -purpose. The woollen under-garments should not fit too -closely, so as to hinder the circulation of the blood; and the -fur coat should be wide, and reach half-way down the leg. -It would be a great mistake to take the clothing of the -northern nomad as our pattern. Our powers of enduring -the severities of Arctic climate are inferior to theirs, so that -we cannot attempt to imitate their hardihood; but our own -industries enable us to surpass all their resources. During the -march, a long garment of lamb’s-wool, to which a belly-band -is sewn, two stout linen shirts, one or two pairs of woollen -drawers, strong cloth trousers, a pair of common mittens, and -a light hood, are sufficient for all temperatures. Wind, -especially if it be accompanied with drifting snow, necessitates -fur coats, with hoods attached, two pairs of woollen -gloves, and a band of flannel to protect the nose, buttoned -on to the hood. Wind-guards, made of strong leather -serving to protect the face against wind and frost, must not -be neglected. Flannel masks, with holes cut for nose and -mouth, are of little use, as they are completely frozen in a -few hours. A shawl wrapped round the mouth is, after all, -the best protection against cold wind, and the least hindrance -to respiration. As the shortest beard is converted at once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -into a glacier by the freezing of the breath, it is necessary to -cut it off. The accompanying figure exhibits the Arctic sledger -prepared for the eventualities of cold. It need scarcely, -however, be remarked, that no absolutely general rules can -be laid down in the matter of clothing, which depends on the -different capacities of resistance in individuals, and also on -the variations of the weather. When the temperature is not -more than 2° or 13° below zero F., some diminution of the -garments enumerated above may safely be allowed. Knitted -woollen hoods are sufficient protection for the head in almost -all cases. Gloves, not intended to be used in drawing and in -handling the instruments, should be made of lamb’s-wool, -and the fingers lined with flannel. The stockings also should -be strengthened with flannel at the heels and toes, and -should be kept as dry as possible; because wet feet are -inevitably frozen when the cold is excessive. Hence, also, -the stockings must be changed at night and dried, by being -laid on the chest during sleep.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="illus39"> -<img src="images/illus39.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE DRESS OF THE ARCTIC SLEDGER.</p> -</div> - -<p>14. In the matter of furs, no better can be selected than -buffalo-skin, or wash-leather made of bear’s hide; though no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -covering can surpass that which is made from the skins of -birds—Eider-ducks, for example—which is equally good for -either summer or winter, during the march, or even during -sleep, and which need be exchanged for furs only when the -temperature during a night-camping falls 35° to 58° below zero -F. Sheep-skin and wolf-skin are too heavy; and the reindeer-skin, -though so light and warm, is not suitable, as it at once -loses the hair when exposed to damp, and does not last a -winter with constant use; but of these, the best are those of -the young reindeer killed in autumn. Some Arctic travellers, -in the absence of furs, have used an extra covering of light -sailcloth, as a protection against the drifting snow, which -penetrates the clothes and stiffens them. We have tried this -experiment, but were not convinced of its success. In Parry’s -second expedition, his people are said to have worn their furs -next to their bodies, and to have found this warmer than the -wearing of woollens next the skin; but this I am inclined to -regard as a mistake. When furs are worn during the march, -their congelation and consequent increase of weight are -diminished by wearing the furs sometimes inside and sometimes -outside. The inhabitants of Lapland and Kamschatka -constantly wear the fur outside; and some Eskimo tribes -wear double furs—one turned inside, the other outside. If -cloth clothes are worn, their surface should be smooth, so as -not to harbour the driving snow; and all buttons should be -of a large size, as frozen fingers find it easier to manage -them.</p> - -<p>15. The covering for the feet of a sledge-party should be -sailcloth boots, lined with flannel, and soled with stout felt; -and it is not advisable to strengthen the soles by plaiting -them with string, as the boot thereby loses that perfect -pliability which is indispensable to preserve the foot from -the danger of frost-bite. Hence also any covering of india-rubber -is objectionable. Leather boots must not be used in -sledging; because they become utterly unpliable at a low -temperature, and make frost-bites inevitable; and when -once put on they cannot be pulled off without being cut -to pieces. All boots should be so large and their legs so -wide, that they may be put on conveniently over the -trousers; and sailcloth boots especially, because of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -shrinking from frost, should be so wide, that they can be -put on easily over three pairs of strong woollen stockings. -The Eskimo, the inhabitants of Lapland, Kamschatka, and -other northern nomad tribes, wear the dried grass of <i>Cyperacites</i> -as their foot-coverings; and this might be recommended, -if it did not also involve the use of skin-coverings -for the feet, in which no European can make long marches, -without their being inflamed. Because, in the Arctic regions, -the condensation of moisture in the shape of ice is an enemy -constantly to be guarded against, all stuffs are to be avoided -which tend to harbour moisture, especially the linings of -coats, pockets, and so forth, made of cotton instead of pure -wool. India-rubber garments must never be used, as they -prevent evaporation from the body.</p> - -<p>16. If dogs are used to draw the large sledges along with -men, they ought to be harnessed in the way which the sketch -on a preceding page represents. The dog-sledge should be -laid across the hinder part of the principal sledge, and made -fast to it. If, however, dogs alone are employed, and at walking-pace, -they are harnessed in pairs, one pair behind the -other. Each dog should draw by a single trace, as we can -only thus avoid the constant entangling of the rope-traces. -If more than four dogs be employed, they cannot well go -in pairs one before the other, but must be harnessed to the -sledge in a row, side by side, and the traces must be long, -so as to enable the most powerful and best-trained dogs, -which are placed in the middle, to be somewhat in advance of -the others. The dogs should be selected according to the -special purpose for which they are to be employed; for, -while an Eskimo dog will run, but shirks the effort of drawing -heavy loads, a Newfoundland submits to its load, but, -goes at a foot’s-pace. In the Hudson’s Bay territory a cross -between a wolf and a dog is regarded as the best animal -for draught, because it surpasses the dog proper in strength -and courage. Newfoundlands of pure breed are, on the whole, -most to be recommended, and next to them, the Eskimo dog, -which has a good deal of the character of the wolf, though he -is difficult to hold. These dogs, too, although they are indescribably, -thievish, voracious, and ill-tempered, in consequence -of their harsh treatment and bad feeding, have this further<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -distinguishing quality, that they will stick to a retreating -bear with wonderful pertinacity till the hunter comes up to -kill it. European dogs are only to be taken when an expedition -has not the opportunity of procuring dogs of the kinds -we have mentioned; but, if they be employed, they should -be strong and hardy, with long hair and thick coat. The -purity of their breed is of less consequence than their being -good-tempered, as fights between large dogs end in the -destruction of the weaker. The Ostjaks, in the neighbourhood -of Obdorsk, are the nomad tribes nearest Europe who -use dogs for sledges; and their breed of dogs is far superior -to any other, either in Lapland or Northern Russia. The -dogs of Russia in Europe were employed in the expedition -(1839) of Ziwolka and Mojsejew to Novaya Zemlya; but -it does not appear that they answered the expectations -which had been formed. In sledge-expeditions the dogs are -allowed to sleep in the open air; but they must be fastened to -stakes, lest the scenting some animal should tempt them -to run off. We ourselves, however, allowed a small tent, -weighing little, for the few dogs which accompanied us. Dogs -whose paws have not been early hardened by long marches -on the ice, easily hurt their feet, which do not heal during -the journey; and wounds can only be prevented from getting -worse by a daily application of collodion and brandy, and -by a protection of flannel; and this is the treatment we -pursued to Jubinal in the journey we are about to describe. -Whenever a dog is exhausted by dragging, it is generally -blooded in the tail or ear after the fashion followed by the -Siberian tribes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus40"> -<img src="images/illus40.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">TOROSSY IN HARNESS.</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE FIRST SLEDGE JOURNEY</span></h3> - -<p>1. From the preceding remarks on the equipment of a sledge, -the reader will, perhaps, have gained a pretty clear notion -of the procedure by which we are enabled to travel for weeks -in Arctic wastes. This description will have shown him the -various and manifold contingencies against which a leader has -to provide, if he is to conduct an expedition safely and -successfully, especially if he commands a body of men, who -are neither so careful nor so observant as those who accompanied -me in the sledge journeys I am about to describe.</p> - -<p>2. I now pass to the first of these, the object of which was -to determine the position and general relations of the new -Land, which still remained a mystery to us, to reconnoitre -a route for its exploration towards the north, and to ascertain -what we could of the character of the intervening regions. -I regarded the ascent of the high mountain—Cape Tegetthoff—which -we had seen before us for months, as the preliminary -step towards the attainment of these ends. Its great distance -from the ship had rendered abortive all the attempts to reach -it which had been made at the end of last autumn. With -the beginning of March (1874) the sledging was now to commence -in reality. Though the sun had returned on the -24th of February, it was seldom visible in the remaining -days of that month; a heavy water-sky overspread the -southern heavens, and the only cheerful precursors of spring -were the birds which once more appeared in our neighbourhood. -The snow had been distressingly soft, but the north-east -winds which prevailed during the first days of March -hardened it. When these winds fell, the temperature also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -fell, and although the beginning of March is regarded as -a time little favourable for sledge travelling on account of -the excessive cold, our impatience for action overcame all -doubts and fears, and on the 9th one of our larger sledges -stood ready, laden and packed for an expedition, equipped -for a week. It carried an extra quantity of provisions, -which were intended to form depôts. From the general store -we took 39 lbs. of hard bread, 5 lbs. of pemmican, 16 lbs. -of boiled beef, 6½ lbs. of lard, 1 lb. of pea-sausage, ½ lb. of -salt and pepper, 6 lbs. of rice, 2 lbs. of grits, 5 lbs. of -chocolate, 5 gallons of rum, 1 lb. of extract of meat, 2 lbs. -of condensed milk, and 8 gallons of alcohol. The rest of -the baggage consisted of such articles as we have described -above. We had besides 3 breech-loaders and 100 cartridges, -of which 40 were fired away.</p> - -<p>3. I selected for my party six men and three dogs, Gillis, -Torossy and Sumbu. As I reserved the picked men of our -crew for the contemplated longer journey towards the north, -some of the above were not altogether adequate to the work. -My two Tyrolese, however, Haller and Klotz, possessed great -endurance, Lukinovich and Cattarinch in a lesser degree; as -for Pospischill and Lettis, they would have done credit to -Falstaff’s corps. As Pospischill suffered from lung disease, -Lukinovich from palpitation of the heart, Haller from chronic -rheumatism, and Lettis from a tendency to bronchial catarrh, -it may be inferred how necessity alone enabled them to -do what they did, when the temperature fell lower than we -expected.</p> - -<p>4. On the morning of the 10th of March we left the ship, -and the “Flag of the sledge journeys,” which had hung for -so long a time over my berth, now fluttered in the fresh -breeze which blew from the north-west. So much had this -“at last,” excited me, that I could not sleep a wink, and those -who were starting on the expedition as well as those who -remained behind were as much agitated, as if the conquest of -Peru or Ophir were contemplated, and not the exploration of -lands buried under snow and ice. With indescribable joy we -began the mechanical drudgery of dragging the sledge, each -of us at first wearing a mask, like the members of the -“Vehmgericht,” until we became habituated to the withering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -effects of the wind. As we moved along the level surface -of the land ice of the preceding autumn, after forcing our way -through the hummocky ice, which had formed itself on the -north of the ship, we saw behind us some black spots -approaching at full speed. These were the dogs we had -left behind, which insisted on travelling with us, and much -craft and force, supplemented by the logic of a few shots, -were needed to force them to return to the ship. My companions -interpreted the conduct of the dogs refusing to remain -with the ship as a sign foreboding the death of our engineer. -As the lading of our sledge amounted to about 6 or 7 cwts. -and the snow was favourable for sledging, we were able to -advance at the unusual rate of 100 paces in a minute, and in -two hours we passed the south-west Cape of Wilczek Island. -Close to this Cape we saw an iceberg which had fallen on -the ice and crushed it all round, and sheltering ourselves from -the wind under the lee of another, we took our mid-day rest, -with the thermometer at -15° F. As the sun at noon was -so little above the horizon that we got uncertain results for the -determination of the latitude, I preferred during this journey -to begin the surveying and, at the same time, the determination -of the localities of Franz-Josef Land, by a triangulation -of elevated points, to which the measurement of a base was -afterwards to be added. Hence the ascent of high mountains -formed part of our programme.</p> - -<p>5. We continued our march till the ship disappeared from -our eyes, and the route now lost its level character and -assumed the appearance of a very chaos of ice. In the -evening we reached a high rocky promontory of Wilczek -Island, near which rose some stranded icebergs, and against -which the ice-sheet of the sea, impelled by the waves, was -dashed and broken. Close in shore the ice was in violent -motion, and as we passed over the “ice-foot,” to the amazement -of all, three of our men fell into a fissure. All through -the night we heard in our tent, which we erected on the land, -the cracking and crashing sounds emitted by the ice. Next -day—March 11th—making a very early start, the thermometer -at -14° F., we saw a water-sky to the south, and, -after ascending a height, close before us lay the sea, covered -with young ice. Heavy mists were ascending from fissures,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -and the level surface of the young ice glowed with the colours -of the morning. Immediately under the coast of the island -lay a narrow band of piled-up ice, with traces of recent -pressures, and thinking that the interior was impassable to -a laden sledge, we began our toilsome march along its rocky -coasts.</p> - -<p>6. We were in no mood to observe the picturesque character -of our route, for our labours in dragging the sledge over the -hummocky ice were excessive. We had frequently to unload -the sledge or dig away an obstacle which could not be evaded. -The conduct of the dogs was not quite faultless; and as for -my companions, if one of them turned round, or if a bird -flew past, this was enough to make the rest pause in their -pulling, with the ready excuse of surprise at the circumstance. -If in such cases Klotz failed to exert his strength, the sledge -at once came to a standstill. We pressed on through icebergs -on each side of us, shattered by the frost, and amid a constant -noise of cracking and splitting produced by the increasing -cold. At length, after several hours, we came out on an -open level and crossed the gentle slope of a snow-covered spit -of land. The rugged mountainous front of Hall Island, -and the long glacier walls of M’Clintock Island, now rose -before us. Our course lay clearly marked out: it ran in a -north-westerly direction over a snow-covered level of old ice -towards Cape Tegetthoff. Soon, however, the mist began to -rise, and floated over the wide expanse of ice, and so obscured -every object that we were able to continue our journey in the -twilight only by means of the compass. We determined our -course by the aid of small hummocks of ice, which rose above -the general level surface, but so great was the difficulty of -keeping a definite line in the mist, that we were compelled to -halt every four hundred paces, and correct our route by the -larger compass, which often showed that we had deviated 20° -to 40° in azimuth from the true line, and in some cases the -error amounted to even 90°. To add to all this, snow began -to fall, so that we were almost blinded, and hence it was that -a bear for some time followed our footsteps, unseen by any of -the party. When we first sighted him, though he was at a -little distance off, he looked enormously large in the mist. -We quickly seized our rifles, and one of our men firing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -precipitately, the bear disappeared, leaving no track of blood -to show whether it had been wounded. But bears, even when -severely wounded, often leave no such trace; hence doubtless -the origin of the assertion, that a wounded bear can dress its -own wound, using its paw to apply snow to the injured -part.</p> - -<p>7. It was our practice in this, as well as in the following -expeditions, to rest at noon for an hour or two, and putting -up the tent take a meal of hot boiled beef. But the inferiority -of an untrained to a well-trained sledge party was seen even -in such operations. Much time was wasted; in like manner -and from the same cause, the coffee-making in the morning, -the preparation for the march, the taking down of the tent, -the loading of the sledge, occupied my party for hours, and -the smallest snow-drifting sufficed to blow away all their -moral force. As we left the tent, the bear stood again before -us, but disappeared as suddenly when we seized our rifles. -In the course of a few hours we passed some icebergs shaped -like huge tables, and when the wind rose and lifted up the -mist for a few moments, we saw the rocky heights of Cape -Tegetthoff towering above us at no great distance. The -snow began to drive directly in our faces, and meanwhile the -bear had followed our steps, often hidden from our sight -by the vehement gusts of snow, sometimes on our flank, -sometimes in our rear, keeping at about 200 paces distance -from us. By feigning unconcern we hoped to stimulate his -courage to attack us, reckoning on converting him into food. -Suddenly, however, he ran towards us, and our apparent -indifference disappeared. In a moment we stood ready to -receive him; the sledge was drawn across the line of his -advance, and each casting off his drag-rope, knelt and aimed -over the sledge. The directions were to aim at the lower part -of the skull, and to fire only when he was quite close to us. -The dogs were moved to the further side of the sledge, and -covered with its sail. Of the other four men, two held the -dogs, a third laid hold of a revolver, and the fourth provided -himself with some cartridges ready for contingencies. After -the completion of these preparations, no one either moved or -spoke. The bear meanwhile, moved steadily towards us, -stopping for a moment at the spot where a piece of bread had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -intentionally been placed. Just as he stopped to examine it, -three shots in rapid succession went off, and the bear, hit in -the head and chest, lay dead on the ground. The dogs, being -let loose, rushed on their fallen foe and began to tear his -shaggy skin. While we were cutting the bear up, they sat -down and watched us, occasionally dipping their tongues in -the warm red blood and snapping up the morsels which were -thrown to them. The bear we had shot was a female, six -feet in length; and after cutting off the tongue and the best -portions for meat, we continued our march in the teeth of -the driving snow. One of our people had cut his finger -badly in dressing the bear, and as the application of chloride -of iron did not suffice to stop the violent bleeding, we were -compelled to halt and erect our tent about six o’clock in the -evening.</p> - -<p>8. When we set out again on the morning of the 12th -(the thermometer marking -26° F.) all round us was a red -undulating waste, and the driving gusts of snow, which hid -from our view the nearest rocky heights, pricked us as if with -countless sharp-pointed darts. Such drifting snow, although -it greatly impedes travelling, cannot be compared with the -tremendous snow-storms I had experienced in Greenland. -The same precursory signs were, however, common to both—extraordinary -refractions, brilliant auroras, perfect calms, and -a dull close atmosphere. In taking down the tent, which was -covered with wreaths of snow, every article which fell in it -was at once buried under its drifting waves. Of all the tests -of endurance in Arctic journeys none exceeds that of continuing -the march amid driving snow at a low temperature. -Some of my company who had not been accustomed to walk -in such tremendous weather, in attempting to button on their -wind-screens and nose-bands and fasten up their coats after we -had left the tent, at once had their fingers frozen. Our sail-cloth -boots were as hard as stone, and every one took to -stamping to preserve his feet from frost-bite. Under such -circumstances the sledge is not packed with that precision -which is the only preservative against the loss of the various -articles of its contents. To watch against this contingency -is the special business of the man who pushes the sledge from -behind. Hurry and confusion were visible in the bag of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -provisions being left open. At last everything was ready: -the march began, men and dogs, dragging the sledge along, -all coated with snow and entirely covered except the eyes. -In a momentary lull of the wind, we discovered that our -march the day before had led us far too much to the south, -and Cape Tegetthoff now lay before us directly north. -Thither we now directed our steps, and as the wind still came -from the north-west, we struck our sledge sail. As a consequence -of this marching against the wind, which is most -severely felt by the leaders of the team, all, even Klotz, had -their noses frost-bitten. We had much difficulty in persuading -him to rub his with snow, urging that his nose did not belong -to himself alone, but that seven noses and fourteen feet were -under the general supervision of the leader, and that each -had a share in this general property.</p> - -<p>9. As we came under the land, the violence of the snow-drifting -somewhat abated, and in about two hours a calm -set in. Close before us lay the plateau of Cape Tegetthoff, -with its steep precipitous sides. From its summit a line of -basalt rocks descended towards the east, ending in two -columns, each about two hundred feet high. We reached -them just before noon, and the weather being propitious we -determined the latitude by observation and found it to be -80° 6′ N.L. The force of the tide not being able to raise -or burst the bay-ice, the thaw-water of the spring collects -itself on the coast-edge in small lakes. Close under one -of these towers of dark-coloured basalt, we set up our tent; -and while our cook was preparing our dinner of bear’s flesh -we lay in the sun under the rocks in order to dry our clothes, -which were coated all over with ice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus41"> -<img src="images/illus41.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAPE TEGETTHOFF.</p> -</div> - -<p>10. About one o’clock I set off with the Tyrolese to the -plateau of Cape Tegetthoff. Those who remained behind -spent their time in rubbing their feet with snow. Lettis had -reserved for us the unpleasant surprise that his feet had been -frost-bitten for three hours, and that he had lost all feeling in -them. We marched for an hour on the snow, which lay in -tender azure-blue shadow under the long line of basalt rocks, -and after climbing for another hour over rosy-coloured masses -of snow lying between crystallized rocks, we reached the -highest point of the undulating plateau. No ascent could be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -more interesting, made, as it was, in a country so utterly -unknown. Haller and Klotz were born mountaineers, and -during my surveys in Tyrol I had made a hundred ascents of -mountains of 10,000 feet, without the tension of expectation -I now experienced, as I mounted this summit. The ascent -was not without difficulty, and it taxed the extraordinary -dexterity of the two Tyrolese to climb up steep icy precipices -in their sail-cloth boots. It was about three o’clock in the -afternoon when we reached the summit; the temperature had -fallen to -30° F. (in the tent the thermometer at the same -time marked -24° F. and in the ship -20° F.). By a barometrical -measurement we found the height to be 2,600 feet. -Contrary to expectation the view from the top proved to be -limited. In a northerly direction, the atmosphere, laden -with innumerable ice crystals, possessed so little transparency -that Cape Berghaus, at no distance off, appeared -to be covered with a thick veil, and all distant objects were -enveloped in a dense mist. Fogs lay over the interior to the -west, and banks of reddish vapour covered the icy ocean to -the south. Some narrow strips of open water sparkled in the -sun. After making a sketch of all that could be distinctly -seen, and determining the bearings of some points, we returned -to the tent. Here we found Lettis and Cattarinch -engaged in rubbing with snow the hands of Lukinovich, -which had been frost-bitten, while he was occupied in rubbing -the feet of Lettis.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span></p> - -<p>11. Nothing except the wind makes men so sensitive to -cold as the want of exercise. The fall of the temperature -had been felt far more by those who remained behind, than -by ourselves. Even the wonderful beauty of the snow-clad -summit bathed in rosy light failed to modify their severe -judgment of Franz-Josef Land. Instead of greeting us with -supper ready at the appointed hour, which he ought to have -prepared without the use of spirit, the bewildered cook was -vainly endeavouring to roast bear’s flesh over smoky chips -and sticks, and we got our supper only after I had served out -a bottle of alcohol. We then went to rest in the common -sleeping bag, but soon began to shake with cold, which threw -Pospischill, who took oil twice a day for lung-disease, into a -fever. When I left the tent to look at the thermometers, the -mercury in one had gone down into the bulb and was frozen, -and the spirits of wine in the other showed 41° below zero -(C.). Some hot grog, for which a whole bottle of strong rum -was used, put us all right, raising the temperature of our -bodies by one or two degrees. After this refreshment we all -fell into a deep sleep, which was incommoded only by the -increasing dampness of our clothes.</p> - -<p>12. We started again about six o’clock on the morning of -March 13. The sun had not risen, the spirit of wine thermometer -indicated nearly 44° (C.) below zero, and a piercingly -cold breeze met us from the land. Even on board the ship the -temperature at the same time marked 37° (C.) below zero, a -difference to be ascribed to the influence of the land in lowering -the temperature. In Greenland we observed still greater -deviations of this nature, which seem to show that climatical -influences are subject to great variations, even in places which -are in close proximity. Cape Berghaus was our goal. From -its summit a general view of the distribution of the land under -80° N. lat. was reasonably to be expected. Long before the -rise of the sun, the hard snowy plains were tinted with a pale -green reflected light, and the icebergs wore a dull silvery hue, -while their outlines constantly changed and undulated. Our -road was formed from millions of glittering snow crystals, so -hard that the sledge glided over them with difficulty and with -a creaking noise, and after three hours, the exertion of dragging -had so exhausted us that we determined to unload the sledge,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -and, after melting some snow, to wet its runners with water. -A layer of ice was immediately formed on them, which greatly -facilitated the labour of dragging, till it was rubbed off. A -broad inlet surrounded by picturesque mountains—Nordenskjöld -Fiord—had opened out on our left, and as a large -glacier formed the background of this fiord, we took a westerly -direction in order to study the ice-formation. The heights -surrounding this fiord seemed equally as well fitted as Cape -Berghaus for the object we had in view. The further we -penetrated into it, the deeper became the layer of fine powdery -snow which the wind had deposited in this hollow. At noon -we reached the high precipitous termination of Sonklar-Glacier, -and pitched our tent by an iceberg.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus42"> -<img src="images/illus42.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MELTING SNOW DURING A HALT NEAR CAPE BERGHAUS.</p> -</div> - -<p>13. In the afternoon, accompanied by the Tyrolese, I -ascended a mountain—Cape Littrow—whose height, by -means of an aneroid barometer, we ascertained to be 2,500 -feet. From its summit we had a view of the mountains of -Hall Island, and of the islands which lay to the east. Not a -breath of wind was stirring, and the atmosphere was clearer -than usual, so that, without suffering in the least degree from -cold, I could work for three hours, first in sketching our surroundings -and then in taking observations. From south-west<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -to north-east the peaks of distant mountains rose above the -summits of those in the foreground. This view, while it assured -us that the land we had named after our monarch must be of -great extent, stimulated our impatience to know its extent, -and the nature and relation of its constituent parts. The -Wüllersdorf Mountains were the extreme limits of what -could be known for the present, and their three peaks glowed -in the setting sun above the dark edges of the terraces of the -Sonklar-Glacier, whose broad terminal front over-hung the -frozen bay of Nordenskjöld Fiord. It was eight o’clock in the -evening when we returned to our tent, not, however, before we -had made suitable preparations for the observation of the -movement of the glacier. Sumbu and Torossy were our -companions; but we had to tie them with a rope both in -going up and coming down, and we ourselves only mastered -the great steepness of the cone of the mountain by steps -which Klotz, who went on before, hewed with incomparable -dexterity and precision in the ice. During the night the -temperature fell to 46° below zero (C.) (-47° F. in the ship), -and I do not believe that we could have passed through it -without the help of grog. We drank it as we lay close together -muffled up in our sleeping bag. It was boiling hot, -and so strong, that under other circumstances it must have -made us incapable of work, yet in spite of the grog, we -suffered much all through the night from cold and our frozen -clothes.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE COLD.</span></h3> - -<p>1. THE coldest day we had during this expedition was the -14th of March. By six o’clock on the morning of that day -the Tyrolese and I stood on the summit of the precipitous -face of the Sonklar-Glacier. The others remained behind to -clear the tent of snow, and to bury a small depôt of provisions -in an iceberg which was close at hand. The sun had not yet -risen, though a golden gleam behind the glaciers of Salm -Island indicated his near approach. At last the sun himself -appeared, blood-red, glowing with indistinct outline through -the mists, and surrounded with parhelia, which generally occur -when the cold is great. The tops of the high snowy mountains -were first touched with rosy light, which gradually -descended and spread over the icy plains, and the sun like a -ball of fire shone at length clearly through the frosty mist, -and everything around seemed on fire. As the sun even at -noon was but a few degrees above the horizon, this wonderful -colouring lasted throughout the day, and the mountains, -whose steepest sides were covered with a frosty efflorescence, -shone like glass in this radiant light. The alcohol thermometer -soon after we came on the glacier fell to 59° 1′ (F.) -below zero,<a name="FNanchor_34" id="FNanchor_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> and a light breeze blowing from the interior, -which would have been pleasant enough on a March day in -Europe, exposed me, while engaged in the indispensable work -of drawing and measuring, to such danger, that though I -worked under the shelter of my Tyrolese companions as a -protection against the cold, I was constantly compelled to rub<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -my stiffened and benumbed hands with snow. We had taken -some rum with us, and as each took his share, he knelt down -and allowed another to shake it into his mouth, without -bringing the metal cup in contact with his lips. This rum, -though it was strong, seemed to have lost all its strength and -fluidity. It tasted like innocent milk, and its consistence was -that of oil. The bread was frozen so hard that we feared to -break our teeth in biting it, and it brought blood as we ate it. -The attempt to smoke a cigar was a punishment rather than -an enjoyment, because the icicles on our beards always put -them out, and when we took them out of our mouths they -were frozen. Even the shortest pipes met the same fate. -The instruments I used in surveying seemed to burn when I -touched them, and the medals which my companions wore on -their breasts felt like hot iron.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus43"> -<img src="images/illus43.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ON THE SONKLAR-GLACIER.</p> -</div> - -<p>2. The phenomena of cold which we had the opportunity -of observing during this journey, and which I immediately recorded, -will perhaps justify a short break in my narrative while -I attempt to describe them. The horrors of a Scythian winter -are an ancient belief, and it used to be counted wisdom to shun -the zones where men were frozen, as well as the zones where men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -were scorched. But it has been assumed, with great exaggeration, -that a hot climate makes men sensual and timid, while a -cold climate renders them virtuous and bold. There is far more -truth in the opinion held by some observers, and especially by -Polar navigators, that cold is depressing in its influence, and -enfeebles the powers of the will. At first it stimulates to -action, but this vigour is quickly followed by torpidity; exertion -is soon succeeded by the desire to rest. Persons exposed -to these alternations of increased action and torpor feel as if -they were intoxicated. From the stiffness and trembling of -their jaws they speak with great effort, they display uncertainty -in all their movements and the stupor of somnambulists -in their actions and thoughts. Most of the circumpolar -animals escape, as much as they can, the horrors of the frost: -some migrate; others, burying themselves in holes, sleep -throughout the winter. The fish, which are found in the -small pools of sweet water on the land are frozen in when -these pools freeze, and awake to life and movement again -only when the pools are thawed.</p> - -<p>3. The human body, with an inner warmth amounting to -95°-100° F., is exposed in the wastes of North America -and Siberia to frightful cold, the extremes of which have been -noted by many different observers. Back recorded in Fort -Reliance, Jan. 17, 1833, the temperature -67° F.; Hayes, -March 17, 1861, -69° F.; Nevérow, in Jakutzk, Jan. 31, 1838, --74° F.; Kane, -69° F.; Maclure, Jan. 1853, -73° F.; John -Ross, 1831, -56° F.; and Parry, 1821, -55° F.; while the -lowest temperature which has hitherto been observed in the -Alpine countries of Europe is only -24° F. In consequence -of the difficulty of observing the extremes of cold, lower -temperatures than these can scarcely ever have been registered.</p> - -<p>4. In order to illustrate the effect of an extraordinarily low -temperature on the human frame, the best point to start from -is the imagination of a man exposed without clothes to its -influence. At 37° or 50° (C.) of cold a misty halo would encompass -him, the edges of which would have, under certain -circumstances, the colours of the rainbow. It is evident that -the moisture of the body rapidly coming forth and becoming -visible in the cold air would cause this mist, which would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -decrease with the heat of the body, and disappear on the death -of the frozen man. The purpose of clothing is to counteract -as much as possible this twofold loss of warmth and moisture, -which is the principal cause of the fearful Arctic thirst. But -even clothed men exposed to so low a temperature present a -strange appearance. When they are dragging a sledge on the -march their breath streams forth like smoke, which is soon -transformed into a mass of needles of ice, almost hiding -their mouths from view; and the snow on which they tread -steams with the heat which it receives from the snow beneath. -The countless crystals of ice, which fill the air and reduce the -clearness of day to a dull yellow twilight, make a continual -rustling noise; their fall in the form of fine snow-dust, or -their floating as frosty vapour, is the cause of that penetrating -feeling of damp which is so perceptible when the cold is -intense, and which receives accretions from the vapours issuing -from the open places of the sea. Notwithstanding all this, -there is an indescribable dryness in the atmosphere, strongly -contrasting with the feeling of dampness. Heavy clouds -are impossible; the heavens are covered only by mists, -through which the sun and the moon, surrounded by halos, -glow blood-red. Falls of snow, as we understand the expression, -altogether cease; the snow crystals, under the influence -of cold, are so minute as to be almost invisible. The -land, the real home and source of cold, acts as the great -condenser of vapour, and snow and moisture of every kind, -and lies under a deep covering of frozen snow till the colour -of its walls and precipices reappears in April. The soil, in -the stricter sense of the word, is frozen as hard as iron -wherever it appears through the snow, and the mean temperature -of Franz-Josef Land (about 3° F.) makes it highly -probable, that the frost penetrates to the depth of a thousand -feet. Great cold, calm weather, and clear atmosphere combined, -are the characteristics of the interior of Arctic countries. -The nearer we approach the sea, the rarer is this combination. -Light breezes sometimes occur with a temperature 37° (C.) -below zero,<a name="FNanchor_35" id="FNanchor_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> but the atmosphere is then less transparent.</p> - -<p>5. It is well known that sound is propagated far more freely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -in Polar regions than with us. When the cold was great, we -could hear conversations, carried on in the usual tone of voice, -distinctly at the distance of several hundred paces. Parry -and Middendorf both assert that the voice is more audible at -a distance in cold weather. The propagation of sound seems -to find less hindrance from the irregular masses of ice and -cushions of snow, than from the curtains of our woods and -the carpets of our vegetation. In the mountainous districts -of Europe many of the characteristics of Polar regions, besides -intense cold, are met with; yet it is a fact, that the -report of a gun can scarcely be heard in those situations. -Cold, however, can scarcely be regarded as the essential condition -of this phenomenon; for the propagation of sound, -though in a less striking degree, may be observed even in the -summers there.<a name="FNanchor_36" id="FNanchor_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> It would seem rather that the amount of -moisture in the atmosphere has a more decided influence in -the production of this phenomenon.</p> - -<p>6. When the snow becomes hard as rock, its surface takes a -granular consistence like sugar. Where it lies with its massive -wreaths frozen in the form of billows, our steps resound, as we -walk over them, with the sound as of a drum. The ice is so -hard that it emits a ringing sound; wood becomes wonderfully -hard, splits, and is as difficult to cut as bone; butter becomes -like stone; meat must be split, and mercury may be fired as a -bullet from a gun.<a name="FNanchor_37" id="FNanchor_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> - -<p>7. If cold thus acts on things without life, how much more -must it influence living organisms and the power of man’s -will! Cold lowers the beat of the pulse, weakens the bodily -sensations, diminishes the capacity of movement and of enduring -great fatigue. Of all the senses, taste and smell most -lose their force and pungency, the mucous membrane being in -a constant state of congestion and excessive secretion. After -a time a decrease of muscular power is also perceptible. If -one is exposed suddenly to an excessive degree of cold, involuntarily -one shuts the mouth and breathes through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -nose; the cold air seems at first to pinch and pierce the -organs of respiration. The eyelids freeze even in calm -weather, and to prevent their closing we have constantly to -clear them from ice, and the beard alone is less frozen than -other parts of the body, because the breath as it issues from -the mouth falls down as snow. Snow-spectacles are dimmed -by the moisture of the eyes, and when the thermometer falls -37° (C.) below zero they are as opaque as frost-covered -windows. The cold, however, is most painfully felt in the -soles of the feet, when there is a cessation of exercise. Nervous -weakness, torpor, and drowsiness follow, which explains the -connection which is usually found between resting and freezing. -The most important point, in fact, for a sledge party, which -has such exertions to make at a very low temperature, is to -stand still as little as possible. The excessive cold which is -felt in the soles of the feet during the noon-day rest is the -main reason why afternoon marches make such a demand on -the moral power. Great cold also alters the character of the -excretions, thickens the blood, and increases the need of -nourishment from the increased expenditure of carbon. And -while perspiration ceases entirely, the secretion of the mucous -membranes of the nose and eyes is permanently increased, -and the urine assumes almost a deep red colour. At first the -bowels are much confined, a state which, after continuing for -five and sometimes eight days, passes into diarrhœa. The -bleaching of the beard under these influences is a curious -fact.</p> - -<p>8. Although theoretically, the fat endure cold better than the -lean, in reality this is often reversed. Somewhat in the same -way it might be argued that the negro would have an advantage -over the white man, for the former as a living black bulb -thermometer is more receptive of the warmer waves of heat. -But blackening the face or smearing the body with grease are -experiments which could only be recommended by those who -have never been in a position to try them. The only protection -against cold is clothing carefully chosen, and contrivances -to avoid the condensation of moisture. All articles of dress -are made as stiff as iron by the cold. If one puts off his fur -coat and lays it down for a few minutes on the ground, he -cannot put it on again till it be thawed. The fingers of woollen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -gloves become as unpliable as if they belonged to mailed -gauntlets, and therefore Arctic travellers, except when engaged -in hunting, prefer to use mittens.</p> - -<p>9. Constant precautions are needed against the danger of -frost-bite, and the nose of the Arctic voyager especially -becomes a most serious charge. But no sooner has its safety -been secured, than the hands which have rubbed it with snow -are threatened with the same fate. The ears, however, are -well protected from frost by the hood. Frost-bite, which is -caused by the stoppage of blood in the capillaries, evinces -itself by a feeling of numbness, which, if not immediately -attended to, increases to a state of complete rigidity. Slight -cases are overcome by rubbing the part affected with snow. -When the cold is excessive, feeling accompanied with a prickling -sensation only returns after rubbing for hours. Under all -circumstances, freezing water with an infusion of hydrochloric -acid is the best means of restoring circulation. When the -frost-bitten member is immersed in this, it is at once overspread -with a coating of ice, but as the temperature of the -water slowly rises the frozen limb is gradually thawed. The -longer persons are exposed to a low temperature, the greater -becomes their sensitiveness under it. Their noses, lips and -hands swell, and the skin on those parts becomes like parchment, -cracks, and is most sensitive to pain from the least -breath of wind. In cases of neglected frost-bite, the violet -colour of a nose or hand is perpetuated, in spite of all the -efforts made to banish it. Frost-bites of a more severe -character will not yield to mere rubbings with snow, but -should be treated with the kind of cold bath we have described, -continued for some days. The formation of blisters, the -swelling of the parts affected, great sensitiveness and liability -to a recurrence of the malady, are the consequences. In -many cases a sensitiveness to changes of temperature lasts -for several years. Amputation is inevitable in severe and -neglected cases. When circulation has been restored, a -mixture of iodine and collodion—10 grains to an ounce—may, -according to the experience of Dr. Kepes, be advantageously -applied to reduce the inflammation which generally -results.</p> - -<p>10. It is remarkable that great heat as well as great cold<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -should generate the great evil—thirst. It is also remarkable -how rapidly the demoralisation produced by thirst extends -when any one of the party begins to show signs of suffering -from it. Habit, however, enables men to struggle against -thirst more successfully than against hunger. Many try to -relieve it by using snow; which is especially pernicious when -its temperature falls considerably below the point of liquefaction. -Inflammation of the mouth and tongue, rheumatic -pains in the teeth, diarrhœa, and other mischiefs, are the consequences, -whenever a party incautiously yields to the temptation -of such a momentary relief. It is in fact a mere delusion, -because it is impossible to eat as much snow—say a cubic foot—as -would be requisite to furnish an adequate amount of -water. Snow of a temperature of 37° to 50° (C.) below zero -feels in the mouth like hot iron, and does not quench, but -increases thirst, by its inflammatory action on the mucous -membranes of the parts it affects. The Eskimos prefer to -endure any amount of thirst rather than eat snow, and it is -only the Tschuktschees who indulge in it as a relish with their -food, which is always eaten cold. Snow-eaters during the -march were regarded by us as weaklings, much in the same -way as opium-eaters are. Catarrhs of every kind are less -frequent in Polar expeditions, and the chills to which we are -exposed by passing suddenly from the cold of the land -journey to the warmer temperature of the ship, have no evil -consequences. It deserves to be investigated whether this -arises from the difference of the amount of ozone in the -atmosphere of the respective latitudes.—Now let us return to -our journey.</p> - -<p>11. After crossing over the Sonklar-Glacier and measuring -its slight inclination of 1° 6′, we climbed an elevation to -ascertain the most promising route for penetrating in a -northerly direction; and none seemed better suited than that -which lay over its back, which seemed free from crevasses. -But we looked in vain for the fancied paradise of the interior, -which had existed only in our desire to clothe in glowing -colours the Land, from which we had been so long held back. -The true character, however, of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land, so -far as it could be explored in this and the following sledge -expeditions, will be the subject of the next chapter. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -accompanying sketch represents a block of snow, about the -height of a man, at the foot of the Sonklar-Glacier, to which -the winds had given a fanlike shape. In the afternoon, after -inspecting the stakes which we had fixed for measuring the -motion of the glacier, we came back to the tent and began -our return march to Cape Tegetthoff and the ship. A cutting -wind compelled us to make constant efforts against frost-bites. -With a heavy creaking noise the sledge was dragged over the -hard snow, and to our reduced strength it seemed to be laden -with a double load. The night is generally the hardest part -of such expeditions, and our camping out during the night -under the cliffs of Cape Tegetthoff was especially bitter. -Happy was he who, exhausted by the labour of dragging, -fell asleep at once. As usual, we dug a deep hole in the snow -and loosened it as much as possible, so that we might profit -by its property of being one of the worst conductors of heat. -In a short time the inside of the tent was covered with rime -frost, and we ourselves with ice. The tongue only seemed to -recover its former mobility with those who bewailed their loss -of knives, stockings, gloves—yea, of everything, even their -place in the tent. They ate their portion of bear’s flesh much -as if they had been chloroformed, and dropping asleep in their -stiffened icy coat of mail, they were awoke by its gradual -thawing, to reiterate without cessation how cold it was; a -fact which no one present was prepared to dispute. The -alcohol thermometer stood at -56° F. (-48° on board the -ship), and when the warmth produced by the exercise we -had taken and by the effects of supper was gone, the feeling -of cold was so intense that it seemed far more probable that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> -we should be frozen to death than that we should sleep. The -cook therefore received orders to brew some strong grog, and -forthwith six spirit-flames burnt under the kettle filled with -snow; but to make snow of such extreme coldness boil quickly -we should have had to place the kettle over Vesuvius itself in -the height of an eruption.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus44"> -<img src="images/illus44.jpg" width="500" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">BLOCK OF SNOW.</p> -</div> - -<p>12. We now slept without stirring a limb, and about five -o’clock in the morning of the 15th of March we started to -compass the twenty miles which lay between us and the ship -in one march, without encountering the suffering of another -night’s camping out in the snow. The weather was as clear -as it is possible to be at a temperature of -52° F., and going -along with a light breeze from the north, we made use of our -sledge sail to such advantage that we reached the gentle -ascent of the west point of Wilczek Island after a march of -seven hours. We formed a second depôt of provisions on the -summit of a rocky promontory, whence we discerned with a -telescope the masts and yards of the ship lying behind an iceberg, -and our fears and anxieties lest it should have drifted -away in our absence were dissipated by this glad view. Our -return to the ship could no longer be a matter of choice; it had -become a necessity. Lettis had been unable for some days to -take any share in the labour of dragging, and walked along in -shoes made of reindeer hide, on account of his frost-bitten -feet. Haller also wore similar shoes to save his swollen feet; -Cattarinch’s face was frost-bitten, and he too suffered from -lameness; Pospischill, who could no longer wear his shrunk-up -fur coat, so suffered from frost-bite in both hands, that I sent -him on to the ship, that he might have the help of the doctor -as soon as possible. It was with much effort that we made -the last six hours’ march; and when at length, stiff with ice, -we passed between the hummocks that lay around the ship, -Weyprecht, Brosch, Orel, and eight sailors came to meet us, -who, alarmed at the inability of Pospischill to speak in answer -to their questions, had set out from the ship in order to -find us.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus45"> -<img src="images/illus45.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE BURIAL OF KRISCH.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> - -<p>13. As I entered my berth I heard the hard breathing of -our poor comrade Krisch. For more than a week he had lain -without consciousness; yet death had not come to relieve him. -On the afternoon of the 16th of March a sudden cessation of -all sound told us that he was no more! Next day, his body, -placed in a coffin, was brought on deck, and our flag hoisted -half-mast high. On the 19th, when the thermometer was at --13° F., the body was committed to its lonely grave in the far -north. A mournful procession left the ship, with a sledge, on -which rested the coffin covered with a flag and cross, and -wended its way to the nearest elevation on the shore of -Wilczek Island. Silently struggling against the drifting snow, -we marched on, dragging our burden through desolate reaches -of snow, till we arrived, after a journey of an hour and a half, -at the point we sought on the island. Here, in a fissure -between basaltic columns, we deposited his earthly remains, -filling up the cavity with stones, which we loosened with much -labour, and which the wind, as we stood there, covered with -wreaths of snow. We read the prayer for the dead over him -who had shared in our sufferings and trials, but who was not -destined to return home with us with the news of our success; -and close by the spot, surrounded with every symbol of death -and far from the haunts of men, we raised as our farewell a -simple wooden cross. Our sad and solemn task done, there -rose in our hearts the thought, whether we ourselves should be -permitted to return home, or whether we too should find our -resting-place in the unapproachable wastes of the icy north. -The wind blowing over the stiff and stark elevation where we -stood, covered us all with a thick coating of snow, and caused -the appearance of frost-bite in the faces and hands of some -of our party. The decoration of the grave of our comrade -with a suitable inscription was therefore deferred till the -weather proved more favourable. We found considerable -difficulty in returning to the ship through an atmosphere filled -with snow.<a name="FNanchor_38" id="FNanchor_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF KAISER FRANZ-JOSEF LAND.</span></h3> - -<p>In now presenting a general view of those parts of Kaiser -Franz-Josef Land which were explored by us, I must be -allowed to anticipate the order of my narrative which describes -the subsequent sledge expeditions, by which our knowledge of -the discovered country was so considerably enlarged.</p> - -<p>1. The country, even in its already ascertained extent, is -almost as large as Spitzbergen, and consists of two main -masses—Wilczek Land on the east, and Zichy Land on the -west, between which runs a broad sound called Austria Sound, -extending in a northerly direction from Cape Frankfort till it -forks at the extremity of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, 80° 40′ -N. L. One branch of it, a broad arm running to the north-east—Rawlinson -Sound—we traced as far as Cape Buda-Pesth. -Wilczek and Zichy Lands are both intersected by many fiords, -and numerous islands lie off their coasts.</p> - -<p>2. A continuous surface of ice extends from the one land to -the other. At the time of our exploration, this expanse was -formed of ice, for the most part not more than a year in -growth, but crossed in many places with fissures and broad -barriers of piled-up ice. Throughout its whole extent we saw -many icebergs, which we never did in the Novaya Zemlya -seas; whence it is to be inferred that they sail away in a -northerly direction.<a name="FNanchor_39" id="FNanchor_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> Our track lay over this ice-sheet. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -long as it remains unbroken, every fiord might serve as a -winter harbour; but if it should break up, not a single locality -suitable to form one presented itself along the coasts we -visited, which had no small indentations.<a name="FNanchor_40" id="FNanchor_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<p>3. The map of this country, which we present, was designed -and constructed from fifteen observations of latitude, from -many observations made with the azimuth compass, from -drawings, and from a system of triangulation, which, from the -nature of the circumstances under which it was formed,<a name="FNanchor_41" id="FNanchor_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> -makes no pretensions to absolute exactitude. The heights of -the mountains were determined by the aneroid barometer. -Near the ship a base of 2170·8 metres was measured by -Weyprecht and Orel, and connected trigonometrically with -the nearest promontories. This work of theirs formed the -basis of my surveys.</p> - -<p>4. It has always been a principle and a practice with Arctic -explorers to name their discoveries either after the promoters -of their special expeditions, or after their predecessors in the -work of discovery. Though they are never likely to become -important to the material interests of mankind, the naming -the lands we discovered after those who promoted our expedition, -was, we considered, the most enduring form by which we -could express our gratitude for their efforts in furtherance of a -great idea. The localities, I may add, were named during the -work of surveying.</p> - -<p>5. As I have had the privilege of visiting all the Arctic -lands north of the Atlantic, I have been able to compare them -and observe their resemblances as well as their differences. -West Greenland is a high uniform glacier-plateau; East Greenland -is a magnificent Alpine land with a comparatively rich -vegetation and abundant animal life. How and where the -transition between these opposite characters takes place in -the interior is as yet utterly unknown. We may form some -notion of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya, if we imagine a -mountain-range, like that of the Oetzthal with its glaciers, -rising from the level of the sea, if that level were raised about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -9,000 feet. There is more softness, however, in both these -countries than is usual in the regions of the high north. But -Franz-Josef Land has all the severity of the higher Arctic -lands; it appears, especially in spring, to be denuded of life -of every kind. Enormous glaciers extend from the lofty -solitudes of the mountains, which rise in bold conical forms. -A covering of dazzling whiteness is spread over everything. -The rows of basaltic columns, rising tier above tier, stand out -as if crystallized. The natural colour of the rocks was not -visible, as is usually the case: even the steepest walls of rock -were covered with ice, the consequence of incessant precipitation, -and of the condensation of the excessive moisture on -the cold faces of the rock. This moisture in a country whose -mean annual temperature is about 3° F., seems to indicate its -insular character, for Greenland and Siberia are both remarkable -for the dryness of their cold, and it was singular that even -north winds occasioned a fall of temperature in Franz-Josef -Land. In consequence of their enormous glaciation, and of -the frequent occurrence of plateau forms, the new lands -recalled the characteristic features of West Greenland, in the -lower level of the snow-line common to both, and in their -volcanic formation. Isolated groups of conical mountains and -table-lands, which are peculiar to the basaltic formation, constitute -the mountain-system of Franz-Josef Land; chains of -mountains were nowhere seen. These mountain forms are the -results of erosion and denudation; there were no isolated -volcanic cones. The mountains, as a rule, are about 2,000 or -3,000 feet high, except in the south-west, where they attain -the height of about 5,000 feet.</p> - -<p>6. The later Arctic expeditions have established the existence -of vast volcanic formations in the high north, and of very -recent deposits in their depressions. In fact, a vast volcanic -zone seems to extend from East Greenland, through Iceland, -Jan Mayen and Spitzbergen, to Franz-Josef Land. The -geological features of the latter are at any rate in harmony -with those of North-east Greenland. The tertiary Brown-coal -sandstone of East Greenland is also found in Franz-Josef -Land, though Brown-coal itself is met with only in small beds, -which, nevertheless, may be reckoned among the many indications -that the climate of Polar lands must once have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -as genial as the climate of Central Europe at the present day. -The kind of rock which predominates is a crystalline aggregation -called by the Swedes “Hyperstenite” (Hypersthene), -identical with the Dolerite of Greenland; but the Dolerite of -Franz-Josef Land is of a coarser-grained texture, and of a -dark yellowish green colour; according to Professor Tschermak -(the Director of the Imperial Mineralogical Museum at Vienna), -it consists of Plagioclase, Augite, Olivine, titaniferous Iron -and ferruginous Chlorite. The mountains of this system -forming table-lands, with precipitous rocky sides, give to the -country we discovered its peculiar physiognomy.</p> - -<p>7. The Dolerite of Franz-Josef Land greatly resembles -also the Dolerite of Spitzbergen. After the return of the -expedition I saw in London some photographic views of the -mountains of North-East Land, Spitzbergen, taken by Mr. -Leigh-Smith, and I was at once struck with the resemblance -between their forms and those of Franz-Josef Land. I -learnt also from Professor Nordenskjöld, the celebrated -explorer of Spitzbergen, as I passed through Sweden, that -the rock of North-East Land was this same Hyperstenite -(Hypersthene). Hence the geological coincidence of Spitzbergen -and Franz-Josef Land would seem to be established; -and this geological affinity, viewed in connection with the -existence of lands more or less known, appears to indicate -that groups of islands will be found in the Arctic seas on the -north of Europe, as we know that such abound in the Arctic -seas of North America. Gillis’ Land and King Karl’s Land -are, perhaps, the most easterly islands of the Spitzbergen -group; for it is not probable that these and the lands we -discovered form one continuous uninterrupted whole.</p> - -<p>8. Amygdaloids, so common in Greenland, were never found -by us in Franz-Josef Land; and while the rocks in the -southern portions of the country were often aphanitic and -so far true basalt, in the north they were coarse-grained and -contained Nepheline. The other rocks consisted of a whitish -quartzose sandstone, with a clayey cement, and of another -finely-grained sandstone, containing small granules of quartz -and greenish-grey particles of chlorite, and also of yellowish -finely-laminated clay slate. Erratics, so far as my opportunities -permitted me to judge, were of rare occurrence;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -but we found many smaller pieces of petrified wood, allied to -lignite.</p> - -<p>9. Some of the islands of the Spitzbergen and Franz-Josef -Land group must be of considerable extent, because they -bear enormous glaciers, which are possible only in extensive -countries. Their terminal precipices, sometimes more than -100 feet high, form generally the coast-lines. The colour of -all the glaciers we visited inclined to grey, we seldom found -the dull green-blue hue; the granules of their ice were extraordinarily -large; there were few crevasses; and the moraines -were neither large nor frequent. Their movement was slow; -and the snow-line commences at about 1,000 feet above the -level, whereas on the glaciers of Greenland and Spitzbergen -the like limit is generally 2,000 or even 3,000 feet, and in -these countries also, all below that line is free from snow in -summer. Franz-Josef Land, on the contrary, appears even in -summer to be buried under perpetual snow, interrupted only -where precipitous rock occurs. Almost all the glaciers reach -down to the sea. Crevasses, even when the angle of inclination -of the glacier is very great, are much less frequent -than in our Alps, and in every respect the lower glacier -regions of Franz-Josef Land approach the character of the -<i>névés</i> of our latitudes. There only was it possible to determine -the thickness of the annual deposits of snow and ice. In -these lower portions, the layers were from a foot to a foot-and-a-half -thick; fine veins, about an inch wide, of blue alternating -with streaks of white ice ran through them, which occurred -with peculiar distinctness at the depth of about a fathom. -On the whole, this peculiar structure of alternating bands or -veins was not so distinctly marked as it is in the glaciers of -the Alps, because the alternations of temperature and of the -precipitations are very much less in such high latitudes.</p> - -<p>10. The glacier ice of Franz-Josef Land was far less dense -than the glacier ice of East Greenland; whence it appears -that movement, as a factor in the structure of the glacier, -predominates in Franz-Josef-Land more than the factor of -regelation. Even at the very end of the glaciers, granules an -inch long are distinctly traceable in its layers, and in the -<i>névé</i> region especially the glacier ice is exceedingly porous. -The great tendency of the climate of Franz-Josef Land to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -promote glaciation is manifested in the fact, that all the -smaller islands are covered with glaciers with low rounded -tops, so that a section through them would present a regular -defined segment of a circle; hence many ice-streams descending -from the summits of the plateaus spread themselves over -the mountain-slopes and need not to be concentrated in -valleys and hollows in order to become glaciers. Yet many -glaciers occur—the Middendorf Glaciers, for example—whose -vertical depth amounts to many hundred feet. Their fissures -and the height of the icebergs show this. It was unfortunately -impossible for us to explore the Dove Glacier, the largest of -all we saw, owing to its great distance from the line of our -route. Evaporation from the surface of the glacier goes on -with great intensity during those summer months when the -daylight is continual, and deep water-courses show that streams -of thaw-water then flow over it.</p> - -<p>11. The comparison of the temperature of the air within -the crevasses of the glaciers with the external air, invariably -proved, that within the crevasses the temperature was higher. -The traces of liquefaction in the glacier during winter, arising -from the warmth of the earth, could not be observed, because -the sides and under-edge of the glaciers were inaccessible -from the enormous masses of snow, and the icicles of the -terminal arches and precipices could be ascribed only to the -freezing of the thaw-water of the preceding summer.</p> - -<p>12. The plasticity of the glaciers was so great, that branches -of them, separated by jutting-out rocks, flowed into each -other again at their base, without showing any considerable -crevasses. We could only in a few cases judge of their -movement by direct measurement, and we had never more -than one day to test it. One observation made on the -Sonklar Glacier in the month of March did not seem to -support the notion of the advance of the glaciers; but the -repetition of similar experiments, some weeks later, made on -two glaciers on the south of Austria Sound, gave the mean of -two inches as the daily movement. It is very probable that -their movement begins in the Arctic regions somewhat later -than in our latitudes, perhaps at the end of July or beginning -of August, because the period of the greatest liquefaction then -ends, while it is at its minimum in March and the beginning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -of April. The signs of glacier-movement were apparent in -the detachment of icebergs in the month of March, but more -frequently in the month of May—as at the Simony Glacier—and -in the crashing-in of the ice-sheet at their base in the -month of April—as at the Middendorf Glacier; and the -appearance of “glacier dirt,” where there is no material to -furnish a moraine,—as on the Forbes Glacier—must be -regarded as a sign of its onward movement or lateral extension. -The infrequency of moraines may be explained by -the resistance which Dolerite offers to weathering, and may -also be regarded as a sign of the slow movement of the -glaciers. Red snow was seen once only, in the month of -May, on the precipices westward of Cape Brünn. We never -met with glacier insects, although they are common in -Greenland; and however diligently I looked for them I -never saw unmistakable traces of the grinding and polishing -of rocks by glacier action.</p> - -<p>13. It is well known that the north-east of Greenland -as well as Novaya Zemlya and Siberia are slowly rising from -the sea, nay, that all the northern regions of the globe have -for ages participated in this movement. It was, therefore, -exceedingly interesting to observe the characteristic signs of -this upheaval in the terraced beaches, covered with débris -containing organic remains along the coast of Austria Sound. -The ebb and flow, which elevates and breaks up the bay-ice -only at the edge, is to be traced on the shores of Austria -Sound by a tidal mark of two feet.</p> - -<p>14. The vegetation was everywhere extremely scanty, -crushed, not so much by the intensity of the cold as by -its long continuance, and is far below the vegetation of -Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Novaya Zemlya. It resembled, -not indeed in species but in its general character, the vegetation -of the Alps at an elevation of 9,000 or 10,000 feet, -while the Alpine region corresponding to the vegetation of -East Greenland lies a thousand feet lower. We found neither -the stunted birches and willows, nor the numerous phænogamous -plants of East Greenland, Spitzbergen, and Novaya -Zemlya. The rare appearance of soil chiefly contributes to -this extremely sparse vegetation, the detritus of the country -resembling the meagre “dirt” layer on an old moraine, here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -and there enlivened by a small patch of green. Although we -visited Franz-Josef Land at the season in which vegetation -begins to stir, nowhere could there be seen a patch of sward, -even a few feet square, to recall the features of our latitudes, -although we examined depressions very favourably situated -and free from snow. Some level spots showed patches of -thin meagre grasses of <i>Catabrosa algida</i> (Fries), a few specimens -of <i>Saxifraga oppositifolia</i> and of <i>Silene acaulis</i>, rarely -<i>Cerastium alpinum</i> or <i>Papaver nudicale</i> (L.). Thick, cushion-like -tufts of mosses were more frequently discovered. There -were abundance of lichens: <i>Imbricaria stygia</i> (Acharius), -<i>Buellia stigmatea</i> (Körber), <i>Gyrophora anthracina</i> (Wulfen), -<i>Cetraria nivalis</i> (Acharius), <i>Usnea melaxantha</i> (Acharius), -<i>Bryopogon jubatus</i> (Körber), <i>Rhizocarpon geographicum</i> -(Körber), <i>Sporastatia Morio</i> (Körber)—and the <i>Umbilicaria -arctica</i> of winter, which we found in Greenland at an elevation -of 7,000 feet. These specifications I owe to the kindness of -Professor Fenzl, director of the Botanical Garden in Vienna, -and of Professor Reichhardt. The museum of this institution -accepted the small collection of plants I was able to -bring to Europe. Of some of these there remained nothing -but withered roots, so that it was impossible to determine -their character. Nature in those regions, unable to deck -herself with the colours of plants, produces an imposing -effect by her rigid forms, and in summer by the glare of -the ice and snow; and as there are lands which are stifled -by the excess of Nature’s gifts and blessings, so as even -to defy efforts of civilization, here in the high North another -extreme is displayed—absolute barrenness and nakedness, -which render it quite uninhabitable.</p> - -<p>15. Drift-wood, chiefly of an old date, we frequently found, -but in small quantities. On the shore of Cape Tyrol, we -once saw a log of pine or larch one foot thick and several feet -long, lying a little above the water-line, and which might have -been driven thither by the wind, as the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was. The -fragments of wood we found—the branches on which showed -that they did not come from a ship—were of the pine genus -(<i>Pinus picea</i>, Du Roy), and must have come from the -southern regions of Siberia, as the large broad rings of -growth showed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p> - -<p>16. Franz-Josef Land is, as may be supposed, entirely -uninhabited, and we never came on any traces of settlements. -It is very questionable whether Eskimos would have -been able to find there the means of subsistence, and if -anywhere most likely on the western side of Wilczek Island, -where an “ice-hole” of considerable extent remained open -for a great part of the year.</p> - -<p>17. In the southern parts it is destitute of every kind of -animal life, with the exception of Polar bears and migratory -birds. North of Lat. 81°, the snow bore numberless fresh -tracks of foxes, but though their footmarks were imprinted -on the snow beyond the possibility of mistake, we never saw -one. Once we found their excrements, and on Hohenlohe -Island those of an Arctic hare. The scanty vegetation forbade -the presence of the reindeer and musk-ox. It is not, however, -impossible that there may be reindeer in the more -westerly parts of the country, which we did not visit. The -character of that particular region approximates to that of -King Karl’s Land and Spitzbergen, on the pastures of -which herds of these animals live and thrive.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus46"> -<img src="images/illus46.jpg" width="500" height="150" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">LIPARIS GELATINOSUS.</p> -</div> - -<p>18. Of the great marine Mammalia, seals only (<i>Phoca -grœnlandica</i> and <i>Phoca barbata</i>) abounded; although we -saw some White Whales. Walruses we saw twice, but not -close to the shore; it is, however, probable that the absence -of open water prevented us from seeing the walrus nearer -the shore, for the character of the sea-bottom would present -no obstacle to its existence.</p> - -<p>19. Of fish we saw only the species <i>Liparis gelatinosus</i> -(Pallas) and a kind of cod (<i>Gadus</i>), which were taken with the -drag-net.</p> - -<p>20. The birds, which we found in the region between -Novaya Zemlya and Franz-Josef Land were of the following -species:—the long-tailed Robber Gull (<i>Lestris</i>, K.); the black<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -Robber Gull without the long tail-feathers; the Burgomaster -Gull (<i>Larus Glaucus</i>, B.); the Ice or Ivory Gull (<i>Larus -eburneus</i>); the Kittiwake (<i>Rissa tridactyla</i>, L.); the Sea-swallow -(<i>Sterna macrura</i>, N.); the Arctic Petrel or Mallemoke -(<i>Procellaria glacialis</i>); Ross’s Gull (<i>Rhotostetia rosea</i>); -two species of Auks (<i>Uria arra</i>, P., and <i>Uria mandtii</i>, L.); -the Greenland Dove (<i>Grylle columba</i>, Bp.); the Rotge -(<i>Mergulus alle</i>, V.); the Lumme (<i>Mormon arcticus</i>); the -Eider-duck (<i>Somateria mollisima</i>, L.); the Snowy Owl (<i>Strix -nivea</i>); the Iceland Knot (<i>Tringa canutus</i>); the Snow-bunting -(<i>Plectrophanes nivalis</i>, M.). Most of these occurred also on -the coasts of Franz-Josef Land.</p> - -<p>21. We can here only allude generally to those forms of -animal life which were taken by the drag-net on the south of -Franz-Josef Land, and brought to Europe in the collection of -Dr. Kepes, and of which I made seventy-two drawings. To -Professor Heller, of Innspruck, and Professor Marenzeller, of -Vienna, the expedition is indebted for the naming and arrangement -of those specimens, and while I refer my readers to -their fuller account in the <i>Mittheilungen</i> of the Imperial -Academy of Sciences of Vienna, I limit myself here to a -few of the results of their observations. The investigation -of the invertebrate Fauna of the sea through which we passed -was necessarily limited from the moment that the course -of the <i>Tegetthoff</i> ceased to be under our control. We had, -in the first place, no zoologist on board, and from the drifting -ship nothing more could be done than letting down the net -almost daily during the weeks of summer—which Lieutenant -Weyprecht did—and dragging it for some hours. The greater -part of the animals so taken were immediately sketched by -me, in order that, in the event of the loss of the original -objects, some sort of representation of the animal world of a -region never before investigated might be preserved. The -issue justified a caution which must always be kept in view in -Polar expeditions.</p> - -<p>Of the abundant shrimp-family of the Arctic seas there -are four species among the collections we formed, namely:—<i>Hippolyte -payeri</i>, Heller, n. sp., <i>Hippolyte turgida</i> (Kröyer), -<i>Hippolyte polaris</i> (Sabine), and <i>Hippolyte borcalis</i> (Owen). -The <i>Hippolyte payeri</i> was found at the depth of 247 metres,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> -and was of a beautiful pink colour and had blue-black eyes. -There were found besides: <i>Crangou boreas</i> and <i>Pandalus -borealis</i> (Kröyer).</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus47"> -<img src="images/illus47.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HIPPOLYTE PAYERI.</p> -</div> - -<p>The group of Amphipoda was, comparatively, largely -represented among the Crustacea of the Arctic waters; we -often called these <i>Floh-krebse</i>—flea-crabs—because many of -them used their hind legs to hop along. Eleven species of -this genus were brought home in our collections; among these -were <i>Amathillopsis spinigera</i>, a new species, <i>Cleïppides quadricuspis</i>, -also a new species, both described by Professor Heller; -<i>Acanthozone hystrix</i> (Owen), &c. The group—Isopoda—is -represented by the interesting <i>Munnopsis typica</i> (Sars), the -<i>Idothea sabini</i> (Kröyer), and by a new variety, <i>Paranthura -arctica</i>.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus48"> -<img src="images/illus48.jpg" width="500" height="200" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HYALONEMA LONGISSIMUM.</p> -</div> - -<p>Of the group Pycnogonida, our collection contained three -varieties, of which two are new.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus49"> -<img src="images/illus49.jpg" width="500" height="575" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">UMBELLULA.</p> -</div> - -<p>Sponges were common; but we were obliged to leave -behind the specimens of the larger kinds on account of the -room they took up. Among the silicious sponges, those of -the genus Hyalonema were the largest in size, and included -the forms described as <i>Hyalonema boreale</i> (Lovèn), and <i>Hyalonema<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -longissimum</i> (Sars). There was one specimen of the -horny sponge, so rare in those parts. The drag-net often -brought up <i>Actiniæ</i>, <i>Bryareum grandiflorum</i> (Sars), and -June 2, 1873, from a depth of 110 fathoms, a specimen of -the extremely rare <i>Umbellula</i> described by Mytius and Ellis, -1753. Since that date this animal had been lost sight of, -until it was found again by the Swedes—Gladans expedition -1871—in Baffin’s Bay, and by the <i>Challenger</i>, 1873, between -Portugal and Madeira and between Prince Edward’s Island -and Kerguelen’s Land. It may be assumed that our Umbellula -is identical with the form first described, 1758, by -Linnæus as <i>Isis encrinus</i>. I regret to say that this, the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -interesting of all the objects we had collected, was left behind -in the <i>Tegetthoff</i>. The sketch of it made from life will -facilitate a comparison with the forms known in other regions -and variously named.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;" id="illus50"> -<img src="images/illus50.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">KORETHRASTES HISPIDUS.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus51"> -<img src="images/illus51.jpg" width="500" height="150" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">NEPHTHYS LONGISETOSA.</p> -</div> - -<p>Hydroid polypes, widely distributed in several varieties in -the Atlantic Ocean,—<i>Asteridæ</i> and <i>Ophiuridæ</i>, the <i>Korethrastes -hispidus</i> (Wyv. Thomson), a new variety discovered by the -<i>Porcupine</i> expedition between the Faroe and Shetland islands, -<i>Crinoidæ</i>, represented by two species never before found so -far north, and several <i>Holothuriæ</i>, were also among the -acquisitions brought home. Our collection was rich in -<i>Annelides</i>, containing seven-and-twenty varieties found in -Greenland and Spitzbergen. Fourteen varieties of <i>Bryozoa</i> -were found, and single specimens of <i>Turbellaria</i> and <i>Gephyrea</i>.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE SECOND SLEDGE EXPEDITION.—AUSTRIA SOUND.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The first sledge journey enabled me to draw up a plan -for a more extended expedition towards the north. It was -not only a cherished scheme of my own, but it became also -the dominating interest on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, although the -other scientific investigations were carried on uninterruptedly. -Weyprecht and Brosch continued with admirable perseverance -the laborious observation of the Magnetic Constants, and -measured on the ice close to the ship a base of 2170·8 metres, -which served for all my trigonometrical surveys. The -meteorological observations also were carried on with the -usual regularity.</p> - -<p>2. For some days the weather had been bad; its increasingly -stormy character excited our fears, lest the ice should -break up and the floe drift away with the ship. The danger -of leaving her, in order to explore the extent of the new -country, increased also with the longer duration of our proposed -second journey. We were convinced, too, that the sea -within a few days had broken up the ice almost as far as -Wilczek Island, and a heavy water-sky was seen in the south -at no great distance from us. Discoveries of importance -could only be expected from an expedition of a month’s -duration. But withal the venture must be made, and leaving -the dangers and perils to the chances of the future, I gathered -together the picked men who were to accompany me, to lay -before them my plans. I explained to them my design of -penetrating in a northerly direction as far as possible, and I -put before them the danger of our being cut off from the ship. -But while I showed the perils, I stimulated them also by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -hope of reward. If the eighty-first degree of latitude were -reached, I guaranteed to them the sum of £100; if we attained -the eighty-second degree, £250; and I declared that merit, -and merit alone, should regulate the distribution of these -sums. In order to make sure of reticence on the part of my -company and thus obviate ill-feeling among the rest of the -crew, which might easily have been called forth by this apparent -preference, they were told that the rewards would be -forfeited, if any of those who stayed behind in the ship should -hear of these rewards. The assembled company agreed also -to my request never to mention dangers during the journey, -and, in the event of our not finding the ship on our return, to -take the whole blame of such an issue on our own shoulders. -With regard to the rewards, I must add that never was a -secret better kept. Immediately began on board a packing, -a tailoring, a preparation as if for a campaign, and under the -tent-roof of the ship the rusty runners of the sledges were -polished, till they were as smooth as glass.</p> - -<p>3. Before we started, there was an interesting interruption -in the monotony of our lives, occasioned by a family of bears. -While we were absent in our first journey a bear had been -shot from the ship, and little Pekel had been wounded in the -neck. On the 19th of March another bear came close to us, -which was scared away after some unsuccessful shots had -been fired at it. Three days afterwards a she-bear appeared -accompanied by her two cubs, of a darker colour than their -mother, rolling on after her. It was exceedingly interesting -to watch the actions of this family. The mother frequently -stopped and snuffed the air with uplifted snout; then she -would lick her cubs, who fondly crept up to their -mother, behaving exactly like young poodles, which they also -resembled in size. Six shots were fired at seventy paces -distance, and the mother-bear, after running for about forty -paces, fell dead. Amazed at the reports of the rifles and the -actions of their mother, the little bears sat as if they were -rooted in the snow, and looked with astonishment at the dark -forms which rushed out from the ship. One of them suffered -itself to be shaken by Pekel; and only when they were seized -by the nape of the neck and carried on board did they seem -to entertain the least surmise of mischief. At first they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -shut up separately in casks set on their end, and growled long -and impatiently till they were put together in the same cask. -Sumbu alone was slow to understand our suddenly-excited -pity for his hereditary foes, and scratched and barked at the -cask for hours together, while the cubs growled and threatened -retaliation with their little paws. After looking at this for -some time, Gillis was moved to side with the bears, and a -battle ensued between him and Sumbu, in which the latter -got the worst of it. The little animals afforded us much -amusement, and the crew were seriously considering the feasibility -of training them to draw in the sledge, in the meditated -return expedition to Europe. They ate bread, sauerkraut, -bacon—in short, everything that was given them. One -morning, however, the little rascals eluded the eye of the -watch and got away. They were immediately caught and -killed, and appeared roasted on our dinner-table.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus52"> -<img src="images/illus52.jpg" width="500" height="425" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE DOGS DIFFER AS TO THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG BEARS.</p> -</div> - -<p>4. On the 25th of March our preparations for the extended -journey northwards were brought to an end. The sledge with -its load weighed about 14 cwt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p> - -<table summary="What was on the sledge, and what it weighed"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr">lbs.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The large sledge</td> - <td class="tdr">150</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The dog sledge</td> - <td class="tdr">37</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The provisions, including packing</td> - <td class="tdr">620</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The tent, sleeping bags, tent-poles, alpine stocks</td> - <td class="tdr">320</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Alcohol and rum</td> - <td class="tdr">128</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Fur coats and fur gloves</td> - <td class="tdr">140</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Instruments, rifles, ammunition, shovel, two - cooking-machines, drag-ropes, dog-tent, &c.</td> - <td class="tdr">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">Total</td> - <td class="tdr bt">1565</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Each of the four sacks of provisions—calculated for seven -days and seven men—contained 51 lbs. of boiled beef, 48 lbs. -of bread, 8 lbs. of pemmican, 7 lbs. of bacon, 2 lbs. of extract -of meat, 4 lbs. of condensed milk, 2 lbs. of coffee, 4 lbs. of -chocolate, 7 lbs. of rice, 3 lbs. of grits, 1 lb. of salt and pepper, -2 lbs. of peas-sausage, 4 lbs. of sugar, besides a reserve bag -with 20 lbs. of bread. We took boiled beef for the dogs. -We counted also on the produce of our guns as a considerable -supplement both for ourselves and them.</p> - -<p>5. The sledge party consisted of myself, Orel, Klotz and -Haller, and of three sailors, Zaninovich, Sussich, and Lukinovich; -and we had with us three dogs, Jubinal, Torossy, and -Sumbu, and men and dogs together dragged the large sledge. -The duties were thus divided: Zaninovich managed the -packing and the giving out of the spirit and rum, Haller -served out the provisions, Klotz attended to the dogs and the -arms, Sussich was responsible for keeping everything in working -order, and at night Lukinovich acted as a wind-protector -close to the door of the tent. We started on the morning of -the 26th of March with the thermometer 6° F. below zero, -and amid snow driving from the north-west. For some -distance we were accompanied by Weyprecht and the rest of -the crew. We had scarcely gone a thousand paces from the -ship, before the snow began to drive to such an extent, that -we could scarcely see our comrades close to us and keep -together. As it was impossible to go on until the storm laid, -we preferred, instead of returning to the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, which -would have been the simpler course, to erect the tent out of -sight of the ship behind some ice-hummocks, and pass twenty-four -hours in it. Our only employment except sleeping was -to thaw the snow, which filled our clothes and especially our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -pockets. On the 27th of March (the thermometer varying -between 2° and 22° F. below zero) we continued our journey -amid a slight fall of snow, and made an early start, in order -that our halt of yesterday should remain unknown to the -crew of the ship. When we reached the south-eastern point -of Wilczek Island we lost sight of the ship, and the driving -snow with a falling thermometer increased to such an extent, -that Sussich’s hands were frost-bitten, and we were compelled -to halt for an hour to rub them with snow. Starting again, -we all ran the risk of having our faces frost-bitten, meeting as -we did a strong wind. The heavily-laden sledge, too, compelled -us to make such exertions that our faces were bathed -in perspiration. On the 28th of March the wind fell to a -calm, and as we passed over the Sound between Salm and -Wilczek Islands in a north-westerly direction we advanced at -the rate of eighty paces a minute. The track, which we -followed, consisted partly of bay-ice a year old and partly of -old floes, these together forming a continuous surface, here -and there broken by barriers of hummocks, miles in length, -due to ice-pressures. After we had passed the headlands -south-west of Salm Island, we came in sight of the Wüllersdorf -mountains, which we had hitherto seen only from a great -distance, hoping from their summits to determine the route -which we should take northwards.</p> - -<p>6. At the distance of some miles right ahead of us lay -several rocky islands, with their outlines scarcely discernible -owing to the dull thick state of the atmosphere; but as they -lay in the direction of our course, we made for them. We -now passed some icebergs and saw on their southern sides -the first signs of the process of liquefaction—new icicles. By -and by a wind from the south-west set in, raising the temperature -gradually to 6° F. and bringing with it fogs and then -heavy snow-storms. Covered with snow and running before -the wind with a large sledge-sail set, we came under the -glacier-walls of Salm Island, among icebergs frozen fast -together, trudging along through wind and whirling snow. -Occasionally the wind was so strong, that the sail alone -sufficed to impel the heavy sledge, while a man in front, -guided by a whistle from those behind, kept it in its proper -course. After a march of sixteen hours, the wind having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -increased to a storm, which rendered it impossible to keep the -track, we determined to halt. Our clothes appeared to consist -of nothing but snow, our eyes were iced up, and our strength -exhausted. In great haste we erected the tent and took refuge -within it; but our misery now properly began. One scraped -the thawing snow from the clothes of another, or turned inside-out -the pockets of his own trousers, filled with dissolving snow-balls. -At last the cooking-machine was lighted, and we began to -steam, and heartily wished that our miseries had arisen from cold -instead of moisture. The temperature in the tent rose at the -distance of three feet from the flame to 80°F., and twenty -minutes after the production of this artificial heat it fell seven -degrees below zero. Early in the morning of the 29th of -March (Palm Sunday) the wind abated and the temperature -rose to 24·5°F., so that it began to rain in the tent as we were -preparing our breakfast. During the march of that day we -ascended the rocky heights of Koldewey Island, at the foot of -which we had put up the tent for the purpose of surveying. -These rocks consisted of Dolerite, over-spread with a close -network of Lichens (<i>Cetraria nivalis</i>) and in the clefts we -found <i>Silene acaulis</i>.</p> - -<p>7. From the summit of this island we suddenly beheld, in -the field of view of the telescope of the theodolite, a bear, -which had seized Torossy and severely wounded him. But -almost immediately again the bear disappeared in the snow, and -when we came to the place of his disappearance, we discovered -the winter retreat of a family of bears. It was a -cavity hollowed out in a mass of snow lying under a rocky -wall. The bear had shown herself only once, but resisted all -our efforts to seduce her to leave the shelter she had chosen, -nor had we any special desire to creep on all fours into the -narrow dark habitation. Sumbu only was bold enough to -follow her, but he too saw things which led him to return very -quickly. From the snow which had been thrown up at the -entrance of this hole, we inferred that this had been the work -of the bear in her efforts to close the approach to her abode. -It was the first time that we came upon a family of bears in their -winter quarters, or had the chance of adding anything to our -scanty knowledge as to the winter sleep of those animals. -Middendorff does not admit that they sleep during the winter;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -he considers the bear far too lean to be able to do so. According -to Dr. Richardson it is only pregnant females who hibernate -in a snow-hole, while the males roam over the Arctic seas -in search of places free from ice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus53"> -<img src="images/illus53.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE WINTER HOLE OF A BEAR.</p> -</div> - -<p>8. As we advanced further, we went round Schönau Island<a name="FNanchor_42" id="FNanchor_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> -so remarkable for its columnar structure and environed by ice -which had been raised up by pressure. In a cleft of its precipitous -rocky walls we buried a depôt of provisions and a -supply of alcohol for two days, together with some articles of -clothing, covering them up with four feet of snow. We could -not, however, conceal from ourselves the danger of placing a -depôt within sight of a bear’s hole, and greatly deplored that -we were not able, like the fox in the fable, to obliterate the -marks of our footsteps. Towards evening the temperature -fell to -10° F., and the tent was frozen as stiff as a board. On -the 30th of March the temperature fell to -22° F., and a -strong north wind was blowing as we came out of the tent, -and curling billows of snow, reddened by the rising sun, rolled -round us, hiding from us at last even the sun himself. A march -in the teeth of a wind at so low a temperature is quite useless -and only exposes to the great danger of frost-bite. This was -now clearly seen when, the tent being taken down as usual -immediately after breakfast, the laggards, imperfectly clad,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -faced the wild weather. One was binding a stocking round -his face with his braces, because his frozen fingers would -not permit him to button on his nose-band and wind-guard; -another had put on reindeer shoes instead of boots after a -vain attempt to thaw them; a third had put on the wrong -boot, and I myself was obliged to wind a long rope round my -body, because I was unable to fasten my coat. Such a state -of things is opposed to order and safety, and may degenerate -into serious mischief. There was nothing for it therefore but -to set up the tent again and to get back into our sleeping-bag. -But the damp tent was frozen hard, and we felt much as if we -were lying between two plates of cold metal. It would -be difficult to say whether we suffered more from cold than -from vexation. Zaninovich spread the sail over us, and -shovelled down the snow from the walls of the tent;—who -could be so serviceable as this comrade of ours, who on every -occasion displayed such hardihood against cold? Orel and I -made vain attempts to shorten the time by reading a volume -of Dessing which we had brought with us; but we soon -renounced the effort, finding that we could not fix our attention -in such a situation. We had some compensation, however, -in the amusement of listening to the Dalmatians learning to -speak German with Klotz, who was far from the weakness -of uttering a single word in Italian. As usual, when the -weather was bad, the dogs gathered close to the wind-sheltered -side of our tent. Sumbu forcing himself in among us had to -be driven out, for he growled if he had the faintest suspicion -that we meant to move or to smoke; but failing to make -himself comfortable among the other dogs, he avenged himself -by again rushing in among us, shaking the snow from his coat, -and forced us to admit him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus54"> -<img src="images/illus54.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">LIFE IN THE TENT.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> - -<p>9. On the 31st of March, the weather having cleared, we -continued our journey northwards, halting as usual at noon -to refresh ourselves with soup. We measured the meridian -altitude of the sun with a theodolite, and surveyed and -sketched our surroundings. When we came to 80° 16′ N.L. -we found a broad barrier of hummocks piled one upon -another. This was succeeded by older ice, whose undulating -surface was broken by numerous icebergs and high black -basaltic cliffs. Here ended the possibility of determining the -route to be taken; for although there was an opening -between Cape Frankfurt and the Wüllersdorf mountains, we -could not enter it, until we ascertained whether it led northwards. -In order to settle this point Haller and I left the -sledge and made a forced march to Cape Frankfurt, whence -we hoped to discover the direction of our course. Meanwhile -Orel and the rest of the party dragged the sledge with great -exertions between hummocks and icebergs towards the north-east. -Cape Frankfurt is a promontory of Hall Island, 2,000 -feet high and surrounded with glaciers. The small difference -of level in the sea-ice at the base of its cliffs showed that the -tide did not rise high. Its glaciers flowed towards Markham -Sound and Nordenskjöld fiord. When we arrived at the -summit everything lay steeped in the rosy mists of evening. -Flocks of birds flew from its massive basaltic crown, and as it -was evident that they had not come there to breed, we inferred -that open water was not far off.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus55"> -<img src="images/illus55.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAPE FRANKFURT, AUSTRIA SOUND, AND THE WÜLLERSDORF MOUNTAINS.</p> -</div> - -<p>10. Our attention was directed, however, especially to the -configuration of the country, and great was our delight when -we beheld beneath us a broad inlet, which promised to be of considerable -extent and to run towards the north. This inlet was -covered with icebergs and could be traced up to the faint outlines -of a distant promontory (Cape Tyrol). It now appeared -certain, that we could reach the eighty-first degree of latitude -on an ice-covered sea, and the measurement of some angles -furnished us with a provisional guidance for penetrating into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -these new regions. The coasts of Wilczek Land appeared -to run in a northerly direction, and then to trend gradually to -the north-east. At a great distance below us we saw a dark -point moving over the dimly-seen plain of sea-ice. Its -advance was discernible only when for a short time it disappeared -behind an iceberg, and again reappeared. It was -Orel with the large sledge; but neither the snowy mountains -bathed in carmine light, which surrounded our point of view -with picturesque effect, nor the crimson veil spread over them, -nor the profound solitude of the wastes that lay around us, -could so rivet our attention as that little point in which lodged -forces apparently so insignificant, but yet made potent by -human will. With pain and toil we descended the mountain -in our canvas boots between steep precipices of ice, and -pressed on for six miles in the rapidly-waning light over hummocky-ice -to rejoin our companions, whose position we had -marked by the stars, from the elevation we had ascended. -We reached our friends before midnight and our news excited -great joy.</p> - -<p>11. On the 1st of April (the thermometer marking -20°F.) -we penetrated by Cape Hansa into the newly-discovered -passage, which was covered with heavy ice; I called it Austria -Sound. The nearer we approached the coast of Wilczek -Land, the more unquestionable did it appear that the Wüllersdorf -mountains extended far into the interior; but it -would have cost more time than the attempt was worth to -ascend them. The latitude taken at noon was 80° 22′. -Nothing can be more exciting than the discovery of new -countries. The combining faculty never tires in tracing their -configuration, and the fancy is restlessly busy in filling up -the gaps of what is as yet unseen, and though the next step -may destroy its illusions, it is ever prone to indulge in -fresh ones. Herein lies the great charm of sledge expeditions, -as compared with the tiresome monotony of life on -board ship—a charm which is only then diminished when we -have to wander for days over wastes of snow, with the coasts -at such a distance, that they do not change sufficiently -rapidly, or leave scope for indulging in surmises and fancies -of what is coming. The discomforts incident to this mode of -travelling are in this case doubly felt. The sledge is dragged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -with great difficulty in the hours of the early morning, for -the hard edges of the snow crystals have not yet felt the -smoothing effects of evaporation under the power of the sun. -The goal itself appears as if it were never to be reached, -because the limited horizon of the travellers constantly -retreats. Thirst and languor then set in. The small quantity -of water which we were able to prepare during the march -had no more effect than a drop on a plate of hot iron. Klotz -felt unwell to-day, and cured himself by swallowing his -ration of rum at one gulp. Even the dogs seemed languid, -and crept along with drooping heads and their tails between -their legs.</p> - -<p>12. The land on our right was a monotonous waste of -ridges and terraces of parallel raised beaches, partially covered -with snow. Following its line as we marched onwards, we -passed iceberg after iceberg. Towards evening I ascended -one of these, and made the joyful discovery that Austria -Sound stretched in a northerly direction at least as far as a -cape—afterwards called Cape Tyrol. In the midst of my -observations Orel called to me from below that a bear was -coming near us. We awaited his approach with the greed -of cannibals, for his flesh would be priceless while we were -making such great exertions and had only the insufficient -nourishment of boiled beef. I promised Haller and Klotz -the bear-money of 30 gulden, usual in Tyrol, if the bear -should be bagged. The animal received three shots at the -same moment and at first stood stock still, but then began to -drag himself slowly off. We rushed after him, and to save -our cartridges struck him with the butts of our rifles, and -finished him by thrusting our long knives into his body. We -appropriated 50 lbs. of his flesh to our own use, and gave the -rest of his carcase to the dogs, and deposited 50 lbs. of boiled -beef on the iceberg, close by which we erected our tent.</p> - -<p>13. On the 2nd of April (the thermometer marking -11 F.) -we again started with renewed vigour, though in the face of -a strong north wind. I myself left the sledge in order to -examine the raised beach for some distance. It was for the -most part bare of snow, and exhibited laminæ of brown-coal -sandstone amid the Dolerite. Close beside the scanty remains -of some drift-wood, I was surprised to find a circle of large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -stones resembling those erections which I had seen in East -Greenland in deserted Eskimo villages. As, however, there -were no other marked traces of former settlements, this circle -of stones was no doubt something accidental. The magnitude -of Franz-Josef Land seemed to grow before our eyes, as we -saw the broad Markham Sound opening up towards the west, -and ranges of high mountains stretching away towards Cape -Tyrol. The coasts abounded in fiords, and glaciers were -everywhere to be seen. Wilczek Land disappeared under -ice-streams, and only reappeared again in the rocky heights -of Cape Heller and Cape Schmarda, opposite Wiener-neustadt -Island. In the evening we reckoned that we had reached -latitude 80° 42′.</p> - -<p>14. On the 3rd of April (the thermometer standing at --9° F.) we should have reached Cape Tyrol, had not snow-storms -from the south kept us in the afternoon in our tent: a -delay with which Lukinovich was by no means displeased, for -this being Good Friday he had counted on a day of complete -rest,—for our friend Lukinovich was prone to turn his eyes to -heaven, spoke constantly of the saints, could mention their -festivals as they occurred in the calendar; but, alas! was a -snow-eater, and could march not a whit better than Falstaff. -On the 4th of April the temperature, with constant driving -storms of snow from the south, rose from -4° to 23° F.; and -the snow accumulated to such an extent even in the tent, -that it had to be shovelled out. It was towards the afternoon -before we could continue our march, the delay made being -not so much on account of the cold, as from dread of the -moisture. Our start proved, however, useless, for the snow -began to drive so furiously, that, as we dragged, those behind -could scarcely see the men in front. We again travelled by -the compass and used our sledge-sail; but we constantly -deviated from the right course, though we pressed on, passing -Cape Tyrol without seeing it, and entered an unknown region -in which we were guided by mere chance—expecting every -moment to stumble on a fissure in the ice or open water. -This day we sustained a painful loss—the loss of my dog -Sumbu. For two long years he had been almost our only -source of amusement by his cunning and his impudence. -He had long been the rival of the frolicsome Torossy, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -dragging the sledge; and it was often almost touching to see -how at evening he would sink down exhausted in the snow, -in the very spot where he was unharnessed. It cannot well -detract from the merit of such services—and after all they -were rendered in the interests of science!—that they were -those of an animal and sprang from attachment.<a name="FNanchor_43" id="FNanchor_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> To this -vigorous lively animal, what more natural than that he should -be almost beside himself if in one of these vast solitudes he -should get sight of a living creature? So it happened to-day. -A gull flew over his head, and Sumbu burst away from the -sledge. In hot pursuit of the bird he disappeared from our -sight and never returned again. All our shouts were thrown -away. Our track was soon covered over by the drifting snow, -and there cannot be a doubt that our faithful companion, -after wandering about for days, either died of hunger or fell -a victim to a bear.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus56"> -<img src="images/illus56.jpg" width="500" height="450" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HOW SUMBU WAS LOST.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p> - -<p>15. April 5, after a short rest, we again started about midnight -in order to economize our time (the thermometer being -at 19° F.). The weather had greatly improved. Klotz, who -was the first to step out of the tent, startled us by the information -that some high land barred our further progress. -But when we followed him into the open air, we found that -Klotz had looked to the west instead of to the north, and we -discovered the true state of things, that Zichy Land ran on -our left in a northerly direction, while Wilczek Land trended -towards the north-east. We pursued, therefore, our course on -the vast icy wastes, over which hung Cape Easter (81° 1′), and -Cape Hellwald shining in the sun, and hoisted the flag on the -sledge to celebrate our passage of the eighty-first degree of -north latitude, and in commemoration of Easter Sunday.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus57"> -<img src="images/illus57.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAPE EASTER AND STERNEK SOUND.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus58"> -<img src="images/illus58.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HOW WE RECEIVED BEARS. CAPE TYROL IN THE BACKGROUND.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span></p> - -<p>16. During our march, spying us at a great distance, a bear -approached us at a rapid pace, but when he came within forty -paces he fell, receiving three bullets in his head. The accompanying -illustration shows how we received bears when they -attacked us on our journey; it represents also the fine forms -of Cape Tyrol in the background. A few hours afterwards, -we observed a she-bear about 400 yards from us, apparently -diligent in burrowing in the snow; but as soon as she got -wind of us she suddenly turned, reared herself on her hind -legs, and began to snuff the air. She then came towards us, -but as she advanced she rolled herself over with evident -pleasure on her back several times, then pushed on with her -snout and belly close to the ground, perfectly unconscious of -the three rifles which were levelled at her. At fifty paces -distance we fired, and brought her down. We immediately -examined the place where we had seen her so busy. We did -not find poor Sumbu, as we half expected, but a partially-consumed -seal, and close to it a hole in the ice, into which -the creature no doubt would plunge when danger threatened; -but the bear had been sharper and cleverer than the seal, and -had probably seized it when asleep on the ice. Bear-flesh now -formed our principal food, and the sledge was heavily laden -with it. We ate it both raw and cooked, and when the flesh -was badly cooked—especially if it were the flesh of an old -bear—it was less palatable than when uncooked. It may be -tolerable food for sea-gulls, but it is a diet hardly fit even for -devils on the fast-days of the infernal regions. Arctic lands -certainly do not furnish delicacies to gratify a refined taste; -the best things they have to offer are coarse and oily, and if -ever they are eaten with relish, it is a relish which comes from -hunger alone. The desolate shores of these lands are truly -the very home of hunger, and nowhere else are the calculations -of travellers so much influenced and determined by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> -stomach and its needs. Remains or fragments are unknown -in Arctic regions. The dead are consumed by the living, and -the living find their never-ceasing occupation in the toilsome -search for food. In my three Arctic expeditions, I very -seldom indeed found the remains of animals, never the remains -of a bear or a fox. The man who visits these wastes -must do homage to the principle of eating everything, and -throwing away nothing. Franklin was unsurpassed in this, -but I believe we were little behind him. Franklin and his -people found the flesh of a white fox as pleasant to the taste -as young geese—a proof how entirely they had forgotten -how geese taste. They preferred foxes, too, to lean reindeer; -and they considered the flesh of a grey bear exceedingly palatable, -though even the Eskimos eat it only in dire necessity. -Reindeer marrow, even raw, was to them a great delicacy, -and they ate animals in a state of decomposition. Barentz -and his crew were very modest in their tastes; they compared -whale-flesh to beef, and foxes to rabbits, as articles of -diet; bears’ meat they utterly detested. Once only it seems -they partook of the liver of a bear, and three of his men -became exceedingly ill in consequence, their skin peeling off -from head to foot. Kane was prejudiced against bear, notwithstanding -the great straits to which he was reduced, and -complains of this food as being absolutely uneatable. The -testimony of Dunér is more favourable. “If,” says he, “a -bear has not been eating walrus or seal in a state of semiputrefaction -before he is killed, his flesh, though somewhat -coarse, is yet palatable, and not at all prejudicial to health.” -Parry thought whale-flesh and walrus-flesh equally distasteful: -he makes an exception in favour only of the heart of -the walrus; but he speaks of the tenderness and excellence -of the flesh of young seals. As for ourselves, we disdained -nothing that we could get hold of, after the manner of Sir -John Ross, who thought the fox the best of all food, better -than the gull (<i>Larus tridactylus</i>).</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus59"> -<img src="images/illus59.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DINING ON BEARS’ FLESH.</p> -</div> - -<p>17. The continued moisture of the last few days had -completely saturated our canvas boots; and those of several -of us were besides nearly worn out, and in the morning when -completely frozen, to put the foot into one was as bad as -putting it into an ice-hole, so that we were obliged to thaw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> -them over a spirit-flame, and to knock their heels with a -hammer continually during the march. Sussich had made -himself a pair of new boots out of a cloth jacket. It would, -however, be a mistake to think that we should have been any -better off with leather boots. In fact, we could not have put -them on, and in the increasing cold of the following weeks -our feet would certainly have been frost-bitten. Our clothes -were completely saturated in like manner, and whenever the -temperature fell they became stiff with ice. I suffered the -least of any, for my bird-skin garments were the best preservatives -against the penetration of moisture.</p> - -<p>18. No kind of snow opposes such hindrances to sledge-dragging -as the snow with the thermometer not much below -freezing-point, for at this temperature it balls. This impediment -we now encountered. The air, too, became oppressively -heavy; land and sky were suddenly overspread with darkness; -and, from behind thunderlike clouds, red rays of the sun fell -on the conical mountains of Kane Island. Falls of snow, -calms, and violent gusts of wind rapidly succeeded one -another, and just before we erected our tent it again became -clear. Far to the north we saw two white masses—Becker -and Archduke-Rainer Islands, and an extensive inlet—Back -Inlet; but only within Austria Sound could we count on -pursuing our journey northwards without making any détours. -On Easter Monday, April 7th (the thermometer varying -between 9° and 19° below zero (C.)), we approached Becker -Island; but the atmosphere was on this day so moist and -thick, though without mist in the proper sense, that its existence -might be asserted or disputed according as the light -changed; and it was only when we were not further off than -100 paces that we could be positive of the existence of land, -rising gently at an angle of 1° 7′. Over this ice-covered island -we now dragged, and, full of expectation, mounted its highest -point. To the north lay an indescribable waste, more utterly -desolate than anything I had ever seen, even in the Arctic -regions, interspersed with snow-covered islands, all, big and -little, of the same low, rounded shape. The whole, at a distance, -presented the appearance of a chaos of icehills and -icebergs scattered over a frozen sea. One thing only in this -view gave us much satisfaction. Austria Sound still stretched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -uninterruptedly towards the north. Could we have forgotten -how the <i>Tegetthoff</i> had drifted towards Franz-Josef Land, -that Sound would have seemed to us the true road to the -Pole. Nor could we doubt that in the immediate north open -water would be found, for in no other way could we interpret -the indications we had observed in the course of the last few -days—the great moisture and high temperature, the dark -colour of the northern sky, the frequent flights of Auks, and -Divers, grey and white Gulls, which flew from the north -southward, or <i>vice versâ</i>.</p> - -<p>19. After crossing Becker Island, we went on again on the -frozen sea, which was rough and undulating for some distance. -From behind one of the hummocks a bear suddenly emerged, -and came towards us without any fear or hesitation, his yellow -colour forming a strong contrast with the gleaming hills of -ice. When he was thirty paces off we fired; but though -severely wounded he managed to get away. On the 7th of -April (the thermometer varying between 16° and 25° below -zero (C.), and with a light south-west wind), we passed close -to Archduke-Rainer Island, a heavy rime frost seriously -impeding our progress. We were able, however, to turn to -good account the clear sunny weather of this day. We dried -our clothes and tent furniture, spreading them out in the sun -over the sledge or suspending them to its mast and yard. -We had almost reached Cape Beurmann at noon, and having -taken our observations, we found our latitude to be 81° 23′. -We had consequently gone beyond the latitude reached by -Morton; Hayes only having reached a slightly higher latitude -than this. About this time of the day the horizon towards -the north became exceedingly clear, and the steep rocks of -Coburg Island were distinctly visible, and behind them now -rose the faint outlines of mountains—Crown-Prince Rudolf’s -Land.</p> - -<p>20. At this latitude it seemed as if Wilczek Land suddenly -terminated, but when the sun scattered the driving mist we -saw the glittering ranges of its enormous glaciers—the Dove<a name="FNanchor_44" id="FNanchor_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> -Glaciers—shining down on us. Towards the north-east we -could trace land trending to a cape lying in the grey distance—Cape -Buda Pesth, as it was afterwards called. The prospect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -thus opened to us of a vast glacier land, conflicted with the -general impression we had formed of the resemblance between -the newly-discovered region and Spitzbergen; for glaciers of -such extraordinary magnitude presuppose the existence of -a country stretching far into the interior. As it appeared to -us that Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land and Karl Alexander’s -Land formed a continuous whole, we left Austria Sound and -diverged into Rawlinson Sound, and directed our course -towards Cape Rath. It was my intention, if this headland -should be reached, to leave behind the remainder of the party -and push on with the dog-sledge and two companions. We -could count on finding deep snow-wreaths behind the hummocks, -and to dig out a snow-house would have been the -labour of an hour for three men. Previous experience had -convinced us that such a night encampment is warmer than -the shelter which a tent can afford. But though we were filled -with zeal to extend our discoveries as much as possible, we -now felt that the excessive exertions we had made had reduced -our strength. We had slept on an average but five hours a -day, and marched the rest of the day, or at any rate had been -occupied with all manner of work. Our appetite too had increased -with our labours, and the partaking of bears’ flesh -began to tell on some of us. The restricted use of bread-stuff -was especially felt, and the almost exclusive, use of flesh produced -diarrhœa and general debility. Nothing is more prejudicial -to those engaged in extended sledge journeys than -great exertion with insufficient sleep. The urgent reasons we -had for losing no time in order that we might return as soon -as possible to the ship, constrained us to depart from the -rule of a ten hours’ sleep to a seven hours’ march on sledge -journeys. In consequence of our persistent adherence to this -principle during our return to Europe after abandoning the -<i>Tegetthoff</i>, the labours incident to it were far more easily performed. -We did not lose but gained strength; and some of us -even grew stouter during it.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus60"> -<img src="images/illus60.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CUTTING UP THE BEARS.</p> -</div> - -<p>21. On the 8th of April we continued our journey, making -an early start as usual. Our track lay between countless -hummocks, some of which were forty feet high, while the depressions -between them were filled with deep layers of snow, and -as we advanced into Rawlinson Sound, high icebergs towered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -over a monotonous chaos of ice-forms. The ice resembled -that which surrounded the <i>Tegetthoff</i> during our first winter, -and indicated a periodical, perhaps even an annual, breaking -up. There was nothing, however, to entitle us to infer that -Rawlinson Sound was navigable in summer. Like many of -the passages of the northern coast of North America, Austria -and Rawlinson Sounds are too narrow for the purposes of navigation. -They are, however, well calculated for sledge travelling. -For some time we made use of our sledge-sail; but -when the wind shifted to E.S.E., it drove the sledge so much -from its true course, that we took it down. Our noses had -become so susceptible, that we were glad to put on our wind-protectors -to save them from frost-bite. Then followed snow-storms, -alternating with brilliant sunshine which, however, -illuminated, partially only, some reaches of the hummocky ice, -while the distant land lay in shadow. It cost us excessive -labour to get the sledge on; we had occasionally to dig a -lane for it, and we ran some risk of breaking it. Our advance -was one continual zig-zag, due to the confused character of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -the ice on which we travelled and the untrustworthiness of the -compass in high latitudes. It seemed too, as if the declination -of the magnetic needle had considerably diminished since -we left the ship. Our labours were diversified by the visit of -a bear, who, when we first observed him, was standing on the -top of one of the many ice-hummocks about 300 paces distant. -He then approached us, as was usually the case, under the -wind, and we at once drew up to receive him. He took no -notice of the bread we had laid down to gain his attention, -but still pressed on till he received three bullets in his head. -Notwithstanding this he ran for about seventy yards and then -fell. To make sure, another bullet was fired into his body, -and thinking him dead, we forthwith began to cut him up; -but when his belly was being opened, he raised his head in a -fury, seized the butt-end of my rifle with his teeth and tore it -from my hand. My companions soon despatched him. The -bear was eight feet long, and therefore of unusual size. We -might have cut off two or three cwt. of flesh from his carcase, -but in consideration of the heavy lading of the sledge, we -contented ourselves with appropriating sixty pounds. Both -Rawlinson and Austria Sounds were equally rich in fresh traces -of bears, which seemed to be those of whole families and not -of individual animals.</p> - -<p>22. Our latitude from a meridian observation was found to -be 81° 38′—and though the sun shining dimly through the -clouds might account for an error of two or three minutes, we -had certainly passed beyond the latitude 81° 35′ reached by -Hayes in Smith’s Sound in 1861.<a name="FNanchor_45" id="FNanchor_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> Having no conception at -the time that Hall’s American expedition had penetrated, the -year before we achieved this result, to 82° 9′ on the land and -82° 22′ at sea, we hoisted our sledge-flag to commemorate our -success. The character of the ice now became so wild and -confused that we wandered 45° from one point of the compass -to the other. We constantly expected to come upon open -fissures, and could not conceal from ourselves how easily its -loose connection might be broken up by a storm, and our -return to the ship exposed to great risks. The transport of -our travelling gear became increasingly difficult, and great -were our fears lest, through the constant heavy shocks which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> -the sledge encountered, the case of spirit should be crushed -and destroyed. The difficulties too to be overcome amid -the multitude of hummocks were more depressing than -the occurrence of snow-storms, inasmuch as their number -almost destroyed the possibility of progress; and the -monotonous uniformity which tired the eye tended also to -depress the spirits.</p> - -<p>23. On the 9th of April (the thermometer standing at 10° -F., and a light breeze blowing from the east) we continued -our work of dragging between the hummocks till noon. We -then ascended an iceberg, and discovered that the hummocks -of ice in Rawlinson’s Sound appeared to stretch on without end. -We therefore altered our course and took a north-westerly -direction, in order to come under Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, -whose noble mountain forms and mighty glaciers shone forth -in the light of the sun. We expected to find smoother ice on -its coast-line; but we were deceived in this expectation, for -the character of the ice remained unchanged. We were compelled -therefore to cross this Sound in a westerly direction to -Hohenlohe Island, and to select the rocky pyramid—visible -from a great distance—of Cape Schrötter as the point where -our expedition should divide into two parties; the larger -party to remain behind, the smaller to penetrate further -towards the north over the glaciers of Rudolf’s Land. By -noon of this day we reached 81° 37′ N. L. and in the evening -arrived at Cape Schrötter. All the labours and efforts of the -last few days had consequently been without result.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN THE EXTREME NORTH.</span></h3> - -<p>1. Immediately after reaching Cape Schrötter, the east -end of Hohenlohe Island, we ascended the summit of this -Dolerite rock, which was quite free from snow, and covered -with a sparse vegetation. We were surprised to find here the -excrement of a hare. The prospect which lay before us -convinced us of the necessity of our proposed temporary -separation. The mountains of Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, -separated from us by an arm of the sea covered with level -ice, were so high (about 3,000 feet) that we saw at once that we -could pass over them only with the small dog-sledge. The -walking powers, moreover, of two of my companions had -greatly deteriorated, and for them rest was not an indulgence, -but a necessity. Austria Sound appeared to stretch still -further to the north, but its western coasts turned sharply -to the left in the precipitous cliffs of Cape Felder and Cape -Böhm. The blue jagged line of mountains, towering above -snow-fields lying in the sun, stretched away to the north-west -till they were lost in dark streaks on the horizon, which our -experience led us to interpret as a water-sky above open -spaces of the sea.</p> - -<p>2. I was greatly delighted by Orel’s readiness, though he -was suffering from inflamed eyes, to take part in the expedition -to the extreme north; and it only remained for us to -select the fittest among the party and to calm the apprehensions -of those who were to remain behind. On our return to -the foot of the rocks, where the tent was already pitched, -we found the rest of the party sitting close to each other -at the rocky wall on which the sun was shining, in order<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> -to warm themselves,—like crickets on the wall of a house. -The success of an expedition like that we projected depends -chiefly on the mutual good feeling among its members, -and he who commands it, besides participating personally in -all the labours to be endured, must show himself a sympathetic -friend even in cases where strict duty does not enjoin it, -so that confidence in him may grow into a kind of belief in -his infallibility. There could not be more devoted or enduring -men than those who were here lying in the sun, and whom we -now joined, in order to decide the question of the hour. I -explained to them the plans I meant to follow,—that I should -be absent from five to eight days, that if I should not return -to them within fifteen days they should march back to the -ship with the sledge—sawn through the middle—and the -stock of provisions which should be placed at their disposal -would suffice for this emergency. I then asked each of them -whether he could dismiss fear, and remain behind in this -desolation. Sussich answered: “<i>Se uno de lori resta indietro, -mi non go paura:</i>” so said the rest. By the expression, however, -“uno de lori” they meant Orel or one of the two Tyrolese, -and specially with an eye to the bears which might be prowling -about. I left it free to Klotz and Haller to decide which of -them was the fittest and most serviceable to accompany me: -“You,” answered Haller, “you, Klotz, are the better man to -drag the sledge and endure fatigue.” Accordingly Sussich -and Lukinovich remained under Haller’s command. These -three were ordered not to go more than 300 yards from Cape -Schrötter, to remain on the defensive if attacked by bears, to -spend their time in drying their clothes and repairing their -torn boots, and to go about in wooden shoes to save wear and -tear. Haller received as Governor of Hohenlohe Island a -pocket-compass, a watch, an aneroid barometer, and a thermometer, -and to them we left also our little medicine-chest. -If Dr. Kepes had once tried to make a doctor of me in one -hour, in now repeating the experiment on Haller I confined -myself to ten minutes.</p> - -<p>3. On the morning of the 10th of April (the thermometer -standing at 5° F.) we divided the tent; one half was put on the -dog-sledge, the other was pitched, with its open side close under -the rock. Before a caravan takes the desert, the camels are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -watered, and we too, though in a very different kind of desert, -exposed to the constant evil of thirst, would gladly have been -treated in like fashion. But we had to content ourselves with -a pint of boiling water, served out to each of us every morning, -reminding us, indeed, of coffee, for 2 lbs. of it were -boiled in 105 gallons of water in the course of thirty days. -The provisions were divided, and enough for eight days was -dealt out to the party starting to the north, Orel, Zaninovitch, -Klotz, myself, and two dogs. The special requirements of -our expedition, among which were a rifle and a revolver, raised -the weight of our sledge to about 4 cwt., which it was the -business of the dogs to draw without any assistance from us, -and this they did over the level snow with such zeal, that we -had some trouble in keeping up with them.</p> - -<p>4. The merits of our dogs I have hitherto left unnoticed, in -order emphatically to assert that we owed the passing beyond -the eighty-second degree of north latitude not to our own -exertions, but to the endurance and courage of these animals. -No kind of life among dogs is comparable for hardships with -the life of a dog in an Arctic sledge. His tent is scarcely the -pretext of a shelter, and his natural coat is generally covered -by a thick rime. The snow when it drifts completely covers -him, though he constantly but vainly seeks to shake it off. -He draws his breath with difficulty, hunger gnaws at his -bowels, and his wounded feet colour the snow with blood. -Often, too, these poor animals amid the great cold must keep -still; then they lift up their paws alternately, to prevent -frost-bite. The two dogs, which accompanied us to the extreme -North, were the noblest animals ever employed in a -sledge expedition, and when I recall the great services they -rendered us, both now and afterwards in the return to Europe, -their sad end fills me with sincere sorrow. Jubinal and -Torossy were dogs of remarkable size and strength, and -escaped the epidemic diseases<a name="FNanchor_46" id="FNanchor_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> which attacked the dogs of -Hayes and Kane; and though it has been thought that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -dogs of the Eskimo and of the Siberian people were alone -adapted for Arctic expeditions, our experience with our own -dogs most of them brought from Vienna, proves that they -were not a whit less useful. Our dogs had only one defect: -they had not been trained to sledge-drawing from their youth, -but had been broken to it only during our expedition, and -were therefore not always amenable to discipline. When left -to themselves in dragging the sledge they went on, without -turning to the right or left, from cape to cape, and if they -found themselves on a wide plain of ice, and far from all -striking landmarks, they ran either towards the sun or moon, -or some remarkable star. It was against the grain with them -to have to drag in the teeth of the wind, and if they had to -push on amid hummocks of ice, they immediately began to -growl. They were fed in the morning, and more particularly -in the evening, and they showed a delicacy of taste in discriminating -between bear’s flesh and the despised seal’s flesh. -While they carefully avoided coming near us before our start, -provided they were not very hungry, in order to escape being -harnessed, yet when harnessed nothing could exceed their -vigour and persistence in dragging.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus61"> -<img src="images/illus61.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ICEBERGS AT THE BASE OF THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span></p> - -<p>5. As we approached the promontory on the south of -Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, we came upon innumerable icebergs, -from one hundred to two hundred feet high, which -made an incessant cracking and snapping sound in the sunshine. -The Middendorf glacier, with an enormous sea-wall, -ran towards the north to a great distance. Deep layers of -snow and great rents in the sea-ice, the consequence of the -falling-in of icebergs, filled the intervening spaces between -them. Into these fissures we were continually falling, drenching -our canvas boots and clothes with sea-water. But the -aspect of these colossal fragments of glaciers engrossed us to -such an extent, that we wandered a long time with unflagging -interest among these pyramids, tables, and cliffs. It was only -when I sent on Klotz to mark out by his footsteps a path by -which we might ascend the Middendorf glacier, that we came -to a more open region, and, all putting their strength to the -work of dragging, we gained its summit, crossing in our progress -many crevasses bridged over with snow. Three of these -yawned across the lower part of the glacier, needing but a -slight movement of the ice to detach them and transform -them into icebergs. Further on, the glacier appeared smooth -and free from crevasses, although its inclination amounted to -several degrees. Towards the north it seemed as if it might -be crossed without excessive exertion, if all took part in the -work of dragging. But before we began this part of the day’s -work we rested, and recruited ourselves with dinner, and setting -up our little tent at about 400 paces above the edge of the -glacier, we looked down with feelings of delight on its semi-circular -terminal precipice and the gleaming host of icebergs -which filled the indentations of the coast. While we were -sitting in the tent Klotz made the fatal communication to me, -that he was not the man he should be, that for some days his -foot had swollen and ulcerated, so that he could walk only in -shoes made of hide. However vexatious this mishap, there -was nothing for it but to send him back to Hohenlohe Island. -Laden with a sack and carrying a revolver, he set off, and -soon disappeared from our eyes in the labyrinth of icebergs -beneath us.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus62"> -<img src="images/illus62.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE SLEDGE FALLS INTO A CREVASSE ON THE MIDDENDORF GLACIER.</p> -</div> - -<p>6. We had meanwhile again packed the sledge, harnessed -the dogs, and fastened the traces round us, when, just as we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> -were setting off, the snow gave way beneath the sledge, and -down fell Zaninovich, the dogs, and the sledge, and from an -unknown depth I heard a man’s voice mingled with the howling -of dogs. All this was the impression of a moment, while -I felt myself dragged backwards by the rope. Staggering -back, and seeing the dark abyss beneath me, I could not doubt -that I should be precipitated into it the next instant. A -wonderful providence arrested the fall of the sledge; at a -depth of about thirty feet it stuck fast between the sides of -the crevasse, just as I was being dragged to the edge of the -abyss by its weight. The sledge having jammed itself in, I -lay on my stomach close to the awful brink, the rope which -attached me to the sledge tightly strained, and cutting deep -into the snow. The situation was all the more dreadful as I, -the only person present accustomed to the dangers of glaciers, -lay there unable to stir. When I cried down to Zaninovich -that I would cut the rope, he implored me not to do it, for if -I did, the sledge would turn over, and he would be killed. -For a time I lay quiet, considering what was to be done. By -and by it flashed into my memory, how I and my guide had -once fallen down a wall of ice in the Ortler Mountains, 800 -feet high, and had escaped. This inspired me with confidence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -to venture on a rescue, desperate as it seemed under the circumstances. -Orel had now come up, and although he had -never been on a glacier before, this gallant officer dauntlessly -advanced to the edge of the crevasse, and, laying himself on -his stomach, looked down into the abyss, and cried to me, -“Zaninovich is lying on a ledge of snow in the crevasse, with -precipices all round him, and the dogs are still attached to the -traces of the sledge, which has stuck fast.” I called to him -to throw me his knife, which he did with such dexterity, that -I was able to lay hold of it without difficulty; and as the -only means of rescue, I severed the trace which was fastened -round my waist. The sledge made a short turn, and then -stuck fast again. I immediately sprang to my feet, drew off -my canvas boots, and sprang over the crevasse, which was -about ten feet broad. I now caught sight of Zaninovich and -the dogs, and shouted to him, that I would run back to -Hohenlohe Island to fetch men and ropes for his rescue, and -that rescued he would be, if he could contrive for four hours to -keep himself from being frozen. I heard his answer: “Fate, -Signore, fate pure!” and then Orel and I disappeared. Heedless -of the crevasses which lay in our path, or of the bears -which might attack us, we ran down the glacier back to Cape -Schrötter, six miles off. Only one thought possessed us—the -rescue of Zaninovich, the jewel and pride of our party, and -the recovery of our invaluable store of provisions, and of the -book containing our journals, which, if lost, could never be -replaced. But even apart from my personal feeling for -Zaninovich, I keenly felt the reproaches to which I should be -exposed of incautious travelling on glaciers; and it gave me -no comfort to think that my previous experiences in this kind -of travelling over the glaciers of Greenland appeared to justify -my proceedings. Stung with these reflections, I pressed on at -the top of my speed, leaving Orel far behind me. Bathed in -perspiration, I threw off my bird-skin garments, my boots, my -gloves, and my shawl, and ran in my stockings through the -deep snow. After passing the labyrinth of icebergs I saw the -rocky pyramid of Cape Schrötter before me in the distance. -The success of my venture depended on the weather. If snow-driving -should set in, and footprints should be obliterated, -it would be impossible to find Hohenlohe Island. All around<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -me it was fearfully lonely. Encompassed by glaciers, I was -absolutely alone. At last I saw Klotz emerge from behind -an iceberg at some distance off, and though I continued to -shout his name till I almost reached him, I failed to rouse him -from his usual reverie. When at last he saw me breathlessly -pushing on, scarcely clothed, and constantly calling, his sack -slipped from his back, and he stared at me as if he had lost -his senses. When the hardy son of the mountains came to -understand that Zaninovich with the sledge was buried in the -crevasse, he began to weep, in his simplicity of heart taking -the blame of what had happened on himself. He was so -agitated and disturbed, that I made him promise that he -would do himself no mischief, and then, leaving him to his -moody silence, I ran on again towards the island. It seemed -as if I should never reach Cape Schrötter; with head bent -down I trudged on, counting my steps through the deep snow; -when I raised it again, after a little time, it was always the -same black spot that I saw on the distant horizon. At last I -came near it, saw the tent, saw some dark spots creep out of -it, saw them gather together, and then run down the snow-slope. -These were the friends we had left behind. A few -words of explanation, with an exhortation to abstain from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -idle lamentation, were enough. They at once detached a -second rope from the large sledge, and got hold of a long -tent-pole. Meantime I had rushed upon the cooking-machine, -quickly melted a little snow to quench my raging thirst, and -then we all set off again—Haller, Sussich, Lukinovich, and -myself—to the Middendorf glacier. Tent and provisions were -left unwatched; we ran back for three hours and a half; fears -for Zaninovich gave such wings to my steps, that my companions -were scarcely able to keep up with me. Ever and -anon, I had to stop to drink some rum. At the outset we -met Orel, and rather later Klotz, both making for Cape -Schrötter, Klotz to remain behind there, and Orel to return -with us at once to Middendorf glacier. When we came -among the icebergs under Cape Habermann I picked up, one -by one, the clothes I had thrown away. Reaching the glacier, -we tied ourselves together with a rope. Going before the rest, -I approached with beating heart the place, where the sledge -had disappeared four hours and a half ago. A dark abyss -yawned before us; not a sound issued from its depths, not -even when I lay on the ground and shouted. At last I heard -the whining of a dog, and then an unintelligible answer from -Zaninovich. Haller was quickly let down by a rope; he -found him still living, but almost frozen, on a ledge of snow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -forty feet down the crevasse. Fastening himself and Zaninovich -to the rope, they were drawn up after great exertion. A -storm of greetings saluted Zaninovich, stiff and speechless -though he was, when he appeared on the surface of the -glacier. I need not add that we gave him some rum to -stimulate his vital energies. It was a noble proof how duty -and discipline assert themselves, even in such situations, that -the first word of this sailor, saved from being frozen to death, -was not a complaint, but thanks, accompanied with a request -that I would pardon him if he, in order to save himself from -being frozen, had ventured to drink a portion of the rum, -which had fallen down in its case with the sledge to his ledge -of snow. Haller again descended, and fastened the dogs to -the rope. The clever animals had freed themselves from their -traces in some inexplicable way, and had sprung to a narrow -ledge, where Haller found them, close to where Zaninovich -had lain. It was astonishing how quickly they discerned the -danger of the position, and how great was their confidence in -us. They had slept the whole time, as Zaninovich afterwards -told us, and he had carefully avoided touching them, lest they -should fall down deeper into the abyss. We drew them up -with some difficulty, and they gave expression to their joy, -first by rolling themselves vigorously in the snow, and then -by licking our hands. We then raised Haller by the rope -some ten feet higher than the ledge on which Zaninovich had -lain, so that he might be able to cut the ropes which fastened -the loading of the firmly wedged-in sledge. At this moment -Orel arrived, and with his help we raised one by one the -articles with which the sledge was loaded. It was ten o’clock -before we were convinced that we had lost nothing of any -importance in the crevasse.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus63"> -<img src="images/illus63.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">KLOTZ’S AMAZEMENT.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus64"> -<img src="images/illus64.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE ALARM OF THE HOHENLOHE PARTY.</p> -</div> - -<p>7. We now left the glacier and the icebergs, and by midnight -had reached Cape Habermann. Here we slept, and the -dogs with us, as uncomfortably as possible. On the morning -of the 11th of April (the thermometer marking 3° F.), we -started at an hour when we would much rather have continued -to sleep. Our thirst was so great that we felt ourselves -equal to drinking up a stream. Haller, Sussich, -Lukinovich had during the night returned to Cape Schrötter. -Before they started Haller earnestly besought me to come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -back as soon as possible; for the recent event, he said, had -not been without its disquieting effects on the men. On the -whole, we might congratulate ourselves on being able to -continue our journey, without having received any serious -damage, though no longer over the treacherous glacier.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus65"> -<img src="images/illus65.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HALT UNDER CROWN-PRINCE RUDOLF’S LAND.</p> -</div> - -<p>8. A sharp turn to the left brought us to the west coast of -Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, along which we pursued our -route northwards. When we reached Cape Brorock, where by -an observation we found our latitude at noon to be 81° 45′, -the weather became wonderfully bright, and the warm sunlight -lay on the broken summits of the Dolerite mountains, -which, though covered with gleaming ice, were free from snow. -To the north-west we saw at first nothing but ice up to the -horizon; even with the telescope of the theodolite I could not -decide for the existence of land, which Orel’s sharp eye discovered -in the far distance. In the Arctic regions, it often -happens that banks of fog on the horizon assume the character -of distant ranges, for the small height to which these banks -rise in the cold air causes them to be very sharply defined. It -is very common also to make the same mistake in the case -of mists arising from the waste water of enormous glaciers. -We marched on northward close under the land, and for the -first time over smooth undulating ice, in high spirits at the -increasing grandeur of the scenery and at the happy issue of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -our adventure of yesterday. Thirst compelled us frequently -to halt in order to liquefy snow;<a name="FNanchor_47" id="FNanchor_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> sometimes we melted it as -we marched along, and our sledge with smoke curling up from -the cooking-machine then resembled a small steamer.</p> - -<p>9. By and by we came to more snow, and the ice, through -which many fissures ran, became gradually thinner, but when -we reached the imposing headland, which we called Cape Auk, -the ice lay in forced-up barriers. A strange change had come -over the aspect of nature. A dark water-sky appeared in the -north, and heavy mists rolled down to the steep promontories -of Karl Alexander Land; the temperature rose to 10° F.,<a name="FNanchor_48" id="FNanchor_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> our -track became moist, the snow-drifts collapsed under us with -a loud noise, and if we had previously been surprised with -the flight of birds from the north, we now found all the rocky -precipices of Rudolf’s Land covered with thousands of auks -and divers. Enormous flocks of birds flew up and filled the -air, and the whole region seemed alive with their incessant -whirring. We met everywhere with traces of bears and foxes. -Seals lay on the ice, but sprang into the water before we got -within shot of them. But notwithstanding these signs of a -richer animal life, we should not be justified in inferring, from -what we saw in a single locality, that life increases as we move -northwards. It was a venial exaggeration, if amid such impressions -we pronounced for the nearness of an open Polar -sea, and without doubt all adherents of this opinion, had they -come with us to this point and no further, would have found -in these signs fresh grounds to support their belief. In -enumerating these observations, I am conscious what attractions -they must have for every one who still leans to the -opinion that an open ocean will be found at the Pole; subsequent -experience, however, will show how little is their value -in support of this antiquated hypothesis.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus66"> -<img src="images/illus66.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAPE AUK.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> - -<p>10. Our track was now very unsafe; it was only the icebergs -which seemed to keep the ice in the bays. A strong -east wind would certainly have broken it up and cut off our -return, at least with the sledge. There were no longer the -connected floes of winter, but young ice only, covered with -saline efflorescence, dangerously pliable, and strewn over with -the remains of recent pressures. The ice was broken through -in many places by the holes of seals. It was expedient therefore -to tie ourselves together with a long rope, and each of us, -as he took his turn in leading, constantly sounded the ice. -Passing by Cape Auk, which resembled a gigantic aviary, we -followed the line of Teplitz Bay, into which a stream of -glaciers, descending from the high mountains in the interior, -discharged itself. Icebergs lay along the terminal glacier wall -which formed its shore. Ascending one of these masses, we -found granite erratics on its surface and saw the open sea -stretching far to the west. There seemed to be ice only on -the extreme horizon. As the ice-sheet over which our track -lay became thinner and more pliable, and constantly threatened -to give way under us, the height and length of its piled-up -barriers increased also, and because the high glacier walls -made it impossible to travel over the land, we had no other -resource than to open up a track through the hummocky -ice by pick and shovel. At last even this expedient failed to -help us; our sledge, constantly damaged, and as constantly -repaired, had to be unloaded, the dogs unharnessed, and -everything transported separately. Evening had now arrived; -ahead of us lay the two rock-towers, which we called Cape -Säulen, and open coast-water here began.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus67"> -<img src="images/illus67.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CAPE SÄULEN.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span></p> - -<p>11. Beautiful and sublime was this far-off world. From a -height we looked over a dark “ice-hole,” studded with icebergs -like pearls, and over these lay heavy clouds through which the -sunbeams fell on the gleaming water. Right over the true sun -shone a second, though somewhat duller sun; the icebergs of -Crown-Prince Rudolf’s Land, appearing enormously high, -sailed through the still region amid rolling mist and surrounded -by vast flocks of birds. Close under Cape Säulen (the Cape -of Columns) we came upon the steep edge of the glaciers and -dragged up our baggage with a long rope. While Orel got -ready our encampment for the night in the fissure of a glacier, -and completed as usual his meteorological observations and -soundings, I ascended a height to reconnoitre our track for -the next day. The sun was setting amid a scene of majestic -wildness; its golden rays shot through dark banks of mist -and a gentle wind, playing over the “ice-hole,” formed ever-widening -circles on its mirror-like surface. Land was no -longer visible towards the north, it was covered with a dense -“water-sky.” A bird flew close past me; at first I took it -for a ptarmigan, but it was probably a snipe. It ought to be -remarked that during the two days which we spent near this -“ice-hole” we never once saw a whale. As soon as with half-closed -eyes we had eaten our supper, we fell fast asleep, for -our longing to sleep was yet greater than our exhaustion and -our thirst. The dogs availed themselves of this opportunity -to devour several pounds of bear’s flesh and empty a tin of -condensed milk, which, however, did not prevent them from -barking impudently the next morning for more.</p> - -<p>12. The 12th of April was the last day of advance in a -northerly direction. Though the weather was not clear, yet -it was clearer than it had been for some time. When we -started we buried our baggage in the fissure of the glacier -where we had slept, in order to protect it from bears, which -roamed about on all sides. Our march lay over snowy -slopes to the summits of the coast range—from 1,000 to 3,000 -feet high. The masses of mist lying on the horizon had -retreated before the rays of the morning sun, and all the -region with its lines of ice-forms was bathed in light; and -southward, open water stretched to the shores of Cape Felder. -As we followed this lofty coast range, mountains with glaciers -sloping down their sides towards the sea seemed to rise before -us. An hour before noon we reached a rocky promontory -1,200 feet high, afterwards called Cape Germania. Here we -rested, and from a meridian observation we found our latitude -to be 81° 57′. Following the coast as it trended towards the -north-east, we came on a glacier with a steep inclination and -frequent crevasses, which compelled us to leave the sledge -behind before we attempted to cross it. But the increasing -insecurity of our track over fissures, our want of provisions, -and the certainty that since noon we had reached 82° 5′ N. L. -by a march of five hours, at last brought our advance northward -to a close. With a boat we might certainly have gone -some miles further.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus68"> -<img src="images/illus68.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE AUSTRIAN FLAG PLANTED AT CAPE FLIGELY.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span></p> - -<p>13. We now stood on a promontory about 1,000 feet -high, which I named Cape Fligely, as a small mark of -respect and gratitude towards a man of great distinction -in geographical science. Rudolf’s Land still stretched in -a north-easterly direction towards a cape—Cape Sherard -Osborne—though it was impossible to determine its further -course and connection. The view we had from this height -was of great importance in relation to the question of an -open Polar sea. Open water there was of considerable extent -and in very high latitudes: of this there could be no question. -But what was its character? From the height on -which we stood we could survey its extent. Our expectations -had not been sanguine, but moderate though they were, -they proved to be exaggerated. No open sea was there, -but a “Polynia” surrounded by old ice, within which lay -masses of younger ice. This open space of water had arisen -from the action of the long prevalent E.N.E. winds. But -of more immediate interest than the question of an open -Polar sea was the aspect of blue mountain-ranges lying -in the distant north, indicating masses of land, which Orel -had partially seen the day before, and which now lay before -us with their outlines more defined. These we called King -Oscar Land and Petermann Land; the mountainous extremity -on the west of the latter lay beyond the 83rd degree -of north latitude. This promontory I have called Cape -Vienna, in testimony of the interest which Austria’s capital -has ever shown in geographical science, and in gratitude for -the sympathy with which she followed our wanderings, and -finally rewarded our humble merits.</p> - -<p>14. Proudly we planted the Austro-Hungarian flag for the -first time in the high North, our conscience telling us that -we had carried it as far as our resources permitted. It was -no act asserting a right of possession in the name of a nation, -as when Albuquerque or Van Diemen unfurled the standards -of their country on foreign soil, yet we had won this cold, -stiff, frozen land with no less difficulty than these discoverers -had gained those paradises. It was a sore trial to feel our -inability to visit the lands lying before us, but withal we -were impressed with the conviction that this day was the -most important of our lives, and ever since the memory -of it has recurred unbidden to my recollection.</p> - -<p>15. The Dolerite of this region was of a very coarse-grained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> -character, and its rocks rose in terraces from out -of the white mantle of snow; <i>Umbilicaria arctica</i>, <i>Cetaria -nivalis</i>, and <i>Rhyzocarpon geographicum</i> were the sole ornaments -of its scanty vegetation. The following document -we inclosed in a bottle and deposited in a cleft of rock:—</p> - -<p>“Some members of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole -Expedition have here reached their highest point in 82·5° -N. L., after a march of seventeen days from the ship, lying -inclosed in ice in 79° 51′ N. L. They observed open water -of no great extent along the coast, bordered by ice, reaching -in a north and north-westerly direction to masses of land, -whose mean distance from this highest point might be from -sixty to seventy miles, but whose connection it was impossible -to determine. After their return to the ship, it is the intention -of the whole crew to leave this land and return home. The -hopeless condition of the ship and the numerous cases of -sickness constrain them to this step.</p> - -<p>“Cape Fligely, <i>April 12th, 1874</i>.</p> - -<p>“(Signed)</p> - -<ul> -<li>“<span class="smcap">Antonio Zaninovich</span>, <i>Seaman</i>.</li> -<li>“<span class="smcap">Edward Orel</span>, <i>Midshipman</i>,</li> -<li>“<span class="smcap">Julius Payer</span>, <i>Commander</i>.”</li> -</ul> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE RETURN TO THE SHIP.</span></h3> - -<p>1. This done, our thoughts now turned to the ship, between -which and ourselves lay 160 miles. But, the <i>Tegetthoff</i>—did -she lie still where we had left her, or had she drifted away? -Fastened together by a rope, we began our return by re-crossing -the glaciers, and on reaching the stores we had -deposited at Cape Germania, the first thing we did was to -prepare some water, for the beverage we had taken with us in -an india-rubber bottle, made of coffee, rum, and extract of -meat, had only aggravated thirst, without adding to our -strength. It was late in the evening when we reached our -night-encampment near Säulen Cap (Cape Columns), in a -state of great exhaustion, cheered and alleviated by the -thought of our success. The utter loneliness of our position -could not suppress the satisfaction we felt. After -digging up our still untouched stores, we went to rest for -three hours. Longer we dared not sleep; the least breeze -might break up the ice and drive it out of the bight on the -north of Cape Auk. The insecurity of our position therefore -impelled us to make a very early start on the morning -of the 13th of April, with the thermometer at 12° F. As -we started, we awoke also to the extreme difficulties of the -return route, difficulties which the excitement of our advance -had made light of. Orel, suffering from snow-blindness, -marched along with closed eyes, and want of sleep now -began to tell on us all. Even our dogs were all worn out, -and whenever a halt was made they lay down exhausted -in the snow. The sledge had constantly to be unloaded and -reloaded, and its fractures repaired. The surface of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -smooth ice, encumbered by the snow-slush which had accumulated -on it, rendered our progress very burdensome. The -dull dreary weather, however, did not prevent the sea-birds -from gathering and wheeling around us in enormous flocks. -During our noon-day halt, utterly distraught, I cooked our -dinner with sea-water; not one of us could touch it. Our -road through wastes of snow from Cape Brorock to Cape -Schrötter, seemed as if it would never end. However rapidly -we advanced, constantly counting our steps as we went along, -that Cape remained for hours the same dark spot on the -gloomy and snowy horizon. It was evening before we -approached it, and as we came within 300 paces of his frontier, -we were received and welcomed by ambassadors from Haller. -It was curious and also characteristic to observe how a few -days without active employment and without discipline had -demoralised our old companions; the party we left behind -were scarcely recognisable. Blackened by the oil used in -cooking, wasted with diarrhœa, these men crept out of their -tent listlessly to greet us on our arrival; a few more days -would have sufficed to prostrate them with sickness. Yet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> -they had strictly followed the directions I had given them, -and had used with moderation their stock of provisions. As -I have already mentioned, I had furnished them, before I -started on my expedition northward, with all the means of -ascertaining their position by observations, and of enabling -them to begin their return to the ship, in the event of my -failing to appear at the end of fifteen days; but when I now -asked them what direction they would have taken in order to -reach the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, to my horror they pointed, not to Austria, -but to Rawlinson Sound!<a name="FNanchor_49" id="FNanchor_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus69"> -<img src="images/illus69.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MELTING SNOW ON CAPE GERMANIA.</p> -</div> - -<p>2. The observations of temperature which Haller furnished -me with, scrawled in hieroglyphics on a peas-sausage case, -showed a difference of about 4½° in favour of the extreme -north, and this difference was still more marked, when we -came to compare the readings which had been recorded on -board ship. The open water to the north was doubtless the -cause of this. But the same influence extended southward, -and as the snow-drifts over which we walked broke under us -with a dull, heavy sound, we began to fear lest the season -when the snow suddenly thaws and the land-ice breaks up -had begun, and that our return would be a matter of extreme -difficulty. If there had been nothing else, this would have -sufficed to quicken our movements, but to this was added the -discovery that our stock of provisions, independent of depôts, -would last only ten days more. By ridding ourselves of all -but absolutely necessary baggage, and leaving behind our -common sleeping bag and the tent for the dogs, we lightened -our sledge, so as to enable us to extend our day’s march -considerably.</p> - -<p>3. On the 14th of April, the thermometer marking 4° F., -we left Hohenlohe Island in very bad weather, and made for -the Coburg Islands, which were scarcely visible. Our route -ran between hummocks, which gave the dogs an opportunity -they were not slow to use, of taking it easy after their recent -exertions. It had been our intention that the large sledge -should keep the same line which we had taken in our journey -northward, while I with the dog-sledge should visit places to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -the right and left. This plan, however, was found unfeasible; -for in addition to the difficulties and impediments incident to -the march, we had an accumulation of evils to contend with. -Klotz’s foot had become much worse, and all those who had -been left behind at Cape Schrötter were more or less snow-blind, -though hitherto our party had suffered little from eye -diseases. It was surprising that our dogs did not suffer from -this affection, close as they were to the glare of the snow and -without any protection against it. Snow-blindness occurs -even in Alpine regions. The severity of the attack depends -on the character of the snow; the harder and smoother it is, -the greater is the reflection and the danger of inflammation; -the retina of the eye is at last injured by the dazzling whiteness -of the snow. Various remedies have been employed to -mitigate this evil; even the rough-and-ready one of throwing -snuff into the eyes has been tried. In Europe, snow-blindness -is cured in a day or two by wet applications, but in the low -temperatures of the high North such a remedy cannot be -applied; poultices are hardly possible in the tent, and a -simple bandage worn during the march is no preservative -against the constant burning sensations common to this -affection. It is clear that the range of remedies during a -sledge expedition must be very limited. The crew of Sir -James Clark Ross suffered in an unusual manner from this -cause in their land expeditions. Richardson and Nordenskjöld -dropped a weak tincture of opium twice a day into the eye, -and in about twenty-four hours the patient recovered, provided -he were not compelled to march. Parry on board ship -used a solution of sugar of lead and cold water, applied -constantly for three or four days—a somewhat questionable -remedy, as it is apt to injure the cornea of the eye. Another -mode of treatment, which should take effect in six hours, -is unhappily not available in a North Pole expedition, as it -requires white of egg, sugar, and camphor, beaten up till it -becomes frothy, and laid as a compress on the eye. Some -tribes of North America use the steam of hot water, the -Creek Indians a decoction from the resinous buds of the -Tacamahac—an application which causes much suffering. -The only real preservative is the constant use of coloured -spectacles, the metal mountings of which should be covered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> -with wool, on account of the cold. The ordinary network -at the side should be avoided, as this dims the glasses even -when the cold is not considerable; whereas open spectacles -are only exposed to this inconvenience at very low degrees -of temperature, and can easily be cleared by the hand.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus70"> -<img src="images/illus70.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ENCAMPING ON ONE OF THE COBURG ISLANDS.</p> -</div> - -<p>4. But to return to our journey. It was evening when the -Coburg Islands (81° 35′ N. L.) were reached. The Dolerite -rock of this small cluster of islands was of a remarkably -coarse-grained crystalline texture. We had frequently come -across the traces of bears and foxes during the march of this -day, though we actually saw neither bear nor fox. On the -15th of April, after a severe march, we got clear of the region -of ice-hummocks, and continued our southerly course with -our sledge-sail before the wind. We encountered a bear this -day, which, being allowed to approach within the distance -of thirty paces, fell dead under our fire. In a few minutes we -loaded the sledge with fresh meat, and again pursued our -journey. But excessive exertion, the want of sleep, and the -exclusive use of a meat diet, were meanwhile telling their -tale of reduced strength, though our appetites were great -almost beyond belief. The excessive consumption of animal -food<a name="FNanchor_50" id="FNanchor_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> without bread-stuff excited hunger and lowered our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> -muscular power, while it irritated our nervous system. Our -supply of bark was rapidly decreasing, and Haller, Sussich, -and Lukinovich, who could not endure bear-flesh, were often -attacked with giddiness during the march, and placed on -“half-diet.” In the following week our miseries were intensified -by insufficiency of sleep; in fact, we could not spare -time to sleep it out. Hence the afternoon hours of the march -were especially oppressive, and though the sledge with its -load was positively lighter, our strength to drag it had diminished -in still greater measure. It would be a great -mistake to imagine that exercise of itself, without necessary -rest, increases the capacity of marching. The loss of strength -is almost suddenly experienced, especially in return journeys, -when the excitement of discovery has passed away, and -nothing is left but the animal-like employment of dragging.</p> - -<p>5. Our course lay under Andrée Island; we crossed over -the flat ice-dome of Rainer Island, and on the west saw -Back’s Inlet filled with many icebergs. From this elevation -we once more beheld the snowy ranges of Crown-Prince -Rudolf’s Land in the far distance, which soon, however, disappeared -in an ocean of mist, whose white waves rolled over -the intervening ice-levels. As we again descended to the icy -surface of the sea, to our great astonishment we fell into -a hole covered over with snow, and got thoroughly wet, and, -after much wandering about, we found, towards evening, a -dry place (81° 20′ N. L.) on which to pitch our tent. On the -16th of April we found our latitude by an observation taken -at noon to be 81° 12′, and when we reached, in the evening, -a point four miles to the north of Cape Hellwald, those -whose appetite had failed them could not march a step -further.</p> - -<p>6. On the 17th of April, Orel, with the large sledge, continued -the march southwards, while I went on with the dog-sledge, -in order to ascend Cape Hellwald. The temperature -had fallen in the morning to -18° F., and the outlines of the -icebergs vibrated and undulated under the influence of refraction. -Ice-hummocks, on the distant horizon, insignificant in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -size, were magnified into gigantic proportions; then again -many of these phantasmagoria seemed to form a long line, -which broke up at the next step forward. Unyoking the -dogs on the shore of the island, I left the sledge behind, and -climbed the steep sides of a precipice of clay-slate, with its -laminæ firmly frozen into a mass, and reached the summit -of the lofty promontory—Cape Hellwald—about 2,200 feet -above the level of the sea. On the tops of its basaltic -columns great flocks of divers congregated, which flew round -me without fear as I set up my theodolite, and then settled -close to me on the snow. I might have killed half-a-dozen of -them at a single shot. By and by, these birds, scared by the -appearance of the dogs, who soon joined me, took refuge -on some inaccessible rocks, but were not in the least disturbed -when I fired at them. My lofty point of view -enabled me to have a general survey of the mountainous -country lying on the north-west, and to ascertain that I stood -on an island separated from lands on the west by Sternek -Fiord. Meantime Orel, far below me, was moving on with -the sledge, but so great is the advantage of dog-sledging, -that I descended and arrived at the same time as he did at -Cape Easter. By an observation taken at noon we found -our latitude to be 81°. In the afternoon the dogs in their -own sledge dragged half of our baggage, and notwithstanding -got on more quickly than we did with the large sledge. -Henceforward the order of the day was fasting, more or less -absolute; for our stock of provisions consisted of bread and -bear’s flesh for two days and a half, and the dogs could no -longer be favoured as they had been.</p> - -<p>7. At a few miles’ distance there rose before us the rocky -cones of Wiener Neustadt Island, with large glaciers descending -their sides. As it was beyond a doubt that the ascent of -one of these conical heights would open up an extensive -prospect, I fixed on the imposing Cape Tyrol as the most -promising for an ascent. Accordingly, on the 18th of April -Haller and I started, and after a toilsome march over glaciers, -reached its dark, weather-worn summit, 3,000 feet above the -level of the sea. Even here we perceived the traces of excrements -of the fox, from whose craft the birds were protected -by the inaccessibility of the places where they bred. Though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> -we had cut up some bullets into slugs, we refrained from -shooting at the auks and divers perched on the rocks, as we -saw that our game could not be bagged even if we killed them. -Over our heads was spread the bright sky, below us a very -sea of mist, in which, though invisible to us, Orel was wending -his way towards the south. The distant glacier wastes of -Wilczek Land towered aloft on the east; a cloudy shade -separated the heights of the peninsula of La Roncière from the -colourless icy wastes of Lindemann Bay, and beyond the -picturesque Collinson Fiord there seemed to be a maze of -inlets and bights, bare rocks and broad table-lands. We -bitterly deplored that the necessity of returning to the ship -prevented us from penetrating into this labyrinth of mountains -and sounds.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus71"> -<img src="images/illus71.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE VIEW FROM CAPE TYROL. COLLINSON FIORD—WIENER NEUSTADT ISLAND.</p> -</div> - -<p>8. In our descent we passed over three basaltic terraces, -and came upon a rocky ledge covered with a thick carpet of -<i>Usnea melaxantha</i>—a fresh example of the great capability of -lichens to bear extremes of temperature, the great cold of -winter and the burning heat of the rock in summer. The -mists now began to rise, and for the first time a greenish -landscape without snow gleamed out of the depth, on which -lay the warm glow of the sun. The scenery seemed to belong -to the Alps, and not the 81st degree of North Latitude. The -contrast became the more striking, when the mists rolled away -and unveiled the icebergs and the ice-filled sound. When -we reached these green mountain slopes we found ourselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -among grasses, the lower stalks of which were already -beginning to be green; the few flowering plants (<i>Saxifraga -oppositifolia</i>, <i>Silene acaulis</i>, <i>Papaver nudicale</i>) were clustered -together in dense masses. We were now able to form some -conception of what summer might be here. Countless streams -issuing from the snow would force these spots to put on the -livery of summer, and rapid torrents would precipitate themselves -down gorges of snow and rock; but at present all was -stiff and stark, save that stunted green herbage seemed to -show that we were in the fancied paradise of Franz-Josef -Land, though when compared even with other Arctic lands it -was but a scene of desolation. Closer to the shore above the -level of the sea, in a belt of yellow sandstone, we found much -lignite firmly frozen in the ground, resembling drift-wood a -century old.</p> - -<p>9. The search for our companions was for some time fruitless; -and a driving snow might have separated us from them -for ever. At last, however, we found them gathered together -in the tent near Forbes’ Glacier, in about 80° 58′ N. L., and -as the party had been without tobacco for a fortnight, they -greeted Haller’s collection of lichens as a welcome substitute.</p> - -<p>10. During the last few days the cold had sensibly increased, -and we therefore determined to sleep during the day, and to -walk during the night. Our march in the night of April 18 -was a memorable one to us. We were trudging along in the -face of a strong south-wester—which was extremely distressing -to our highly sensitive frozen noses—and striving to protect -the soles of our feet by the rapidity of our movement -from being frost-bitten. After succeeding to a certain extent -in this, we began to find the snow very deep, and so soft -that we sank in at every step. This grew worse and worse; -water rose in the deeper layers of snow and penetrated our -boots, and as this could not be explained by the state of the -temperature, we had to step with distrust and hesitation, in -constant fear of unseen depths. At first we believed that the -water arose from streams flowing from underneath the glaciers, -or from the movement of these glaciers breaking up the -surface of the ice. Hence we kept at a distance from their -terminal walls. But that the ice-sheet of the sea itself had -broken up, that unseen fissures surrounded us, and that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> -water under the snow was nothing but the water of the sea -forcing its way in—of this we had not the least conception, till -the sudden immersion of the leader of the party left no doubt -about the matter. Once Haller would have utterly disappeared -unless he had been quickly rescued. As we picked -our way along, even with a long pole we found every now -and then no bottom. Klotz now took the lead with a long -“alpenstock,” guiding us with the greatest dexterity among -these fissures, though often himself falling in. Greatly did we -rejoice when we reached unbroken footing. Some of the -party on this occasion were frost-bitten in the feet, but we -could do little more for them than rub their feet with snow -and improve as we could their foot-covering. The sun was -now visible at midnight, and the mountains of Markham -Sound were tinged with rosy light.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus72"> -<img src="images/illus72.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">BREAKING IN.</p> -</div> - -<p>11. Ahead of us in the south lay a dark water-sky, while -the land on either side was veiled in mist and fog. We tried -to persuade ourselves that this phenomenon might be -explained otherwise than by open water. Soon, however, we -heard the unambiguous sound of ice-pressure and of the -beating of the surf at no great distance, and when we went to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> -rest, in 80° 36′ N. L., it was with the feeling that we needed -new strength to meet the dangers which unquestionably -awaited us. We slept soundly for some hours in spite of all -our anxious fears, till we were aroused by the increasing noise. -We now advanced along the old sledge-track upon which we -had fallen. Orel and I went first, and after we had gone a -few hundred paces the truth burst upon us: we saw the sea -ahead of us and no white edge beyond. Walls of forced-up -ice surrounded this water, which, stirred by a heavy wind, -threw up crested waves; the spray of its surf dashed itself -for a distance of thirty yards over the icy shore. Forthwith -ascending an iceberg, we looked over the dark waste of water, -in which the icebergs, under which we had passed a month -before, were now floating; the more distant of them stood out -against the arch of light on the horizon, and those nearer to -us shone with a dazzling brilliancy under the dark water-sky. -That on which lay our depôt of provisions was floating in the -midst of them; and here we were, without a boat, almost -without provisions, and fifty-five miles distant from the ship! -A strong current was running southwards at the rate of three -or four miles an hour; fragments of ice were driving before -the wind, as if they meant to delight us by their movements, -and as if there were no change for the worse to a handful of -men, who stood in reality before an impassable abyss.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus73"> -<img src="images/illus73.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">ARRIVAL BEFORE THE OPEN SEA.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p> - -<p>12. But what were we to do; what direction were we to -follow? If we killed and ate our dogs and broke up our -sledge to find wood to melt the snow, we might live for eight -days longer. In this case we must ourselves carry our -baggage. But the most important question was, Whither? -In what direction did the ice lie still unbroken? Did the -land on the west afford a connected route to the ship? Did the -sea before us communicate further south with the sea where -the <i>Tegetthoff</i> lay? There was but one alternative—escape by -land and over land; and because open water could be traced -to the north-west beyond the bare reefs of the Hayes Islands, -and heavy clouds over Markham Sound seemed to indicate that -the ice had broken up in it also, I decided to try the way over -the glaciers of Wilczek Land. Everything depended on the unbroken -state of the ice in the southern parts of Austria Sound. -Dejected as I was, I finished my sketch of this dreadful -scene, while Orel went back to caution the men against -venturing on the young ice and to tell them to keep to the -old ice under the land. While the men were struggling with -the great sledge in the snow, I descended from my higher -point of view, and, soaked through by the surf, went along -the ice-strand in a south-easterly direction towards Wilczek -Land. The others followed, and though we came on many -fissures merely covered with snow, we yet reached <i>terra firma</i> -in safety, Orel skilfully guiding the movements of the sledge -according to the signs agreed on.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus74"> -<img src="images/illus74.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DRAGGING THE SLEDGE UNDER THE GLACIERS OF WILCZEK LAND.</p> -</div> - -<p>13. But soon afterwards everything was veiled in mist; the -temperature rose to 7° F., then came driving snow, which -gradually increased to a snow-storm, and in order not to be -cut off we were obliged once more to keep together. Dreadful -as the weather was, we could not venture to put up the -tent; march we must, in order to escape before the wind -destroyed the ice-bridges on the way back. We trudged along -under enormous glacier walls, enveloped in whirling snow. -Sounding all round, we escaped the abysses with difficulty. -We could scarcely even breathe and make head a against the -wind. Our clothes were covered with snow, our faces were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> -crusted with ice, eyes and mouth were firmly closed, and the -dark sea beneath us was hidden from our view. We ceased -to hear even its roar, the might of the storm drowning everything -else. Haller, a few paces ahead, continually sounded, -so as to keep us clear of fissures. We could scarcely follow -him or recognise his form. We saw nothing even of the -enormous glacier walls under which we toiled along, except -that at times we caught a glimpse of them towering aloft. -At every hundred paces we halted for a few minutes to -remove the ice which formed itself on our eyes and round our -mouths. We stilled our hunger with the hope, that we should -find and dig out the body of the bear which we had shot a -month ago. But we dared not rest, nor await the abatement -of the storm, until we had crossed the glacier and felt the -firm ground, free from ice, beneath our feet. This we compassed -after a march of seven hours. Utterly exhausted, we -then put up the tent on a stony slope, got beneath it, white -with snow, wet through and stiffened with ice; notwithstanding -our hunger, we lay down to sleep without eating. Not a -morsel of bread could we venture to serve out from the small -stock of provisions that remained. Our prospects were -gloomy in the extreme. If open water, or even a broad -fissure at Cape Frankfort, separated us from the ship, we -must inevitably perish on the shores of Wilczek Land.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus75"> -<img src="images/illus75.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE SLEDGE IN A SNOW-STORM.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span></p> - -<p>14. The snow-storm still continued to rage; hunger, cold, -and moisture forbade sleep, and the dogs, covered with snow, -lay in front of the tent. On the 20th of April (the thermometer -marking 3° F.), after a breakfast more suited for a -patient under typhus fever than for men hungry as wolves, -we left the tent in our still wet clothes, and while standing on -its sheltered side to wait till it was cleared, our clothes froze -into coats of mail. As we went on, the terrible weather blew -out of us almost all that remained of our courage and resolution. -It was evening before the storm abated, but we had the -good fortune to find the iceberg with our last depôt in its -former position close to the shore. There were the 45 lbs. of -boiled beef, and there, too, the bear lying two feet deep in -snow. It took us an hour to dig him out and load our sledge -with this frozen mass, which we were glad to call provision. -After each of us had devoured 3 lbs. of boiled beef and bear’s -flesh, on we went. To our inexpressible joy the open water -had retreated to the west, and we were able to get round it by -making a considerable bend. The numerous fissures which -crossed our path we succeeded in evading, and by ascending -icebergs were able to pick our way, till at last we arrived -safely at Cape Frankfort (80° 20′ N. L.). At its base we -found, to our great satisfaction, the land-ice running without -break towards the ship. This amounted, in fact, to deliverance, -and we celebrated our joy at the event by a glass of -grog. The next thing to be done was to search for the depôt -of provisions on Schönau Island.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus76"> -<img src="images/illus76.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">DIGGING OUT THE DEPÔT.</p> -</div> - -<p>15. On the 21st of April (the thermometer marking -7° F.) -Orel led with the large sledge, while I remained behind with -the dog-sledge, in order, from an elevation at Cape Frankfort, -to complete the measurement of certain angles indispensable -for the maps I was constructing. We joined company again -nearly opposite Cape Berghaus, and together crossed a broad -reach covered with ice-hummocks. The weather was clear, -and brilliantly-marked parhelia hung over the dark blue -background of the mountains. We again came on very deep -snow, and as we advanced with much difficulty and great -exertion, we got rid of the bear, after we had cut off from it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> -every portion that could be used for food. The relief, however, -was not great, and we were repeatedly compelled to halt -and rest. Lukinovich and the much-enduring Zaninovich -were taken with fainting-fits, the consequence of their excessive -exertions. Indeed we were all more or less faint and -emaciated. During one of these halts, in order to quicken -their failing energies, I held forth to them on the astonishing -example of MacClintock’s sledge journeys. The Dalmatians -freely expressed their admiration of those Englishmen, but -the Tyrolese were rather slow to believe.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus77"> -<img src="images/illus77.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE MIDNIGHT SUN BETWEEN CAPE BERGHAUS AND KOLDEWEY ISLAND.</p> -</div> - -<p>16. Soon after midnight on the 22nd of April (the thermometer -standing at -6° F.) we reached Schönau Island, -round which the ice had broken up, so that we frequently fell -into the fissures. As we erected our tent, the sun was setting -behind the violet-coloured edges of the ice-hummocks, while -the lofty pinnacle of Cape Berghaus stood out sharply marked -against the sky. The situation of the island we had reached -being extremely favourable, on the highest point of it, I took -some observations, which completed the surveys which I had -made during this expedition. Close to the eastward of us, -the ice had broken up round Hochstetter Island. Orel had -meanwhile put up the tent, and Klotz had dug out the depôt -of provisions, which, to our great joy, we found had not been -disturbed by bears. The danger of starvation was at an end, -and after satisfying the claims of hunger we enjoyed a -delicious sleep of seven hours, and again set forth. We were -still twenty-five miles from the ship. This distance I now -determined to compass with the dog-sledge with all the speed -possible, in order to ascertain whether the <i>Tegetthoff</i> remained -where we left her. Orel was to follow close with the large -sledge. The day was of unusual brightness. All the land, -which a month ago had been the home of storms and enveloped -in snow, now shone in the sunlight, and the walls of rock wore -their natural brown colour. My route lay close under Koldewey -and Salm Islands. At first every fragment which had -fallen from a glacier on either of these islands was used as a -pretext by the dogs for turning out of the course, and the -trail of a bear seemed quite to distract them. It was to -little purpose that I went on first to show them the way. No -sooner was the least liberty allowed them, than they used it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> -to make now for Cape Tegetthoff, then for Cape Berghaus, -and, in preference to every other point, for the sun! Ever -and anon Torossy dragged Jubinal out of the road, and this -unruliness lasted till we came on the old sledge track, which -was almost obliterated by the snow. Suddenly they seemed -to feel as if they had entered on a familiar region. With their -heads raised, and tails in the air, they now rushed along at -the rate of 180 paces in a minute, though I had now taken -my place on the sledge. The south-west corner of Salm -Island was beset by a crowd of apparently stranded icebergs. -Under the sheltered side of one of these colossal masses I -made a short halt, and lighted the cooking-machine to thaw -some boiled beef, and enjoy a meal in common with my -canine companions, who regarded all my movements with -fixed attention. Just as I was intently observing a small -dark point on the horizon advancing in my direction—it was -Orel and his party—the iceberg, in whose stability I was -placing complete confidence, suddenly capsized, and, rolling -on to the ice, shivered into fragments. In an instant I was -surrounded by fissures, pools of water, and rolling pieces of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> -ice. Seizing the cooking-machine, which I had lighted, I -escaped with great difficulty. I had often observed, that icebergs -were surrounded by circles of shattered surface-ice, with sea-water -standing in their fissures. The overturning of icebergs, -which occurs, I apprehend, more frequently than is generally -imagined, easily accounts for the fact. It is therefore advisable -to shun the immediate neighbourhood of an iceberg when the -tent has to be erected, and to avoid using the iceberg itself as -a place for a depôt of provisions.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus78"> -<img src="images/illus78.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE “TEGETTHOFF” DESCRIED.</p> -</div> - -<p>17. When I turned into the narrow passage between Salm -and Wilczek Islands, Orgel Cape, visible at a great distance, -was the only dark spot in the scene. At once the dogs made -for it, and about midnight I arrived there. A few hundred -steps further, and I should stand on the top of it, and see the -ship, if ship were there. With an anxious, heavy heart, I then -began the ascent. A stony plateau stretched before me. -With every advancing step, made with increasing difficulty, -the land gradually disappeared, and the horizon of the frozen -sea expanded before me—an immeasurable white waste. No -ship was to be seen—no trace of man for thousands of miles, -save a cairn, with the fragments of a flag fluttering in the -breeze, and a grave covered with snow-drifts. Still I climbed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> -on. Suddenly three slender masts emerged—I had found the -ship: there she lay about three miles off, appearing on the -frozen ocean no bigger than a fly. The snow-drifts and -icebergs around her had hitherto concealed her from my eye. -I directed my telescope towards her, and every spar and sail -I saw seemed to promise a happy conclusion to our expedition. -I held the heads of the dogs towards the ship, and -pointed with my arm to where she lay, that they might share -in my joy. We soon descended, and took our way towards -her. At about a hundred yards off the watch detected us. -All on board but the men who composed it were asleep, for it -was night. At first they were exceedingly alarmed to see -me alone, but having calmed their apprehensions, I went down -at once into the cabin to awaken the sleepers. Great was the -joy caused by the account of the high latitude we had reached, -and of the discoveries we had made, which I endeavoured to -explain by the rough outline of a map which I sketched. In -a few hours the stock of questions was answered and -exhausted, and everyone now left the ship to welcome the -approaching party, which was soon descried with the sledge-flag -flying. Hearty and joyful were the mutual greetings; -and the appetite of the emaciated adventurers occupied this -night and for a week afterwards, all the attention of the rest -of the crew.<a name="FNanchor_51" id="FNanchor_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> We formed a strange group to look upon, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> -Klotz carried off the palm from us all. He had never shown -any weakness in counteracting the effects of weather and -exposure on his motley garments. His cap, a wondrous -piece of patchwork, resembled the winged helmet of a knight-errant, -and of his boots nothing remained but the feet, over -which hung the legs of them in shreds and tatters. Carlsen, -when he saw him stepping along proudly and silently, forgot -for a moment his walruses, and compared him to Saint Olaf, -who could find only one horse in “Gulbrandsdalen” strong -enough to carry him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus79"> -<img src="images/illus79.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">KLOTZ.</p> -</div> - -<p>18. During our absence the greatest activity had reigned -on board ship. Weyprecht and Brosch had finished their -magnetical observations, and measured on the ice the base, -which I have already mentioned, for the trigonometrical -portion of my surveys. The crew had begun the equipment -of the boats for our return to Europe, and packed up the -provisions in water-tight cases. The number of the sick had -diminished; the frost-bites had yielded to a persevering course -of poultices and baths. The only unpropitious circumstance -was the accident which had befallen Stiglich, who had shattered -his right arm by accidentally discharging a rifle. Sores and -wounds in Arctic regions are difficult to heal, and especially -during the winter. Thanks to the care of our physician, -Stiglich’s severe wound healed more quickly than many a -slighter injury during the cold period of the year. The -sanitary condition had essentially improved, owing to the rich -supplies of fresh meat afforded by the chase. Even before -our arrival the ship’s company had killed several bears. -Scarcely a day now passed without a bear coming near the -ship. On the 25th of April we shot one in the act of tearing -down with his fore-paws a cask sticking in the ice, and on the -following day another fell a victim to the curious attention -with which he was regarding some meat packed in a tin case. -Birds also, especially divers, appeared in greater numbers; -the cliffs of Wilczek Island were no longer desolate as before. -Hence it was that we indulged in dishes of stewed birds and -roasted bear’s-flesh. We had brought with us seven bears’ -tongues; each day brought an accession, and our culinary art -exercised itself on the refined preparation of bears’ tongues, -which, together with the brains of this animal, were esteemed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -the greatest delicacies. Weyprecht, according to agreement, -had caused a boat and provisions for three months to be put -on shore, intended for the use of the sledge-party in the event -of the ship being driven from her moorings. As these precautionary -measures could now be dispensed with, the boat -and all these provisions were removed to the ship. Later -experience proved that the exploring party could not have -escaped in this manner, for the united strength of three-and-twenty -men was required to raise and place such a boat on a -sledge.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_IV_CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE THIRD SLEDGE JOURNEY.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The weather during the last days of April was truly -delightful; calms and bright sunshine made work and exercise -in the open air exceedingly pleasant, and the temperature -never fell below -2° F. But even this amount of cold was -sufficient to retard the softening of the snow for some days, -and favoured the carrying out of a third sledge expedition. -Its intention was the exploration of the western portions of -Franz-Josef Land; for the question of its extension towards -Spitzbergen was scarcely less interesting than its extension -towards the North. I should have liked to devote weeks to -the undertaking, but our impending return left a few days only -at my disposal.</p> - -<p>2. On the 29th of April (the thermometer marking -2° F.) -Lieutenant Brosch, Haller, and myself left the ship. Jubinal -and Torossy were selected to drag the small sledge, which was -equipped for a week’s expedition; Pekel accompanied us as a -volunteer. The measurement of the angles necessary to complete -my survey detained us so long on the heights of Wilczek -Island, that we could not make our start on the level ice till -the next morning. The power of the sun some days was so -great, that the temperature of the tent at noon, when there -was no wind, rose to 63° F., while in the two preceding -months it was from 10° F. to -13° F. If the temperature -during the day did not fall more than 6° below freezing-point, -we required no clothes beyond our woollen underclothing and -stockings. As we started in the morning of April 30, some -snow fell, and the mountains were covered with masses of -mist, which lay in horizontal layers half way up their sides.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> -Cape Brünn, however, which was our goal, lay before us, clear -and distinct, and the long glacier walls, running to the west -of it round the edge of MacClintock Island, were under the -constant play of refraction, and could be traced as far as -Cape Oppolzer, from which point they seemed to trend to the -north-west.</p> - -<p>3. The snow-track of the Sound was still firm, so that our -dogs needed little help in dragging our baggage, especially -after we had buried provision for the return journey in -an iceberg. We had scarcely finished this labour when we -discovered a bear’s hole in the layer of snow at its base, and -immediately afterwards we beheld its occupant coming -furiously towards us. Several hasty shots were fired at him, -but the bear escaped, though evidently wounded. The -nearer we approached MacClintock Island, the more frequently -we found fissures in the ice running parallel to the -coast and communicating with a small “ice-hole” in the -south about four miles off. Trusting, however, that during -the next few days these fissures would not open so much -as to prevent our re-crossing them, we went on and pitched -our encampment near the terminal front of one of the -glaciers of the island.</p> - -<p>4. Our dogs continued now, as before, the implacable enemies -of bears. Matotschkin’s sad end had not frightened them -into prudence and caution, doubtless because they counted -on our prowess against the common foe. To them nothing -could be a more joyous spectacle than a wounded bear. If -in his flight he became faint and exhausted they surrounded -him, bit at his legs, and did all they could to prevent his -getting away, and courage, as well as love of mischief, was -visible in all their actions. Pekel, small as he was, was the -leader in all attacks, and Torossy grew under his tuition to be -at length a formidable assailant. So things proved now. -While we were busily preparing our supper in the tent a -young bear appeared on the scene; before we could stop -them, out rushed the dogs on our visitor, who at first retreated, -while the dogs followed hard on his heels. As it generally -happened that the bear, after a time, turned on his pursuers -and gave them chase, we were somewhat alarmed for the -safety of the dogs, especially of Torossy, who sometimes was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> -so stupid as not to find his way back to the tent without -guidance. Just as we expected, the bear turned and became -the pursuer; Torossy taking the lead in the retreat. Our -small stock of cartridges and superfluity of bears’-flesh might -have induced us to gaze at him while he gazed on us, if he -had only kept at a respectful distance; but he would come -too near, and reluctantly we found ourselves under the necessity -of killing him and depriving him of the dainty morsel of his -tongue. Forster says that the flesh of the Polar bear tastes -like bad beef, an opinion which we are able to endorse and -confirm, as we had consumed in this expedition about four -bears apiece.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus80"> -<img src="images/illus80.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MARKHAM SOUND, RICHTHOFEN PEAK FROM CAPE BRÜNN.</p> -</div> - -<p>5. On the 1st of May (the thermometer standing at 4° F.) -we purposed to cross the Simony glacier and ascend the -pyramid-like Cape Brünn, whence we might hope to see at a -glance as much of the surrounding country as would have -required a journey of several days on the level to discover. -Unfavourable weather, however, prevented the execution of -this project, and we were obliged to keep in our tent. Lieutenant -Brosch, whose duties in taking magnetical observations -stood in the way of his accompanying me in the previous -expeditions, had now the misfortune to injure his foot; and in -consequence of this accident I had to start next morning -(May 2) accompanied only by Haller, to attempt the ascent. -Fastened together with a rope, we passed over the Simony -glacier amid heavy snow-storms from the W.N.W., and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> -in a zigzag course went up the steep pyramid of Cape -Brünn. Never have I made a more disagreeable ascent. -A steep, snowy gorge led through a crown of rocks to -the summit, which we reached after a march of five hours. -By an aneroid observation we found the height to be 2,500 -feet.</p> - -<p>6. If the ascent of a mountain in the face of wind and -penetrating cold demands all the self-command even of men -the most inured to fatigues, it required the additional stimulus -afforded by the view of an unknown land to give us endurance -and energy under such circumstances, to sketch, to take -azimuth measurements, and estimate the distances of important -localities. To add to our difficulties, the theodolite was -constantly shaken by the wind, so that every angle had to be -observed repeatedly, in order that an available mean value -might be obtained. It was only after several hours of the -most severe labour that my work was completed. My -attention was directed chiefly to the southern parts of Zichy -Land, which formed a vast mountainous region beyond Markham -Sound. Half the horizon was bounded by cliffs and -heights gleaming with snow. The conical shape of the -mountains prevailed here also; the only exception was Richthofen -Spitze, the loftiest summit, perhaps, we had seen in -Franz-Josef Land, which rose like a slender white pyramid -to the height of about 5,000 feet. The land was everywhere -intersected by fiords and covered with glaciers. Its boundaries -towards Spitzbergen, or Gillis’ Land, could not be determined, -because even at the distance of seventy or ninety German -miles, mountain ranges were distinctly to be traced. It would -appear, therefore, that masses of land stretch in this direction -to at least the fiftieth degree, perhaps even to the forty-eighth -degree, of east longitude. We also discovered, that the lands -on the south of Markham Sound were separated by a fiord—Negri -Sound. This was already open, and since some darker -spots indicated fissures in the ice in Markham Sound, it is -probable that sledge-journeys can be only undertaken early in -the spring in Franz-Josef Land without the danger of being -cut off. At the time when we made our observations, it was -utterly impossible that such waters could be navigated by -any ship, not even if she could be placed amid these small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -unconnected “ice-holes.” Haller, whose rheumatic tendencies -unfitted him to bear wind and cold, had, meanwhile, -posted himself in a cleft of rock sheltered from the wind -beneath the summit, but I was quite satisfied with his running -to my help, in order to rub my frozen hands with snow, -when I was forced to drop the book in which I recorded my -labours.</p> - -<p>7. But however great our delight at the discovery of these -unknown lands—trophies of our endurance—we were much -discouraged by the view towards the south. An enormous surface -of ice extended before us—a sad outlook, as we thought -of our return homeward. Although one single serpentine -thread of water, gleaming in the sun, stretched towards -the south-east, separating the land-ice from the field-ice, -yet it was but too certain that the next breeze from the south -would again close it. All save this was a close sheet of ice. -We spent some time in exploring the lower glacier region of -the island, so that it was towards evening before we reached -the tent. Much as we desired to prosecute our explorations, -reflection forced us to limit them. In order to penetrate in a -north-westerly direction several days would have been needed; -but as it had been arranged that we must at once begin our -return to Europe, we were constrained to abandon the thought -of such a scheme and return at once to the ship. On the -night of the 2nd of May we began our forced march of two-and-twenty -hours, during which we were often bathed in -perspiration, though the temperature on the 3rd of May varied -between 5° F. and -4° F. The dogs alone drew the sledge with -ease, though it carried a load of 3 cwt., giving us such a -striking example of what they could do, that we felt persuaded -that a sledge, with a strong team of dogs, must be the best -form, beyond comparison, of sledge-travelling. In the evening -we reached the <i>Tegetthoff</i> and our sledge expeditions -came to a close, after we had travelled in this fashion about -450 miles.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_V">“TEGETTHOFF” ABANDONED: -RETURN TO EUROPE.</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_V_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">LAST DAYS ON THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</span></h3> - -<p>1. We could now return with honour. The observations and -discoveries we had made could not be wrested from us, and -our many anxieties on this ground were at an end, henceforth -the greatest evil that could befall us was death on our homeward -voyage. The intervening days were given up to the -recruiting of our exhausted powers; Klotz called this time -the “plundering of the ship.” Not very much time, indeed, -was left for this, but the short spell of good living, in which -we all shared, transformed the ship into an abode of Epicureans. -But withal we redoubled our diligence to secure the results of -our toils and labours. Lieutenant Weyprecht deposited our -meteorological and magnetical readings, the log-books and the -ship’s papers, in a chest lined with tin, and soldered it down, -and a few days afterwards I made exact duplicates of the -surveys, and of measurements, which I had taken. I took -especial care so to prepare these, that another person might -be able to construct from them a map of Franz-Josef Land, -should I myself perish on the return journey. These sheets -also were packed in a chest lined with tin and soldered, and -along with them were placed our zoological drawings and -about 200 sketches of the country, of the Arctic Sea and our -adventures, the flag too of the sledge journeys, and my -journals. Of the zoological collection itself, only a small -selection of the specimens most easy of transport could be -taken with us.</p> - -<p>2. The time passed away with unexpected rapidity; the -days had scarcely begun before they seemed to have come to -an end. Everyone was busy in getting his clothes ready. In -the quarters of the crew, sewing went on without intermission,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> -and piles of thread disappeared under their fingers, to appear -again in the strangest patterns worked on the old garments. -Avalanches of cast-off clothes hung over the hull of the ship. -The vessel—no longer trim as before—came to wear the look -befitting the catastrophe that awaited her. A great number -of bears’ carcases lay on the ice,<a name="FNanchor_52" id="FNanchor_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> for only the brain, the -tongue, and the prime portions of the flesh found their way -to the kitchen, the remaining parts lay about half buried -under snow-drifts, given up to the dogs to tear to pieces, who -now for the first time found themselves exempted from rations -served out according to time and circumstances. A month -later, and such a field of carnage would have become a very -home of pestilence.</p> - -<p>3. Short excursions with the dog-sledge enabled us to finish -our observations on the motion of glaciers, which the great -depth of the snow had hitherto made a matter of much -difficulty. The last of these expeditions took place on May -15th. On the spot on which we had first set our foot, we -took farewell of the grave of our departed comrade and of -the Land to which we had drifted through the happy caprice -of an ice-floe, and the discovery of which rendered a return -without humiliation possible. But with this farewell the -business of the expedition came to an end, all our thoughts -were now occupied with getting back to Europe. Of the -issue we dared not form the least conception; but whether it -were deliverance or destruction, our lot must at any rate be -decided within three months, as for this period only we could -drag with us the most indispensable provisions.</p> - -<p>4. On our equipment Lieutenant Weyprecht and I bestowed -much thought and care, and our measures were carried out -with the greatest exactness. All these were based on the -excellent apparatus for sledging already described; the additional -precautions were confined to the more convenient -stowing away of the provisions, and to the diminishing, as -much as possible, of the baggage. The rapid decrease of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> -cold and the consequent rise of the temperature, even above -the freezing point, enabled us to reduce our clothing to a -minimum without endangering our health; and no more -comfortable sleeping-place for Arctic explorers can be conceived -than the interior of a dry boat, covered in like a tent -and provided with bed-quilts. There was more danger that -we should suffer from heat than from cold; the apprehension -of insufficient provisions was better founded.</p> - -<p>5. Three boats were selected for the return expedition. -Two of these were Norwegian whale-boats, 20 feet long, 5 -feet broad, and 2½ feet deep. Lieutenant Weyprecht, Dr. -Kepes, Lusina, Orasch, Latkovich, Palmich, Vecerina and -Klotz, formed the complement of the one; and Zaninovich, -Haller, Lukinovich, Scarpa, Stiglich, Pospischill, Midshipman -Orel and I, the complement of the other. The third and -somewhat smaller boat carried Lieutenant Brosch, Captain -Carlsen, Cattarinich, Lettis, Sussich, Marola and Fallesich. -Each of these boats rested on a sledge, and was laden with -the following articles:—</p> - -<ul> -<li>10 light oars.</li> -<li>2 long steering oars.</li> -<li>1 sail and mast.</li> -<li>1 ice-anchor.</li> -<li>2 boat-hooks.</li> -<li>1 harpoon and line.</li> -<li>1 fishing-line.</li> -<li>1 small hatchet.</li> -<li>1 ice-borer.</li> -<li>1 screw-driver.</li> -<li>1 caulking-iron.</li> -<li>1 saw.</li> -<li>6 reserve sledge screws.</li> -<li>1 bag of nails.</li> -<li>2 Lefaucheux rifles.</li> -<li>1 Werndl rifle.</li> -<li>1 case with 100 shot cartridges.</li> -<li>1 case with 50 ditto.</li> -<li>2 cases of 50 Lefaucheux cartridges.</li> -<li>25 Werndl cartridges.</li> -<li>8 sledge traces.</li> -<li>6 lamps.</li> -<li>6 weights for measuring provisions.</li> -<li>2 pairs of reindeer shoes.</li> -<li>2 oil cans.</li> -<li>1 bag of nails.</li> -<li>20 boxes of lucifer matches.</li> -<li>1 steel and tinder.</li> -<li>1 compass.</li> -<li>1 sextant.</li> -<li>1 bundle of wicks.</li> -<li>1 telescope.</li> -<li>1 signal horn.</li> -<li>1 50-fathom line.</li> -<li>1 box of lard.</li> -<li>1 pair of tin-cutters.</li> -<li>1 grindstone.</li> -<li>3 bungs.</li> -</ul> - -<p><i>Spare Clothes.</i></p> - -<ul> -<li>1 pair of drawers.</li> -<li>1 shirt.</li> -<li>1 woollen undershirt.</li> -<li>1 pair of trousers.</li> -</ul> - -<ul> -<li>1 spirit measure.</li> -<li>1 pair of scales.</li> -<li>1 spirit can.</li> -<li>1 lever.</li> -<li>1 funnel.</li> -</ul> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span></p> - -<p>To each boat was attached a large sledge thus laden:—</p> - -<table summary="What was on the sledge, and what it weighed"> - <tr> - <td>Pemmican—4 boxes of 50 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr">200</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="ditto3">”</span> 1 box of 25 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr">25</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="ditto3">”</span> 4 boxes of 5 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr">20</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr bt"></td> - <td class="tdr">245</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Peasmeal—2 chests of 100 lbs. packed in tin</td> - <td class="tdr">200</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="ditto3">”</span> 1 chest of 100 lbs. packed in paper</td> - <td class="tdr">100</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr bt"></td> - <td class="tdr">300</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Potted Meat—1 chest of 80 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">80</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Boiled Beef—5 chests of 10 tins of 7½ lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr">375</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="ditto3">”</span><span class="ditto3">”</span> 4 <span class="ditto1">”</span> 7½ lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr bt"></td> - <td class="tdr">405</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Flour—3 boxes of 33 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">99</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Bread—2 bags of 83 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">166</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Chocolate—3 boxes of 30 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">90</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Spirits—3 casks, each weighing 77 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">231</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Salt—1 box of 12 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">12</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Extract of Meat—2 boxes of 5 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Tea—1 box of 3 lbs.</td> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td class="tdr">3</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">Total</td> - <td class="tdr bt"></td> - <td class="tdr bt">1641</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>To this must be added 100 lbs. of bread for the dogs, -and a shovel and a complete cooking apparatus for each -sledge. Our load therefore amounted in provisions alone to -about 50 cwt., and including everything, to about 90 cwt. -Parry, with twenty-eight men, in 1827 had for his journey -of sixty-one days two boats and four sledges, carrying a total -weight of 75 cwt.—about 2½ cwt. therefore for each man. -Notwithstanding great obstacles from the ice, his expedition -was, perhaps, more favoured than ours, for he passed over -1½ degrees of latitude in thirty days.</p> - -<p>6. Of our dogs, two only, Jubinal and Torossy, were available -to drag the small sledge; 1 cwt. of bread was all we -could take for them, and for the rest they had to depend on -the product of the chase. Gillis was shot on account of his -intractability, and Semlja because of her weakness. Only -Pekel was allowed to accompany us; he only of the dogs had -the right of going about at liberty; yet his life too was safe -as long as our provisions lasted.</p> - -<p>7. Our stock of clothes consisted of two woollen shirts, -one pair of woollen drawers, three pairs of stockings, leather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> -water-boots, a cap, and of a fur-coat to sleep in. Clean -woollen under-garments were much in request, and many a -manœuvre was practised to get possession of them. Each -of the party carried besides a large knife, a spoon, and a pair -of snow-spectacles. Of luxuries none were permitted to us -but a tobacco-pouch to each man; but filled with such art -that it was like a stone in weight. We were not allowed to -line our coats with tobacco.</p> - -<p>8. Our plan was simple—to reach the depôt of provisions -on the Barentz Islands, which lay in an almost directly -southerly direction. After replenishing our stores there, we -proposed to follow the coast of Novaya Zemlya with the -hope of reaching one of those ships which the salmon fishery -in the rivers of that country detains there to the beginning -of harvest. It was also not impossible that we might be -discovered before this, on the more northern coast of Novaya -Zemlya, by a Norwegian seal-hunter. The boats were to -keep together if possible; but in case they should be separated, -the Wilhelm Islands were fixed on as the place of rendezvous -up to the middle of August. At first, night was chosen for -the march, and day was devoted to sleep; the observance, -however, of this regulation was constantly prevented by -special circumstances. The success of the expedition depended -on our crossing the ice-covered sea by the end of -August. The greatest difficulties were to be apprehended -from the melting of the snow, for although the thermometer -at the beginning of May fell 14° and even 17° below zero, -and sharp north-east winds somewhat retarded the thaw, the -mean temperature during the day approximated to zero, and -on May 16 it actually rose above it. Two of our men, Stiglich -and Vecerina, were unfit for duty, and had often to be dragged -in the sledge. The rest of the men were healthy, and the -swelling of the feet, from which the sledge-party had suffered, -had disappeared.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h3 id="PART_V_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">ON THE FROZEN SEA.</span></h3> - -<p>1. The momentous day came at last—the 20th of May, the -very day in 1855 on which Kane abandoned his ship;<a name="FNanchor_53" id="FNanchor_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> and -we hailed with joy the advent of the hour which was to -terminate our life of inaction. Yet we could not see without -emotion the flags nailed to the masts of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, and -the final preparations to leave the ship, which had been our -home for two weary years, and in which we had confronted -the perils of the frozen sea, its ice-pressures, its storms, and -its cold. These recollections crowded upon us as the moment -came to abandon her. Now too we had to part with our -Zoological, Botanical, and Geological collections, the result of -so much labour; the ample collection of instruments, the -books which had helped us over many a weary hour, and the -sixty-seven bear-skins which we had so carefully prepared—all -these had also to be abandoned. The photographs of -friends and acquaintances we hung on the rocky walls ashore, -preferring to leave them there rather than in the ship, which -must some time or other be driven ashore and go to pieces. -A document stating the grounds of our decision was laid on -the table of the mess-room.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus81"> -<img src="images/illus81.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE FIRST ABANDONMENT OF THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</p> -<p class="caption"><i>To face</i> p. 348.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span></p> - -<p>2. We slept during this day, and in the evening sat down to -the last meal we were to enjoy on board the ship. About -nine o’clock, <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span>, we assembled round the boats, ready for the -start. Dark masses of clouds obscured the sun, and our -route southwards led us into the gloomy monotonous region<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> -of ice-hummocks covered with snow—our world for the next -three months. The first day’s work for twenty-three men, -harnessed to boat or sledge, was the advance of one mile; -and even this rate of progress, small as it was, was not -constant. Many days it did not amount to half a mile; the -sledge-sail was of little avail, for the deep snow retarded our -progress; the sledges sank deep into it, those on which the -boats were placed actually sticking fast. We had to pass -three times heavily laden, and twice empty, over every bit of -the road, and half our number were scarcely able to move a -sledge or a boat. Such labours and exertions in deep snow -were truly distracting. Almost at every step we sank knee-deep. -Sometimes some unhappy fellows went in deeper still; -of Scarpa, it was asserted that scarcely anything but his head -was visible while he dragged. Constantly we had either to -unload the sledge, or, harnessing ourselves all together for a -moment, drag it out of the deep snow-drift. For one-half of -the march we might get on without special impediment, the -other half was spent in vain efforts to push the load on, amid -“Aussingen,”<a name="FNanchor_54" id="FNanchor_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> to time the strong pull and the pull all together. -The perspiration often streamed down our faces, for the sky -was overcast, and the air exceedingly sultry. After the -exertion of some days, raw wounds appeared on the shoulders -of several. After a bit of our track had been passed over -three times in the way described, it was like a path in the -snow hollowed out by the shovel, so that we had spent our -strength in levelling it, but hardly in satisfactory progress. -To add to our trials, we suffered intensely from thirst, and -those among us who were unaccustomed to the fatigues of -sledge-travelling, sank down in the snow at every halt and -greedily ate of it. If such were to be the course of our -journey, would escape be possible? Not a man among us -imagined that we could be saved, except by some extraordinary -and happy turn of fortune, small signs of which -were at present to be seen. To escape from this depressing -fear, we deliberately avoided every allusion to the future.</p> - -<p>3. The dogs, under the superintendence of Carlsen, took -their part in the transport of the baggage, but showed themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> -very lazy and intractable under his management, and -seemed to take a pleasure in plunging their loaded sledge -deep into the snow, out of which it was beyond the old man’s -power to free them without help. Nor was their own strength -equal to going over the track twice at least, even with only -one cwt. each time. If, therefore, their services were to be -turned to account, they must be led by some one whom they -obeyed, who could help them by shoving or dragging, who -could set up the sledge when it overturned, and was strong -enough to keep constantly lifting the heavy bags, and who -could pass over the same piece of road four or five times, -if necessary. This duty was taken in turn by Haller and -myself, and we succeeded in transporting in this way daily all -the bread and the spirits, weighing together from 8 to 10 cwt., -and, in some cases, at a later period, even the entire load of a -great sledge divided into parts. I mention this in order to -show the great services which our dogs, though their number -was small, rendered during the march.</p> - -<p>4. In the first week after the <i>Tegetthoff</i> was abandoned, -whenever Weyprecht encamped at the end of the day’s march, -Haller, Zaninovich and I returned in the dog-sledge to the -ship in order to replenish the stores we had consumed. The -distance, which we had taken a week to pass with all our -baggage, was done by the help of the dogs in an hour or two. -In these different visits we did our utmost to fulfil the commissions -of our companions. We rummaged the hold, though -in many of the cases we opened nothing was to be seen but -a dressed bear-skin. In one of these trips we filled a small -cask with a concentrated decoction of all the tea which was -left behind, and the rum we found was used to give it the -proper strength. When we returned to the boat-parties -before the morning start, this still lukewarm decoction of tea -and rum met with great approbation, but the greatest was reserved -for the remains of the condensed milk we brought with -us, not merely because it was milk, but because to us it was -the only milk in the world. Round the remains of the bears -we had killed we always found flocks of sea-gulls screaming -and quarrelling. Sometimes too we saw bears prowling round -the ship at a distance, waiting till their time for plunder came. -They seemed to wait for the moment when they should be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> -able to take permanent possession of a fortress which had been -so long hostile to their race.</p> - -<p>5. But we had the benefit of their company through the -earlier part of our journey. May 23, a bear was shot by -Weyprecht, and forthwith the gulls, who always turned up -whenever there was anything eatable to be got, consumed the -remains with astonishing rapidity, even to the bones. On the -26th, when I was about two miles from the advanced parties, -fetching something which had been left behind, I suddenly -sighted a bear at about 100 paces distant, lying in the snow -and apparently asleep. The dogs too got sight of him, and I -had much trouble in keeping them in, till I overturned the -sledge to act as a breast-work. As the bear rose and stood on -his hind legs I fired, but though severely wounded, he managed -to crawl away. The dogs, rushing off with the sledge behind -them, assailed the wounded animal with a fury which would -have been fatal to them, if the sledge had been checked by -any obstacle. Torossy specially showed a complete ignorance -of how matters stood, and was saved by Jubinal from the -paws of his assailant. Whenever the bear came up to the -sledge, Jubinal swung round with it, till I came up so close as -to make sure of killing it with my last cartridge. On the -31st, Klotz shot a bear which came within ten paces of the -boats; but notwithstanding this addition of fresh meat, the -stores we brought in the dog-sledge from the ship maintained -their charm.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus82"> -<img src="images/illus82.jpg" width="500" height="250" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">IN THE HARBOUR OF AULIS.</p> -</div> - -<p>6. A few days after the abandonment of the ship, dark -masses of clouds, indicating open water, were seen in the -south-west, which doubtless proceeded from the fissures we -had observed three weeks before from Cape Brünn. There -was good ground, therefore, to hope that we should get -beyond the land-ice in a few days, and reach the network of -ever-changing “leads.” If we succeeded in this, we might -then launch the boats in one of these water-ways, and following -the windings of its course between the fields of ice, escape -to the south with greater rapidity. Our most sanguine expectations -were exceeded when, on the 28th, we reached unexpectedly -a small flat island, the very existence of which was -unknown to us—Lamont Island. Ascending the highest -point of it, we saw an “ice-hole” stretching to the south-east,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> -in which was floating an enormous table-shaped iceberg. -This “ice-hole” was not more than a mile from the southern -extremity of the island, which was itself still surrounded by -forced-up blocks of ice. A driving snow-storm detained us -on the 29th on the island, and we contented ourselves with -gathering pieces of drift-wood lying on the shore. On the -30th we delayed no longer in our attempt to advance to the -edge of the floes and launch our boats. But our calculations -were doomed to disappointment; after a toilsome search of -several days to find a suitable spot from which to launch our -boats, we were convinced that this was for the present impossible, -because the edges of the “ice-hole” were surrounded -with broad barriers of broken ice, rendering the passage of -the boats and sledges impossible. Weyprecht and Klotz had -meanwhile started to reconnoitre, and their report on their -return showed that sledging, for the present at least, was at -an end. The ice-hole before us extended far eastward, and -the attempt to outflank it would have led us through walls of -ice piled up to the height of fifty feet. We went back, therefore, -to the more level surface of ice we had left, and pitched -our camp, which we called the “Harbour of Aulis;” for, like -the Greeks of old, we had here to wait for more favourable -winds. Winds only could open the ice before us and widen -the “leads” into a navigable condition. We had never kept -at any great distance from our boats while engaged in transporting -their heavy loads, but henceforward we were careful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -to keep close to them, as we had every reason to look for the -speedy breaking up and separation of the ice. We were now -in 79° 46′ N. L., and therefore only five miles from the ship. -Cape Tegetthoff was still distinctly visible on our northern -horizon.</p> - -<p>7. The space in the boats being insufficient for the crew and -all the baggage we had to take, Weyprecht determined to send -back Orel and nine men to bring away the jolly-boat, which -had been left behind, and I went on in the dog-sledge to help -in the work of removing more stores from the ship. It took -me just three hours to do the distance, which it had cost the -advanced parties eight days to accomplish. The activity of -the dogs received a fresh stimulus from their coming on the -track of a bear running in the direction of the ship, and when -we came within 1,000 yards of it, there we saw our enemy, -who, however, thought it more prudent not to await our attack. -On the 7th of June the equipment of the jolly-boat was -completed, and we returned to our companions with a load of -3 cwt. of boiled beef, shot, and other necessaries. The old -track, now well trodden down, proved a great advantage to us. -If we had deviated a single step, we should at once have -stuck fast, for the character of the snow had altered, and -where it lay in masses it had become mere sludge. The temperature, -which at the end of May had varied between 25° -and 19° F., rose, on June 1, to freezing-point, and remained -steady at that point for some time. Even during the weeks -of midsummer the temperature rose only a few degrees above -freezing-point. On the 3rd of June it rained for the first -time, and gradually the weather assumed the character of -fogs and driving mists so common to the Arctic Ocean. -Clear days were of rare occurrence, and, occasionally only, the -sun shone for a few hours. On our return to the boats we -found their crews were sitting up and looking out, like young -birds in a nest, to see what we had brought from the ship. -Tobacco was regarded as a right royal gift, and Dr. Kepes, to -whom I gave a shirt-sleeve well stuffed out with the precious -weed, regarded himself as a Crœsus.</p> - -<p>8. Meantime our longings to launch grew apace; anxiously -we looked for the widening of a fissure to enable us to advance -southward. We attempted again and again to approach the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> -“ice-hole,” but always found insuperable difficulties to bar the -way. The effort to get one of our boats into a dock we had -hewn in the ice nearly ended in its loss, and nothing was left -to us but to repeat the flank march along the fatal “ice-hole” -to the “harbour of Aulis,” there to watch for the breaking-up -of the ice. Throughout the day we sat penned up in the -boats, worn-out with a feeling of indescribable weariness, -each morning longing for the end of the day, and at every -meal thinking when the next would be ready. It seemed as -if the time for launching the boats would never come. When -the hoarse melancholy scream of the burgomaster-gull sounded -through the stillness of the night, it seemed like a demon -voice from another world, proclaiming that all our efforts -would avail nothing to deliver us from the icy power which -held us in its grasp. A visit from a bear was a welcome -change in the monotony of our life.</p> - -<p>9. We were now in the middle of June. Winds from the -south still prevailed, and we were close to the ship at the -expiration of some weeks; the third part of our provisions -was consumed, and of the 250 German miles between the -ship and coast of Lapland we had accomplished but one mile -and a quarter. If this should continue to be the rate of our -progress, we had the prospect of reaching home in twenty -years! Yet gloomy as things appeared, there were moments -when we were tempted to think that the end of our trials had -come at last. Thus, on the 17th of June, an “ice-hole” opened -close to us; instantly we prepared to take advantage of it. -The day was perfectly clear, and though the temperature in -the shade stood at freezing-point (F.), it was to us an African -heat. We threw down the walls of ice, levelled a track for the -sledges, and that night we stood, with all our baggage, at the -edge of the open water, and, on the morning of the 18th of -June, we at last succeeded in launching our boats and putting -all our baggage on board. The sledges, fastened to the boats, -were towed in their wake. The dogs were put in the different -boats, Jubinal alone taking kindly to his new abode, seeing -doubtless that he would have to sleep no longer on snow. -After drinking some tea with the last remains of our rum, we -pushed off, steering towards the south, and it was a sure sign -of the elevation of our spirits, that three-and-twenty tobacco-pipes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> -were immediately put into active operation. Our progress, -however, was but small, scarcely more than one mile an -hour, which was fully accounted for by the deep lading of the -boats and the towing of the sledges. We might have sailed -about three miles, steering in a southerly direction, when a -heavy floe stopped us and progress for the time being impossible, -we drew the boats up on the ice and went to rest. -Soon after snow began to fall and a west wind set in which -gradually veered to the south, and the floes were again forced -together, and we found all the “leads” closed up when we -attempted to move on in the morning. Again we had to -wait, but with this difference, that we were now at the mercy -of the wind, which might drive us with the floe, on which we -happened to be, wherever it pleased.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus83"> -<img src="images/illus83.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">WE LAUNCH AT LAST.</p> -</div> - -<p>10. On the 19th of June we had to lie still in our boats, -but next day we were able to push them to the edge of a -fissure, into which we let them down, unlading them and -lading them afresh on the opposite side; our progress during -the day thus amounted to a mere change of encampment -from one floe to another floe. The absence of navigable -“leads” prevented our advancing further. Our position -remained unaltered for the next two days, the only event<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> -that occurred being the shooting of a seal (<i>Phoca Grœnlandica</i>), -which sufficed to make the soup we had for supper -somewhat more palatable. He had fallen to the gun of -Weyprecht, who proved to be the luckiest of us all in seal-hunting, -in which only the persevering succeed. Every seal -that was shot was of course a saving of the stock of our -provisions, and hence the killing of these animals was a -matter of extreme importance to us, and the preservation of -our lives depended in a very great measure on our success.</p> - -<p>11. Nothing can give a better idea of our life at this period -than a few quotations from my journal:—</p> - -<p>“<i>June 23.</i>—Things have improved a little towards the -south; in the forenoon of this day we passed over two water-holes -and two floes, thus advancing about a quarter of a mile. -The intervention of a third floe hindered us from penetrating -into another ‘ice-hole.’ After midnight the ice again opened, -and we sailed several hundred paces further.</p> - -<p>“<i>June 24.</i>—Early in the morning Orel shot a seal of -unusual size. We dragged on for half a mile over a large -field of ice to its southern edge, but found, on our arrival -there, that an accumulation of smaller floes barred our advance.</p> - -<p>“<i>June 25.</i>—We could not sail a bit further; winds from -the north-east prevailed; our latitude was 79° 16′. After -leaving the ice under the land, the depth of the snow considerably -diminished, so that the sledges on which the boats -were placed could be dragged on much more easily than -before. There were, however, no pools of thaw-water on the -ice, though we had observed such much earlier in the preceding -year.</p> - -<p>“<i>June 26.</i>—Several hours occupied in passing over ice-fields -and small ‘ice-holes.’ During the halt at noon a bear -came within twenty paces of us, but seeing so many men in -motion, ran off. The ice appeared to be last year’s ice, and -was much crushed. Orel at noon took the latitude by sextant -and artificial horizon, and found it 79° 41′—bitter -disappointment.</p> - -<p>“<i>June 27.</i>—With a fresh north-east wind we-sailed to-day -over a larger ‘ice-hole,’ our latitude at noon being 79° 39′. -In the afternoon we dragged our sledges for a quarter of a -mile over an ice-field, and our baggage had so diminished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span> -that I had to drag with the dog-sledge not more than 7 cwt. -In the lee of large ice-fields, which act like islands, we find -sometimes somewhat more open water-ways.</p> - -<p>“<i>June 28.</i>—Two ice-fields and two ‘ice-holes’ were crossed -to-day. Progress, though small with the boats, would have -been simply impossible with a ship, which could not, like -boats, be dragged over floes. Falls of snow and gleams of -sunshine alternate with each other. While the rest slept a -watch was always posted outside the boat to observe the -behaviour of the ice, and to give us timely notice of the -approach of a bear.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus84"> -<img src="images/illus84.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">MARCHING THROUGH ICE-HUMMOCKS</p> -</div> - -<p>“<i>June 29.</i>—Two or three small ‘ice-holes’ and some ice-fields -were crossed to-day. The last ice-field we dragged -over was of considerable extent. To-day, for the first time, -we made the attempt, with great success, to force the boats -through narrow ‘leads’ by means of poles. Another seal -was got. Every one of us had now learnt, by force of habit, -to eat half a pound of seal blubber with our tea at noon, and -to eat it with pleasure. It was some comfort to the more -delicate and sensitive to be assured that it tasted like butter, -and many experiments had been made on the edibility of the -tins during the last few days. Kane came to consider seal fin -as a kind of salad. We cooked it in our soup, and the dogs -at last went beyond us in the high estimate they placed on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> -this article of diet. It is worth remarking, albeit it seems to -be a contradiction, that though we had all an abhorrence of -fatty substances during the sledge-journeys in the coldest -period of the year, we now took to them with great relish -when the weather was warm. In fact we never felt better -than after a noon-day meal at which we had consumed a -considerable quantity of blubber. Our digestion was particularly -good, and those who suffered from stomach complaints, -produced by the continuous use of pease-sausage, ceased to -be so affected. The real ground of this abnormal preference -of fatty substances was doubtless the fact that we had now -abundance of drinking water, and did not suffer therefore -from thirst.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus85"> -<img src="images/illus85.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">HALT AT NOON.</p> -</div> - -<p>“<i>June 30.</i>—A small ‘ice-hole,’ and then a large ice-field -were crossed, and as we were in the act of passing over a -‘lead’ filled with broken ice, it suddenly closed, and we had to -draw our boats up again, and to wait till the ice should part -asunder. The snow has become quite soft, and we find water -at the bottom of a hole, and employ it for the first time for -cooking. Cape Tegetthoff and Salm Island are still visible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> -The dogs to-day drew 12 cwt., and are quite exhausted. I -had my hair cut by Klotz, and, with many apologies for my -poverty, offered him some water in compensation—an offer he -declined. In the Arctic Seas, even to the doctor, a glass of -water is a handsome fee.”</p> - -<p>So it runs on for weeks together in my journal; and if it -be tiresome for readers to follow such repetitions, how much -more wearisome must it have been to live through and experience -them! Yet if it were possible for our situation to become -worse, it did so during the first half of the following month.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus86"> -<img src="images/illus86.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CROSSING A FISSURE.</p> -</div> - -<p>12. On the 1st of July the whole of our day’s labour consisted -in passing over a fissure. The observations taken at -noon gave 79° 38′ as our latitude, so that during the last four -days we had gained one single minute only. Next day we -lay amid fragments of floes closely packed together, and -there were neither “ice-holes” nor fields of ice over which we -could pass. On the 3rd of July we crossed some fissures with -great difficulty and traversed two small ice-fields, but a wind -from the S.E. set in, and our observations showed 79° 38′ N. -latitude; while we discovered from our longitude that we -were only four miles to the east of the ship. The small -amount of drift discernible in the ice, with such strong winds, -was a sad sign of its closely packed condition.</p> - -<p>13. With imperturbable patience we continued to drag our -heavy loads over the ice, and on the 4th imagined that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> -had penetrated a mile in a southerly direction; but the wind -from the S.E. blew so persistently that when we took our -observations on the following day we found our latitude 79° -40½′, and that we had thus been actually driven back towards -the north-west, and that the toils of the last three weeks had -been fruitless. On the 5th and 6th the ice lay before us in -piled-up masses rendering progress impossible, and we were -compelled to rest, consuming our provisions without getting -one step further. Our seal-hunting also on those days was -seldom successful. For hours the hunters lurked round the -edges of ice-holes, sometimes without seeing a single seal -come to the surface; and when at last the animal did make -its appearance, it very often sunk after it was hit, before a -boat could be launched. Those we saw on the edges of ice-holes -showed a dexterity in diving out of the way of mischief -which failed, as things were, to excite our admiration. The -bears, even more than the seals, showed a prudence and -caution which their previous behaviour had not led us to -expect. On the first of those days a bear came pretty near -us, but the dogs, alas! rushed at him and drove him away. -Henceforward when the dogs were not dragging they were -secured with ropes, but our prudence came too late.</p> - -<p>14. On the 7th there was no change. The day passed -away in moving from one floe with rotten edges to another -somewhat more firm. We only shoved our boats a few -hundred yards through the lakes of thaw water which had -formed themselves on the ice. Our latitude was 79° 43′.</p> - -<p>15. On the 8th we got away in a narrow “lead” a few -hundred paces southward, but after getting so far we were -stopped by thickly-packed ice, and again we had to draw -our boats out of the water and recommence our life of painful -expectancy—watching for the ice to open. No one of -the party suffered so much from this depressing state of -things as Carlsen. For more than twenty years the old and -tried “ice-master” had lived amid floes and ice-blinks, manfully -and successfully fighting against the hardships of the -Arctic Seas, and now that frailties had increased on him, he -saw himself compelled to such toils and privations as would -have taxed his strength even in his prime. The old polar -navigator bore his burthens without murmur or complaint,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> -though it was painful to others to see the signs of exhaustion -in his appearance. He no longer spoke of the polar bears -and walruses, which he had entranced by a glance of his eye -or bewitched with one of his words of magic. Even the -puritanical zeal with which he once rebuked and lectured the -Slavonians for playing cards on “God’s holy day” had grown -somewhat cold, and his fears lest the conversations of the -lively Southerners should end in blows became even more -intense.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;" id="illus87"> -<img src="images/illus87.jpg" width="350" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CARLSEN.</p> -</div> - -<p>16. It was a strange life this abode for weeks of summer in -boats covered over with a low tent roof. Oars by way of -furniture, and three pairs of stockings for each man’s mattress -and pillow. My journal describes these days: “Four boats -are lying on the ice, crammed with sleeping men: and so -great is the heat in them, that no one needs his fur coat, and -snow placed in any vessel becomes water in a few hours. If -Torossy has not ushered in the day by barking, the cooks do -it when they bring the bowls of soup to the boats with the -cry ‘Quanta!’ Then ensues a short scene of confusion:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> -spoons and tin-pots have to be searched for and found, till at -length quiet is again restored, after a little ransacking, and -each man has his pot full of hot soup in his hand, consisting -of meal, pemmican, pease-sausage, bread-dust, boiled beef, seal, -and bears’ flesh; when the soup is flavoured with seal-blubber -it is called ‘Gulyas.’ The soup is consumed amid perfect -silence—not a word is spoken; what indeed was there to be -said, which was not already known, or which had not been said -a hundred times before? Each one knows the other’s history -from his cradle downwards. A stillness like death reigns over -all the surrounding forms of ice, and the frozen ocean stretches -out beneath a vast shroud. A sunless leaden sky spreads over -all, not a breath of air stirs, it is neither warm nor cold, slowly -melts the snow, and this pale realm of ice forms a world of -danger and difficulty, against which are matched the strength -and sagacity of three-and-twenty men!</p> - -<p>“Again all have taken their places in the boats to bale out -the thaw water, the great enemy of their health—and of their -solitary pair of boots. He whose turn it is to hunt the seal -squats at the edge of a floe before a fissure, which admits -a few square feet of water, in which no seal will show himself, -because he has scarcely room to turn in it.</p> - -<p>“To the others, their abode in the boats is a time of manifest -weariness and ennui. Happy the man who has any -tobacco, happy he who, after smoking his pipe, does not -fall into a faint; happy too the man who finds a fragment of -a newspaper in some corner or other, even if there should be -nothing contained in it but the money-market intelligence, -or perhaps directions to be followed in the preparation of -pease-sausage. Enviable is he who discovers a hole in his fur -coat which he can mend; but happiest of all are those who -can sleep day and night. Of these latter some have stowed -themselves away under the rowing seats, and above them -reposes a second layer of sleepers, but nothing is visible of -either party but the soles of their feet. No paradise of bliss! -Noon comes: a little tea is made over the train-oil fire, each -gets one cup of it and a handful of hard bread-crumbs—a -kind of dog’s food which the impartial ‘committee of provisions’ -measures out with Argus-eyes. The fourth part of -the skin of a seal is thrown into each of the four boats, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> -the blubber on it is eagerly devoured. Some, for the sake of -the fins, the ribs, or the head, become guests of the dogs. -Flocks of gulls settle impudently near us, screaming and -fighting for every morsel they can reach. Some of us try to -catch them with nets, but no sooner are the nets up than the -gulls disappear.</p> - -<p>“The formality of dinner is over, and we have come to -such a pass that even the tea excites the nerves of the community, -and some Troubadour will then raise his voice with a -<i>bravura</i> such as might have been heard on San Marco. The -end of the Franklin expedition, and the history of the two -skeletons which were found in the boat, is told again for the -twentieth time—a story which never fails to produce a harrowing -effect, and to rouse the firm and resolute to yet greater -efforts and self-command.</p> - -<p>“The most animated conversation, however, or rather a -constant chattering, is going on meantime in the soot-begrimed -tent of the cook. A difference of opinion arises about the -precise time when the kettle was to be scraped out, or about -the curtailing of the allowance in the last distribution of salt, -or as to the delinquent who made a wood-fire on a cask of -spirit, or who, instead of untying, cut the string of the sledge -packing; many flourishes of speech are bandied to and fro, -which at any rate speak well for the oratorical gifts of the -disputants.</p> - -<p>“There is still, however, one solace left us, the solace of -smoking. Some indeed have already exhausted their whole -stock of tobacco. He who has half a pouch of it at his -disposal is the object of general respect, and the man who can -invite his neighbour to a pipe of tobacco and a pot of water -is considered to do an act of profuse liberality. Tobacco -becomes a medium of exchange among us, and provisions are -bought and paid for with it, its value rising every day. There -is no difference between day and night, and Sundays are only -distinguished by dressing the boats with flags.”</p> - -<p>17. In this enforced idleness passed away the days between -the 9th and 15th inst., save that on the 14th we changed our -place by three hundred yards, in order to select a more convenient -spot for seal-hunting and to keep up the appearance -of travelling—but in truth only the appearance, for in reality<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> -our situation had become truly dreadful. There were no -events of sudden occurrence either to excite or alarm us, but -time flowed on, and our constantly diminishing stock of provisions, -like the steady movement of the hands of a clock, -spoke with a plainness of speech, that could not be resisted, -of the doom impending over us. Hitherto we had patiently -endured the severe labours of dragging our heavily-laden -boats and sledges from floe to floe, of launching the boats in -the small fissures, and again drawing them on to the floes, -when the ice became closely packed, often too carrying all the -provisions and baggage as we slowly crept along. The least -progress was sufficient to fill us with joy and thankfulness. -Meanwhile the ice on all sides lay closely packed, and many -times we had to wait for a week in our boats on a floe, till the -“leads” were pleased to open, while every empty tin case -proclaimed, with fearful distinctness, the diminishing of our -provisions and the gloominess of our prospects; and now a -steady wind from the south destroyed the little progress we -had made. <i>After the lapse of two months of indescribable -efforts, the distance between us and the ship was not more than -nine English miles!</i> The heights of Wilczek Island were -still distinctly visible, and its lines of rocks shone with -mocking brilliance in the ever-growing day-light. All things -seemed to say that after a long struggle with the supremacy -of the ice there remained for us but a despairing return to -the ship and a third winter there, stript of every hope, and -the Frozen Ocean for our grave!</p> - -<p>18. Such reflections and prospects were not calculated to -raise our spirits or promote calm and deliberate thought, -and it was happy for us that the earth was round, and -that we were thus prevented from seeing how much ice lay -between us and the open sea. No measures were left untried -which promised to facilitate our progress or prolong -our lives. We ceased to cook with oil, and used spirit -instead, in order to lighten the boats. The rations of bread -were diminished; even our faithful companion little Pekel -fell a victim to necessity. Seals played a greater part still -in our <i>cuisine</i>, and everything seemed to depend on the -successful use of the four hundred ball-cartridges which -still remained in store. On the 15th of July a walrus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span> -showed himself close to the boats, but when we made a -rush upon him to finish him he disappeared under the -waters, and heavy rain drove us back again into the boats. -Up to this time all signs of a happy termination of our -venture seemed to have disappeared; but the hour of our -liberation and escape was nearer than we thought.</p> - -<p>19. On the evening of the 15th of July, after finishing -our supper, a line of small “leads” running to the south-west -opened itself, and we forced our way for about a mile -against wind and current coming from the same direction. -Next day, July 16, the wind blew from the north-west, and -after our boats had been nearly crushed by the ice closing in -some smaller “ice-holes,” we ran into a broader and longer -“lead.” At noon of this day our latitude was 79° 39′, and -we had gone so far that the highest points of Cape Tegetthoff -and Wilczek Island were barely discernible—blue shadows -surrounded by an edge of yellow vapour, and over the -whole a heavy water sky.</p> - -<p>20. Up to this date we had been compelled to cross every -fissure, a procedure as exhausting for us as it was detrimental -to the boats. The least impediment, such as the stoppage -of a “lead” by some pieces of ice, had sufficed to cause us -hours of laborious efforts. The ice lay thick and close, and -its floes were firmly frozen together. But now it was not -only somewhat opened, but seldom cemented by frost, and -the efforts of fifteen or twenty men generally sufficed to shove -apart any two floes with long poles, or remove any barrier -which closed a “lead.” If the “leads” closed in so that -there was danger lest the boats should be crushed, the crew -jumped out and hauled them up on the ice.</p> - -<p>The accompanying sketch exhibits one of the scenes that -occurred almost daily—the pushing the floes asunder with -long poles, in order that the boat might pass between them, -while the rotatory motion of the floe closes the fissure in the -foreground, so that another boat has to be drawn on the ice -as quickly as possible. The baggage of the boat is represented -partly as packed on a sledge, or partly lying on the -snow, and the men and dogs stand ready to drag it over the -floe to the next place of launching. Two other boats, which -have found the “lead” open, are on before, and one of them -is lying at an ice-field which has to be crossed, waiting for the -others to come up.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus88"> -<img src="images/illus88.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">SCENE ON THE ICE.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span></p> - -<p>21. It sometimes happened that we could not push the floes -asunder, and we were then compelled to cross them; and in -those cases where the floes were a mile or more in diameter, -our progress took the form of sledging. The provision was -sent on for some distance to the nearest water, and the boats, -which remained behind under the care of the less able-bodied -of our party, were lifted on to the sledge when it returned -by the rest of the crew, and firmly secured. The smallest of -our boats was shoved through the snow while the dogs with -their sledge transported the bags of bread and the spirit.</p> - -<p>22. An advance of four miles a day now sufficed to satisfy -us, and we had acquired such precision in our arrangements -before starting that three hours sufficed to accomplish them. -If the sledges came on obstacles from the ice, the pioneers -hurried on with picks and shovels to remove them. Lakes on -the ice were made little of; we waded through them with -much equanimity, and any one who fell into a “lead” while -the day’s labour was going on seemed to take the accident -very coolly. On the 17th of July we had passed, in the way -I have described, three ice-fields and three small “ice-holes;” -but on the following day we made very little progress, because -a wind, setting in from the west, packed the ice closely. We -were therefore overjoyed to find our latitude to-day 79° 22′, a -result which could only be ascribed to the late north winds; -but we could not quiet our fears, lest a wind from the south -should deprive us of our dearly-bought advance.</p> - -<p>23. We now penetrated into a region full of icebergs, many -of which were covered with earth and moraine dirt, which -made them look at a distance, amid the dazzling uniformity -of the ice, like rocky cliffs. In the evening a she-bear was -seen close to us, which came full tilt at our dogs; at thirty -paces off she was hit, but not mortally, and fell; but getting -up again, ran off to an ice-hole, and remained long enough on -its surface to be secured by the harpooners. She afforded us -as much food as four small seals, and some of our party, with -the voracity of beasts of prey, scraping the flesh off the bones -for their private use, carried it about with them wrapped in -their pocket-handkerchiefs, and ate about a pound of it raw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> -every day at noon, as long as it lasted, after merely washing -the carrion in sea-water.</p> - -<p>24. On the 19th of July we again passed over several small -ice-fields, and on the 20th and 21st one several miles in -diameter. We were favoured with a north-west wind, and on -the 20th of July our latitude was 79° 11′, our longitude 61° -3′, and our progress was so brilliant on the 22nd (79° 1′ L.), -that we were compelled to draw the boats twice only out -of the water, and warping through narrow “leads,” came again -to larger “ice-holes,” over which we were able to sail. Our -spirits were greatly raised, and we went on full of hope that -we should soon come into longer water-ways, which would -exempt us from the toils of crossing floes with the sledges. -On the 23rd sudden squalls from the E.N.E., accompanied -with heavy showers of rain, detained us in our covered boats, -and our whole business on this day was collecting the rainwater -in an empty spirit-cask and drinking it as grog. On the -24th we again made good progress. The rain fell in torrents, -and we were wet through and through, and at night we lay -down to rest reeking. The rain continued, but good progress -was made almost without interruption during the next three -days. We bore all the discomforts with joy, because the -rain powerfully and rapidly dissolved the ice.<a name="FNanchor_55" id="FNanchor_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> Our clothes -were constantly wet, but we eagerly snatched every gleam -of sunshine to dry our stockings or our saturated boots.</p> - -<p>25. The cooks, when they called us in the morning, now -constantly drew such pictures of the day’s prospects, that we -might have been tempted to believe that during the night all -the ice had disappeared; but this pleasing illusion was rudely -dispelled whenever we stepped out of the boats into the open -air. These good men, having no compass to consult, always -flattered themselves with the notion that where water was to -be seen, there also lay the south. But, alas! there lay the ice-hummocks, -and there, too, lay the boats and sledges to be -dragged as before. Klotz went a little further; it was his -opinion that we ought always to take to the water without -fear, even if it stretched to the north, in order, as he said, -to get home round the North Pole.</p> - -<p>26. On the 27th we had reached 78° 48′ N. L., but a wind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> -from the south-west set in, and after two days of constant -toil, alternately launching and drawing up the boats, we -found, on the 29th, that we had been driven back to 78° 50′ -N. L. But in many cases the movement of ice is unaccountable, -and on the 30th this was verified; for, notwithstanding -the prevalence of the south-west wind, we had drifted to -78° 32′ N. L., 61° 3′ E. L. The weather at this time was thicker -and duller than usual, and the horizon from our boats extended -but a few hundred paces, so that we had considerable difficulty -in choosing the most navigable “leads.” The view did -not extend above two miles, even when we climbed to the -top of one of the hummocks, and mists generally lay on its -outskirts. In clear weather we had always steered in the -direction of a water-sky which promised open sea, even though -we had to make <i>détours</i> to the south-west or south-east. But -now such a foggy obscurity lay over every “ice-hole,” however -small, that the outline of its edges was hardly discernible at -a few paces off, and, under these circumstances, we could only -pull the boats round, till we came to the first opening in the -enclosing ice.</p> - -<p>27. Winds from the south continued during the following -week, and heavy rains again fell, and we had much laborious -dragging through the fog on the 31st of July and the 1st of -August. Our stock of bread, which had been reduced to -powder by the constant lading and unlading, was meanwhile -so thoroughly soaked that on the 2nd of August we stopped -for half a day on a floe (78° 28′ N. L., 61° 49′ E. L.) to dry it in -the sun, which, after a long absence, gladdened us by showing -himself. We took the opportunity also to dry our clothes and -our stockings. On such a day as this the scene around us -entirely lost its gloomy sepulchral character; the heavens -were brilliantly blue, the ice lay around us in dazzling light, -and the deep ultramarine of the sea-water peeped forth -from the “leads.” Henceforward we had less occasion to -cross large floes. Our route gradually changed its character; -“leads” and “ice-holes” occurred far more frequently, and -the channels between them, winding through drifting islands -of ice, were sometimes three or four miles in extent. Along -these we glided under sail and oars, and when we came to a -temporary halt, Weyprecht, with his compass, mounted one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> -of the ice-hummocks to examine the water-ways and determine -which we should follow. Our rate of progress was -much increased, an acceleration due to the change in the ice, -effected slowly but surely by sunshine and rain. The enormous -masses of snow were wasting away; the thaw-water, gathering -in countless streams, spread as lakes on the hollows of the -floes, and oozed through fissures in the ice into the sea. The -edges of the floes, undermined by the action of the waves, -fell in, or were worn away by the pressure, and a single warm -day or shower of rain sufficed to dissolve what remained of -them. Hence, if the difficulty of drawing boats on to the ice -was lessened, the danger of breaking through it in the process -was greater, and we ran the risk of seeing all the cases containing -our provisions sink in the sea before our eyes. As the -ice-fields diminished in size and thickness, the number and -breadth of the “leads” increased. The alternation of heavy -south-east winds and calms helped on the destruction of the -ice, and our progress was great in proportion. From the 3rd -to the 7th of August each day we accomplished greater -distances. The ice gradually changed from pack-ice to drift-ice, -impenetrable only where it lay in thicker masses. When -fogs came on, we generally decided, after wandering about for -a little, to wait on or near a floe for finer weather. We no -longer restricted our labours to certain times of the day. -In the highest spirits, we toiled incessantly at rowing or -dragging the boats, or shoving the floes asunder with our -long poles.</p> - -<p>28. On the 7th our progress might be estimated at twelve -miles. It was the first day we had got on without dragging -the sledges and crossing floes, and when we halted at noon -amid some loose ice, we saw, to the south, a fluctuation in -the sea level, and the ice alternately rising and falling. “The -swell of the ocean!” exclaimed all with joy: “we are close -to the open sea”—the open sea, being to us at that moment -deliverance. Our amazement at finding it at such a latitude, -78° N. L., was so great that, notwithstanding that indisputable -sign, we could scarcely believe our eyes, and we were filled -with indescribable excitement. For a moment only that -excitement was diverted to other and very different objects—two -bears suddenly appeared on the scene, swimming about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -100 paces from us. Two boats were at once manned, and the -chase began. But the bears swam faster than the boats could -be pulled by the four men in each boat; sometimes they -raised themselves high out of the water as they turned to -look at their pursuers. Suddenly one of them disappeared, -while the other made for a floe and climbed on to it. As he -stood and impudently stared at us, a shot was fired at him, -and he immediately decamped, swimming with great rapidity -to another distant floe. But as no trace of blood was to be -seen on the ice, and our companions drinking their mid-day -tea were scarcely to be distinguished, we considered it unsafe -to pursue him further. In the evening we stopped again -before a dense group of small floes, which like the rest of the -ice had become rotten; the one whereon we were preparing -to encamp for the night broke into several pieces just as we -were raising our boat on to it. We were, however, fortunate -enough to save our provisions.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus89"> -<img src="images/illus89.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">BEARS IN THE WATER.</p> -</div> - -<p>29. Though we had been accustomed so long to oscillate -between extremes, we now felt that the hour had come, when -we might count with certainty on being liberated from the -fetters of the ice, and all our hopes gained new life. Yet -once more they seemed doomed to be disappointed. On the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> -7th, before we turned into sleep, the prevailing north wind had -gathered so much ice around us that we were fairly shut in. -Next day (August 8), after the efforts of many hours to force -through the multitude of small floes by which we were jammed -in, we discovered that we should be unable to move, unless -the wind changed to the south-west. Our exertions on the 9th -were equally unsuccessful. It was not dense masses of ice, under -whose walls we had so often felt ourselves imprisoned, that -now held us captive, but miserable flat floes. Their diameter -was from fifty to sixty paces, and though they hardly appeared -above water, they were not the less impenetrable hindrances. -The movement in the sea, that had so elevated us, was scarcely -perceptible, and our faith in the nearness of the ocean was -consequently much shaken.</p> - -<p>30. Again rain fell in abundance, and we remained in -the boats waiting for the breaking-up of the ice. It was -scarcely possible to go any distance from them, for the ice of -the surrounding floes was so thin, that we could not venture -to walk on them lest we should break through. Fissures -abounded, but no seals were to be seen in them. This forced -abode in our boats was almost unendurable. We could not -always sleep, and only a frugal few had any tobacco left to -smoke. Some of our party had for a long time smoked dry -tea-leaves in the form of cigarettes, or had filled their pipes -with match paper. All the tinder had been long used up in -this way, and a dreadful trial it had been to the olfactory -nerves of those who would not so indulge. Haller went -further still, and smoked paper in the close covered boat! -besides many leaves of his note-books, he still had a quantity -of packing-paper, but, in the interest of the community, I -was compelled to interfere against its use in this fashion. He -found some compensation in another occupation, which had -the merit at least of being inoffensive to others—mixing -together his rations of tea, salt, and bread-dust, he converted -the mixture into a soup. These days seemed as though they -would never end; there was a continual taking off and pulling -on of boots; some sat in the boats gaping about vacantly in -all directions; some standing on the ice gaped as vacantly; -all mental activity was concentrated in two wishes, that the ice -would break up, and that the time for the next meal would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -come round. No one had any private reserve of provision. -The days were gone when a stocking filled with bread -might be seen hanging from the belt of one, or the ribs of a -bear in the hand of another. And yet amidst all the hunger, -which we felt the more acutely from our abundant leisure, -some among us had actually become as plump as quails, and -if we had been found dead on the floes, it would have been -thought, that we had died in consequence of over-eating, so -stout had most of us become. But dreadful was the solemn -lapse of time. August was well advanced; the knowledge -that we had provisions for only one month more, and the -shortness of the season for action that still remained, failed -not to impress upon us all that the crisis of our fate was at -hand. For three weeks past the formation of young ice had -begun, both on the ice and on the sweet-water lakes on the -floes. Even during these summer months, the temperature in -the night had frequently fallen two or three degrees below -freezing-point, and the cold now began to join the fragments -of old floes into formidable obstacles. The caprice of a wind -might again carry us off towards the north, as it had done -two years ago, but carry us too, to certain inevitable destruction. -On the 9th of August we found our latitude 78° 9′—a -higher degree than we had expected. But what would a lower -degree have availed us, had not the open sea been near us—the -open sea, on which hung all our hopes, ever since the -word had been uttered? The joy of that day’s discovery was -fed and sustained by the low murmur of a distant surf, which -either imagination or our senses, rendered acute by the -presence of danger, continued to hear in the south.</p> - -<p>31. Thus passed the days from the 10th to the 13th of -August, the calking of our boats forming our only distraction. -Eagerly and earnestly we gazed on the water-sky in the south -and on every change in the ice.<a name="FNanchor_56" id="FNanchor_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> On the 10th our latitude was -78° 6′ and our longitude 60° 45′, E.; on the 13th our latitude -was 77° 58′, and our longitude 61° 10′ E. On the 12th the ice -had become somewhat looser. We advanced a mile to the south, -but were then again beset. It rained during the whole day, and -in the night, the temperature fell several degrees below freezing-point.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> -Ice an inch thick was formed on the 13th over the -surface of the fresh-water lakes, and when we went, either to -drink from them or to perform our toilet, we had to break -through a coating of ice. All these were so many signs that -Summer had bid us adieu and that the short Autumn of the -north had begun. This day, too, we had the first impression -of the returning cold.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus90"> -<img src="images/illus90.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">CALKING THE BOATS.</p> -</div> - -<p>32. At last during the night of the 14th, the ice somewhat -opened and we could go on our way. Just before we started, -in the early morning, a seal was shot which the dogs had -discovered and attacked: it was the eighteenth and last we -shot since we abandoned the ship. With much labour in -shoving we forced a passage through a long succession of -“leads” and halted for a short rest at midnight in front of a -larger “ice-hole,” to refresh our strength with some pieces of -blubber, seasoned with alcohol and thaw-water. Drift ice -lay all round us, and we had the presentiment, that the hour -at last had come which was to set us free from the ice. All -things rise in our estimation, when we are about to bid them -farewell, and it was with some pain that we felt all at once, that -in a few minutes we should bid adieu to the realm of ice, -which lay behind us in all its magical grandeur. We now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -moved on under sail: the “ice-holes” increased in size, the -ice diminished, and the swell of the ocean was perceptibly -greater. Our latitude at noon next day was 77° 49′. A large -“ice-hole” opened before us, and with a sea running high, the -boats, making a good deal of water, we sailed into it—it was -the last ice-hole. The last line of ice lay ahead of us, and -beyond it the boundless open sea!</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus91"> -<img src="images/illus91.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">FAREWELL TO THE FROZEN OCEAN.</p> -</div> - -<p>33. About six o’clock in the evening we had reached the -extreme edge of the ice-barrier, and once more, but for the -last time, drew our boats on a floe. Again our ears heard the -noise of the waves—the voice of life to us. Again we saw -the white foam of the surge, and felt, as if we had awoke -from a death-like slumber of years to a new existence. But -if our joy at deliverance was great, not less great was our -astonishment to have reached the ice-barrier in the high latitude -of 77° 40′, and with it the hope of final escape. We -went to rest for some hours, but were roused by the watch -about two o’clock in the morning. The east wind had gathered -some heavy masses of ice around us, which rose and fell with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -the swell of the ocean, and we were already several hundred -yards from the water’s edge. Any delay in escaping as quickly -as possible would require the labours of many days to set us -free again. After much shoving with the poles, and lading and -unlading, we again got beyond the line of ice. The frozen -ocean lay behind us, and on our last floe we made preparations -for our voyage on the open sea.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="PART_V_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">ON THE OPEN SEA.</span></h3> - -<p>1. There lay the open Ocean before us; never were its -sparkling waves beheld with more sincere joy, than by the -small band of men, who, escaping from the prison house of -the ice after fearful struggles, now raised their arms on high -to greet its glad waters. The 15th of August was the day of -our liberation—the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin—and -our boats were dressed with flags in its commemoration. -But it was no time for the rest and recreation of a Holy -Day: graver duties pressed upon us. The boats had to be -ballasted, and were with difficulty made to take on board the -baggage, the water-casks, and the crews. Our four sledges, to -which we owed so much of our success so far, were of course -left behind. The dogs too were put on board, not, however, -without much hesitation, when the contingencies of the -voyage were considered.</p> - -<p>2. With three hurrahs, we pushed off from the ice, and our -voyage commenced. Its happy issue depended on the weather -and on incessant rowing. If a storm should arise, the boats, -laden as they were, must sink. We were soon convinced that -the dogs, which suffered greatly from sea-sickness, would -dangerously incommode us in the boats by destroying their -trim. There was, in fact, no room for them in our over-crowded -boats, nor water, nor provisions. We could not -bring ourselves to abandon them, and our only form of gratitude -for their services was, alas! the painful one of putting -them to death. A floe, by which we passed, became the -grave of these our true friends, our companions in all situations, -and our helpers in all dangers! It was indeed a painful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> -moment, when Jubinal was taken out of the boat to meet his -death. It was the loss of a true comrade, who had never -departed from my side, and who had patiently borne all the -labours and toils imposed on him. Poor Torossy too, born -in the Arctic regions, amid the ice-pressures, was not a little -lamented.</p> - -<p>3. With boundless satisfaction, we saw the white edge of -the ice gradually become a line, and at last disappear. Every -one felt, that finding the ice-barrier in so high a latitude, was -the crowning blessing to which we must ascribe our liberation. -At the distance of a mile from the edge of the ice, the temperature -of the water had risen to 30° F., and that of the air to -39° F. The sunbeams were reflected with such intensity from -the smooth surface of the sea, that we felt the long unknown -sensation of heat, and were obliged to cast off some of our -garments.</p> - -<p>4. We shaped our course south-by-west, towards the Barentz -Islands, intending to take in supplies of provisions from the -depôt formed by Count Wilczek, and then to coast along -Novaya Zemlya in search of a ship engaged in the fisheries, -which we hoped to find either at Admiralty Peninsula, or -Matoschkin Straits, or in Dunen Bay. Norwegian vessels, -engaged in the capture of the walrus, might be looked for as -far south as Matoschkin Straits, and the Russian salmon-fishers -still further to the south. The nearest land was fifty miles off, -and everything depended on our reaching its friendly shores -before the weather changed for the worse. In the event of -stormy weather there would be no other alternative than to -throw our provisions overboard in order to lighten the boats.</p> - -<p>5. Putting forth all our strength, we rowed steadily for some -days. Weyprecht took the lead in his boat, and the others -followed him as quickly as possible. The crew of each boat -was divided into two watches, who were relieved every four -hours. It frequently happened that one boat fell behind the -others, and was lost sight of in a fog or mist. Trumpets and -horns were then sounded, till the laggard boat, by renewed -efforts of her crew, came up with the others. On the -16th, a breeze from the north sprang up, and we used our sails -with good effect for some hours. At last Novaya Zemlya was -sighted—some silvery points above the level of the sea, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -our people took at first for the reappearance of the ice in the -south; they proved to be the snowy summits near Cape -Nassau. At this headland the mountains running along the -coast suddenly cease, and the land trending to the north-east, -assumes the monotonous character of glaciation almost without -mountains, as far as the lonely shores where three -centuries ago Barentz slept his last sleep.</p> - -<p>6. Our progress had no longer the paralysing insignificance -of former days. This day at noon our latitude was 76° 46′, -and on the 17th, the picturesque range of mountains south of -Cape Nassau, rose through the morning mists close before us -steeped in violet and crimson hues. A fog arising, we rowed -along by compass in the midst of it, the boats seemed to float -in the air amid the fog. During its continuance a current -caused us to deviate so much to the south-west, that when at -noon the land was again visible, we discovered that we had -gone beyond the place where the depôt had been formed, and -found by the chart, that we were in 75° 40′ lat. and 58° long. -But as the loss of time, in going back a distance of a hundred -miles, was out of all proportion to the amount of provisions -we could have taken in our overladen boats, we determined -at all risks to hold on our course.</p> - -<p>7. Before us, in the far distance, now rose above the horizon -the higher parts of Admiralty Peninsula; to these we now -steered. As we passed along we made a vain attempt to land -on the north of Gwosdarew Bay. We found the shores full -of cliffs, between which a heavy surf was breaking, and could -thus form some notion of the perils we should have encountered, -had we attempted to land on the Barentz Islands. -Two years ago the edge of this coast had been covered with -firm ice, and the depôt had been formed by the aid of sledges. -But now not a fragment of ice was to be seen on the west -coast of Novaya Zemlya, and the rocky shore could only be -approached by boats.</p> - -<p>8. The differences between the climate in the years 1872 and -1874, were also in other respects very remarkable. In 1872 -the mountains of the country were mostly covered with snow, -but in 1874, it lay only on the higher parts of its glaciers, and -in latitude 76° N., where we had found thick ice, the temperature -of the sea was 39° F., and of the air 43° F. The phenomena<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> -of the climate of 1871, as we observed them in the -voyage of the <i>Isbjörn</i>, were similar to those of 1874; and -this peculiar mildness was experienced on the eastern coasts -of Novaya Zemlya by Captain Wiggins, who when navigating -the sea of Cara as far as the mouth of the Ob, was shut in -there by the ice for a few weeks only.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="illus92"> -<img src="images/illus92.jpg" width="500" height="325" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">LANDING ON THE COAST OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA.</p> -</div> - -<p>9. The inaccessibility of most of the places on the coast -had hitherto obliged us to continue our course without going -on shore to rest, although our arms were stiff and swollen -with our exertions in rowing. No vessels as yet had been -seen, and what we thought to be a ship turned out, when we -rowed closer to it, to be only a small iceberg. There was -therefore no other alternative than to coast along in a southerly -direction, cutting across the bays, and keeping as near the -shore as possible. On the night of the 17th we pulled over -the broad Gwosdarew Bay, which was filled with countless -fragments of glaciers. Some of the smallest of these we -took on board our boats to replenish our fast decreasing -supplies of water. Ever since our coming under the coast of -Novaya Zemlya, we had entered a region where auks abounded -which whizzed over our heads with small crayfish in their bills -in their flight to the land, or sat so indolently on the water,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> -that they seemed determined not to get out of the way of the -boats. Many were bagged, but we made no halt to shoot -them. Twice only in the day we rested for about ten minutes -to take our food. Onwards we pressed, each boat striving to -get before the others. On August 17 the sun set for the first -time about midnight, and in the afternoon of the 18th we -landed at a spot to the south of black Cape, remarkable for -the luxuriance of its vegetation. To our eyes, accustomed to -the monotonous white of snow and ice, it appeared like a -garden. There was nothing to remind us of a polar region -either in the land, or in the temperature, or in the weather. -Its broad bay, if it had been without its circle of glaciers, -would have appeared like an Italian gulf. It was now ebb-tide, -and wading in the water we shoved our boats, using the -oars as rollers, over the muddy shore. It was the birthday of -our gracious monarch, which we celebrated in the best manner -we could—we dressed the boats with flags, washed ourselves -in a little fresh-water lake, and flavoured our weak tea with a -small quantity of alcohol.</p> - -<p>10. This was the first land on which we had set foot for -months. Completely exhausted we lay down on its damp -turf and listened to the pleasant sound of the surf. Flames -soon rose from the pile of drift wood we collected, while some -of us ascended the neighbouring ravines, and even gathered -flowers.<a name="FNanchor_57" id="FNanchor_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> There were quantities of forget-me-nots, and of -coltsfoot (<i>Tusselago farfara</i>), which was dried and smoked, -and pronounced to be excellent tobacco. But our paradisiacal -happiness could not be of long duration. The necessity of -finding a ship as quickly as possible was urgent, and soon -roused us from our deep sleep, while the thunders of the -glaciers of Novaya Zemlya proclaimed to us that bad weather -was not far off.</p> - -<p>11. On the 19th, we coasted along Admiralty Peninsula; -the thermometer giving 50° F. in the air, and 43° F. in -the sea. Its shores rising in a succession of terraces were -indisputable evidence of its gradual elevation above the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span> -sea-level,<a name="FNanchor_58" id="FNanchor_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> and the flatness of the shores and the shallowness of -the sea, interspersed with rocks, easily explain why they have -so often been dangerous to ships approaching them in a fog. -As we came further south the charts proved more trustworthy. -At noon of the 20th at Cape Tischernitzky we reached -latitude 74° 21′. We passed a number of picturesque bights -on the coast, with mountains, whose tops were covered with -clouds, and whose green banks extended along the shores. -These are the favourite wintering spots of Russian expeditions, -and in some places we saw ruined huts. On the 21st a fresh -wind sprung up from the east. The sea rose, and as we sailed -fast before the wind the boats took in a good deal of water, -and we were thoroughly wet; the boats too got separated. -We accordingly ran into the bay under “Suchoi Nos” (73° -47′ L.) to wait till the wind fell and the other boats should -join us. The boat commanded by Lieutenant Brosch, was -exposed to much danger from the lowness of its gunwale, -when the sea was at all high; an addition made to it by -a strip of canvas stretched round the boat proved ineffectual. -We quickly dried our clothes at a fire made of drift-wood and -erratics of brown coal which we found, but were much disappointed -that no reindeer were to be seen, though we were -surrounded by excellent feeding-grounds for these animals. -The stew, which we made from the spoonwort we gathered, -and some pemmican, was but a poor substitute for the venison -we had hoped to enjoy. Neither were there any auks to be -seen, and the divers shot under the water like stones whenever -we came within distance. The other boats having joined -us we again put to sea, though the weather was threatening -and a high sea running. In latitude 73° 20′ we ran into -Matoschkin Bay, hoping and expecting to find a vessel -engaged in the fisheries. But no vessel was to be seen, -nothing but the outlines of an Arctic mountain-land. Carlsen -also, whom Weyprecht had despatched to explore the straits -so full of turnings and windings, returned without the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span> -intelligence we hoped for. Before Carlsen rejoined us we ran -into a cove—Altgläubigen Bucht—and erected, on a conspicuous -headland, a cairn, on which we placed a signal post -made of drift-wood. In this cairn we deposited a document, -briefly describing the course of our expedition up to that -date, in order to leave some trace of it in a region which is -visited annually by ships. The discovery of this statement -in the course of the next summer would prevent our countrymen -at home from sending out vessels to rescue us in higher -latitudes, if we meanwhile should perish.</p> - -<p>12. The prospects of our being saved had, in fact, considerably -diminished, for all our hopes had been centred in -finding a vessel in Matoschkin Straits, and these, as I have -just said, were doomed to be disappointed. Carlsen now -returned with the information, that, in the narrow seas he had -visited, he had met with nothing but a whale-boat, lying keel -upwards, round which were footmarks of not very recent date. -There was no doubt, therefore, that the fishing vessels had -withdrawn from our high latitudes. At night a storm from -the north-east roared over the cliffs surrounding the cove, and -the surf breaking on the rocks reached our boats.</p> - -<p>13. It was noon on the 23rd before we could continue our -voyage. Our provisions would last for only ten days more, so -that our fate must shortly be decided. Further delay was out -of the question; there was but one hope for us—to press on -and find a ship in Dunen-Bai (the Bay of Dunes). Should -this too prove deceptive, we must then make the desperate -venture of crossing the White Sea, direct to Lapland—a -distance of 520 miles. To follow the vast circuit of -the coast-line would have been impossible to us with our -stock of provisions, and at that season of the year. The -next days too plainly taught us what would have become -of our small boats had we been forced to attempt that -passage.</p> - -<p>14. We now rowed and sailed alternately down the flat -coasts towards “Gänseland,” amid stormy weather, during -which the boats were often separated, and we almost exhausted -our strength in baling out the water. We lost sight -completely of Weyprecht’s boat on the open sea, and of the -others under the coast. That in which Orel and I were,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> -appeared to have out-sailed them, and we, therefore, on the -morning of the 24th drew to shore in a dark rocky cove to -await the approach of our missing friends. Wet through and -through we sprang into the shallow water, and by a great -effort drew the boat to land. We then kindled a fire with the -drift-wood we gathered, and after making and eating a kind of -dumpling we sank down to sleep on the wet stones, amid the -smoke from our fire, thoroughly exhausted. So passed away -four hours. When we awoke we ascended a height, and as -there was not a single vestige of a boat to be seen, we determined -to put to sea again. Near Cape Britwin (Lat. 72° 40′), -the wind and sea fell, and the boats again joined company. -It was now deemed necessary to make an equitable division -among the crews of the provisions that remained, and this -being done, we took to our oars once more, and pulled into -the boundless waste of waters—into the mystery that hung -over our destiny.</p> - -<p>15. But the hour of our deliverance was nearer than we -thought. It was evening as we glided past the black weather-worn -rocks of Cape Britwin, the ledges of which were covered -with flocks of birds, revelling in the spray of the surf. Then -about seven o’clock a cry of joy as from one voice arose from -the boats. A fifth small boat with two men in it lay before -us, apparently engaged in bird catching. They pulled towards -us, not less amazed than we ourselves were, and before either -party could explain itself, we turned a corner of the rock—there -lay two ships.</p> - -<p>16. It is with a certain kind of awe and reverence that -a shipwrecked man approaches a ship, whose slender build is -to deliver him from the capricious power of the elements. -To him it is no lifeless machine, but a friend in need, yea, -a higher creation than himself. Such were our feelings as we -neared the two schooners which lay a few hundred yards off -in a rock-encircled bay. To us at that moment these vessels -were the sum total of the whole world! Dressing our boats -with flags, we followed the strangers in their boat, and made -fast to the schooner <i>Nikolai</i>, whose deck was in a moment -crowded with bearded Russians, who stared at us with -mingled feelings of wonder and sympathy, and whose captain, -Feodor Voronin, stood like a patriarch among them to welcome -us. Ten days sooner and our poor dogs might have gambolled -on the deck with us!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 650px;" id="illus93"> -<img src="images/illus93.jpg" width="650" height="420" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">THE BAY OF DUNES. THE RUSSIAN SCHOONERS.</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span></p> - -<p>17. No grandees could have been received with more dignity -than we were. At the sight of the two Ukases, which we -had received from St. Petersburg, and which required all -inhabitants of the Russian Empire to furnish us with all the -help we needed, these humble seamen bared their heads and -bowed themselves to the earth. We had an example before -us to show how orders are obeyed by the subjects of that -Empire a thousand miles from the place where they were -issued. But we were received not only in this reverential -manner, but were welcomed with the greatest heartiness, -and the best of everything on board was spread before us—salmon, -reindeer flesh, Eider-geese eggs, tea, bread, butter, -brandy. The second skipper then came on board, and -invited us to visit him: the first of a series of invitations. -Dr. Kepes was very pressingly invited, for he had a sick -man on board his vessel, and our doctor returned with an -<i>honorarium</i> of tobacco in his hand. These simple Russian -seamen of the Arctic seas freely produced their little stock -of good things to give us pleasure, and one of them after -observing me for a long time, and thinking that I did -not express myself sufficiently strongly for a happy man, -persuaded himself that something was the matter with me, -and that I wanted something. Forthwith he went to his -chest, and brought me all the white bread he had and the -whole remaining stock of his tobacco. Though I did not -understand a word he said, his address was full of unmistakable -heartiness, and so far needed no interpreter.</p> - -<p>18. Since we abandoned the <i>Tegetthoff</i> we had passed -ninety-six days in the open air, and, including the sledge -journeys which preceded the abandonment of the ship, about -five months. The impressions of a return to life were felt -by us with silent yet deep thankfulness of heart, for as the -poet says:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Das Schweigen ist ihr bester Herold.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It gave us infinite satisfaction to gaze on things the most -insignificant, and as we thought of our adventures, our discoveries, -and our deliverance, many of us asked his heart<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -in a whisper: What will be said of this in Austria? Lusina, -as the only one among us who spoke Russian, was constituted -our interpreter, and through him we learnt that great events -had happened during our absence: that there was general -peace in Europe; that Napoleon was dead; and we learnt -too that the greatest interest in our destiny had been excited -in Austria; that the Russian government had issued orders to -all their vessels employed in the Arctic fisheries to do their -utmost to find us, and contribute to our rescue; that Count -Wilczek had returned in safety—the skipper of our schooner -having met him at the mouth of the Petschora, just as he was -setting out for Obdorsk, and lastly, that a Norwegian fishing -vessel had been beset in the ice in the autumn of 1872 at -the Barentz islands—very near to where we were, and had -been crushed; that four of the crew had escaped in a boat, -and after the most dreadful sufferings, had travelled over land -to the country of the Samoyedes in the extreme north of the -Ural Mountains.</p> - -<p>19. The ships we found in “Dunen Bai,”—the Bay of Dunes—came -from Archangel, and were engaged in the salmon -fishery, at the mouth of the Puhova River. They had taken -very little, and their purpose was to remain where we found -them for fourteen days’ longer, and to spend about the same -number in fishing and hunting at the southern extremity of -Novaya Zemlya. This programme was not exactly to our -taste. To spend a month in a fishing-vessel, just as we awoke -to the remembrance of all the comforts and pleasures there -are in the world, to sleep in the hold where cholera lurked -among bear and reindeer hides, amid heaps of salmon and -reindeer flesh, among nets and oil casks—such a prospect was -not to be thought of. Accordingly, we agreed with Captain -Voronin, that he should leave off his fishing and take us -without delay to Vardö, in Norway, that we should give him -in return for his services three of our boats, two Lefaucheur -rifles, and guarantee him the further compensation of 1,200 -silver roubles.</p> - -<p>20. At last we could go to sleep, the much-needed, much-desired -sleep, undisturbed by the fear lest we should be starved -to death at last. On that evening, when I opened my journal, -I found these words: “Shall we be saved this day? shall we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> -be alive? Fifteenth May on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>.” I had -written these words by the merest chance on the blank leaf -reserved for the 24th of August, and it was singular that we -should be rescued on that very day. For a long time I could -not sleep amid the murmur of Russian words, which I -mechanically endeavoured to imitate and to interpret as I lay -amid the dead salmon, till at last I fell asleep, my last connected -thought being, that I had not to row any more. Next -day Voronin and his trusty harpooner, Maximin Iwanoff, -insisted on Weyprecht and myself occupying their own cabin, -and as we could utter no other Russian word than ‘khorosho’ -(good), we were obliged to do as they wished. The ship was -now watered, and the nets which had been stretched out were -hauled on board, the crew, as they worked, singing their wild -“Volkslieder” excellently well.</p> - -<p>21. On the 26th we left the small quiet bay, the scene of -our happy rescue, and with a favourable wind from the north, -the vessel ploughed her way through the waves of the White -Sea. Now began the time of letter writing; many of us, -indeed, had commenced this employment even before we left -the boats. On the 27th and 28th, we had stormy weather -from the north-west, and the high seas we saw told us what -our fate would have been had we tried to cross this sea in our -small boats. On the 29th, we sighted Black Cape on the -“Murmann coast,” and for two hundred miles we ran under -the low, rocky coast of Lapland. We often fell in with ships -sailing from or to Archangel, and in our own eyes we seemed -the only barbarians amid the commerce and civilization of the -world. We sent deputations to every ship that came within -hailing distance to beg tobacco or sheets of writing paper, -without, however, betraying our incognito. We desired to be -the first to give news of ourselves by the telegraph. Contrary -winds compelled our captain to tack often, and the delay -seemed to our impatience purgatory itself.</p> - -<p>22. At length on the 3rd of September—the 812th day -from the day we sailed from Bremerhaven—we sighted the -little seaport of Vardö. Forthwith the Austrian flag was -displayed at the foretop of the <i>Nikolai</i>, while each of us, clad -in his fur-coat, stood with beating hearts on deck ready to -land. Soon she ran into the little harbour, and about three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> -o’clock in the afternoon of that same day we put our feet on -Norwegian soil with the glad thought that our dangers and -our toils were over at last. While Weyprecht attended to -our money affairs, I hastened, amid the wondering looks of -the inhabitants, to the telegraph station to despatch the news -of our happy rescue and safe arrival, and as each message -sped on its way, our hearts glowed with joy as we thought -that in a few minutes friends and countrymen would learn -the good tidings and share in our joy.</p> - -<p>23. On the 5th the mail steamer from Vardö to Hamburg -took us on board, and stopping at Tromsö, we put ashore, -with many adieus, our friend and companion Captain Carlsen. -He had been one of those who believed that we should -return home by Behring Straits; but here he landed, a -touching instance of the vanity of human hopes. Apart from -his linguistic acquirements—for he had learnt to speak several -languages on board the <i>Tegetthoff</i>—the hardy old Arctic -voyager went ashore with three things only; his carefully -preserved reindeer coat, his wig, and trusty walrus spear. -But all our hearts burned to reach home—home for its own -sake; for no presentiment had any of us of the honours that -awaited our arrival there. The favours shown to us by our -monarch, the enthusiasm which greeted the news of the -discoveries we had so marvellously made, the sympathy so -abundantly expressed for our sufferings, made us feel that we -were rewarded far beyond our deserts, and that we had gained -the highest men can gain—the recognition of their services -by their fellow-countrymen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX.</h2> - -<h3 id="APPENDIX_I">I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS.</span></h3> - -<p>The meteorological observations were always taken by the officers of -the watch, by Lieutenant Brosch, Midshipman Orel, the boatswain -Lusina, and Captain Carlsen. Krisch, our engineer, who shared in -this labour during the first winter was exempted from it in the second -year, owing to his failing health. Readings of the thermometers -were taken every two hours; observations to ascertain the moisture -of the air were made by the psychrometer during the summer months; -the direction and force of the winds, the amount of precipitation, the -form and character of the clouds were carefully noted down. As -their labours were zealously and conscientiously carried out for one -year and a half, and chiefly in regions never before visited, the results -are of peculiar importance.<a name="FNanchor_59" id="FNanchor_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> The direction and force of the winds -seemed in the first year to be nearly in equilibrium, save that in the -south air-currents from the south-west generally prevailed, while in -the north the prevailing air-currents were from the north-east.</p> - -<p>Thunder-storms never occurred; even on the northern shores of -Siberia they are seldom experienced. The forms of the clouds in -Arctic regions have never the sharply-defined contours of those in -more southerly latitudes. In summer they increase in fulness, and -in winter they consist chiefly of vapours and frosty mists which throw -dark inky hues over the brightness of the nights. The proverbial -clearness of the heavens, of which Koldewey, Kane, Middendorf, -and Wrangel speak, is found in the high north, as also in the tropics -only over the greater masses of land. “The clouds,” says Weyprecht, -“have either the uniform dull grey aspect of elevated fog, or they -assume the cirrus form, and the latter is not as with us the fleecy -mass rising high above the horizon, but consists of masses of mist -rising little above it, which very seldom assume the sharply-defined -forms which are seen in more southern regions. Instead of clouds -gloomy fogs prevail, sometimes rising high, sometimes also close to -the ground as if they were nailed to it. Four-and-twenty hours of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span> -clear weather rarely occur in summer; generally after shining for a -few hours the sun disappears behind dense fogs. Dull and gloomy -as these fogs are, they maintain the conditions which we find in the -regions of ice,—they prevent the escape of the sun’s heat and they -act more potently on the ice than its direct rays.” With respect to -the winds he adds: “Until the autumn of the second year, the -winds were of a very variable nature. In the neighbourhood of -Novaya Zemlya we had many south-east and south-west winds; in -the spring the winds were more from the north-east. A prevailing -direction of the wind was only discernible when we lay in our -second winter under Franz-Josef Land. Here all snow-storms and -about 50 per cent. of the winds come from east-north-east. These -winds were mostly accompanied by clouds, which were dispersed -only when the wind veered more to the north. The force of the -wind is mitigated by the ice. Very frequently fog masses are seen -driving rapidly at no very great height above the ice, while below -them there is almost a calm. In the January of the two years we -passed in the north, it was very interesting to observe the struggle -between the cold winds from the north and the warmer winds of the -south. The approach of warm winds from the south and south-west -brought masses of snow, and in a short time produced a rise of -temperature amounting to 67° to 79° F.”</p> - -<p>Falls of snow take place at all seasons of the year; but as they -generally occur accompanied with strong winds, it is not very easy -to determine the depth of the layers. Apart from extreme cases of -snow-drifts the mean depth of the snow on the ice during winter -was about three feet, and it is more considerable under the land than -at a distance from it. Rain falls almost exclusively only during the -few months of summer, and generally in fine showers, never in the -sudden torrents of southern latitudes. More rain fell with us in our -second than in our first summer.</p> - -<p>I was impossible, owing to our continual change of place, to give -the barometrical means for any particular locality; in the following -table, therefore, the monthly mean only is noted. The thermometers -we used were placed at the distance of five-and-twenty paces from -the ship, so that they were pretty well isolated from any influence -due to it, and they were raised four feet above the surface of the -snow.<a name="FNanchor_60" id="FNanchor_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a></p> - -<p>Readings of the minimum thermometer were taken at noon every -day in the year, and of the black-bulb thermometer at different -times of the day during the summer. The time of the day when the -temperature reached its maximum was irregular during the winter; it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> -occurred about two o’clock in the afternoon when the spring was well -advanced. As I have already inserted in the course of the narrative -the temperatures of each day in the month, it will be enough for the -purposes of a general survey to give here a summary of the mean -monthly temperatures and of the maximum and minimum extremes:—</p> - -<table class="borders" summary="A summary of the mean monthly temperatures and of the maximum and minimum extremes"> - <tr class="smaller"> - <th></th> - <th>Mean of the<br />Barometrical<br />Measurements.</th> - <th colspan="2">Mean of the<br />Monthly<br />Temperature.</th> - <th colspan="2">Maximum.<br />R.</th> - <th colspan="2">Minimum.<br />R.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1872.</td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July</td> - <td class="center bl">—</td> - <td colspan="2" class="center bl">—</td> - <td colspan="2" class="center bl">—</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">2·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>August</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">750·99</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">0·41</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">6·5</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">5·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>September</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">748·92</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">7·34</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">0·4</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">18·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>October</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">751·8</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">13·5</span></td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">2·0</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">26·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>November</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">757·27</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">19·52</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">2·3</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">28·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>December</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">757·11</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">23·95</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">14·9</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">28·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1873.</td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>January</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">753·69</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">18·1</span></td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">2·1</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">35·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>February</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">741·62</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">27·95</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·8</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">36·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>March</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">748·21</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">25·52</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">14·4</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">33·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">753·04</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">17·49</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">6·8</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">30·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>May</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">756·58</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">7·12</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·9</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">18·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>June</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">751·3</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">0·41</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">8·1</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">8·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">750·23</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">1·26</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">6·4</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>August</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">749·33</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">0·32</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">4·4</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">4·6</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>September</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">747·79</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">3·32</td> - <td class="center bl">+</td> - <td class="tdr">1·3</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">12·4</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>October</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">745·64</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">13·93</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">2·9</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">23·1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>November</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">748·2</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">21·21</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">6·2</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">31·8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>December</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">744·98</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">23·08</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">10·1</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">34</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1874.</td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - <td class="bl"></td> - <td></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>January</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">732·97</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr"><span class="fraction">19·6</span></td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·7</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">36·7</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>February</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">744·92</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">22·83</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·7</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">35·5</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>March</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">742·25</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">18·46</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">1·0</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">36·9</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April</td> - <td class="pad1 bl">751·15</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">12·32</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">2·8</td> - <td class="center bl">-</td> - <td class="tdr">22·8</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><i>Note.</i>—The temperatures are given in Réaumur degrees. By adding one-fourth, -the numbers given in the three last columns will be reduced to Centigrade degrees.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="APPENDIX_II">II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">DIRECTION AND FORCE OF THE WIND, -FROM OBSERVATIONS ON BOARD THE “TEGETTHOFF.”</span></h3> - -<table class="borders" summary="Direction and force of the wind, -from observations on board the “Tegetthoff”"> - <tr> - <th rowspan="2"></th> - <th colspan="2">Mean Direction and Force.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th>Direction.</th> - <th>Force.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1872.</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July 15</td> - <td class="center bl">N53°E</td> - <td class="center bl">1·36</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>August 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S56°W</td> - <td class="center bl">1·15</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>September 30</td> - <td class="center bl">S45°W</td> - <td class="center bl">0·54</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>October 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S23°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·43</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>November 30</td> - <td class="center bl">S71°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>December 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S44°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·64</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1873.</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>January 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S64°W</td> - <td class="center bl">1·24</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>February 28</td> - <td class="center bl">N32°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·26</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>March 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N37°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·63</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April 30</td> - <td class="center bl">N61°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·53</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>May 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N5°W</td> - <td class="center bl">0·53</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>June 30</td> - <td class="center bl">S79°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·97</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>July 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N74°W</td> - <td class="center bl">0·82</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>August 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S48°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·31</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>September 30</td> - <td class="center bl">S53°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·14</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>October 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N42°E</td> - <td class="center bl">1·82</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>November 30</td> - <td class="center bl">N54°E</td> - <td class="center bl">1·10</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>December 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N66°E</td> - <td class="center bl">1·21</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">1874.</td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - <td class="center bl"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>January 31</td> - <td class="center bl">S70°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·93</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>February 28</td> - <td class="center bl">N47°E</td> - <td class="center bl">1·16</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>March 31</td> - <td class="center bl">N59°W</td> - <td class="center bl">0·83</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>April 30</td> - <td class="center bl">N80°E</td> - <td class="center bl">0·94</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<h2>FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Polynia</i>, a Russian term for an open water space.—Glossary in Kane’s <i>Arctic -Explorations</i>, vol. i., p. 14.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Ice-fields have been seen there equal to the superficial extent of a German -principality, or even to the Duchy of Salzburg.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Geikie’s <i>Great Ice Age</i>, pp. 38, 39.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> In the North Atlantic Ocean down to 40° N. L.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Parry’s <i>Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage</i>, 1819-20, -p. 298. 4to. London, 1821.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Sir J. C. Ross’s <i>Southern Antarctic Voyage</i>, vol. ii., p. 151.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Sir John Ross—<i>Second Voyage of Discovery to the Arctic Ocean</i>, p. 180; 4to. -London, 1835.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The nautical mile or “knot,” which is about an ordinary mile and a sixth, is -meant.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Dock</i>, an opening in the ice, artificial or natural, offering protection. Kane’s -<i>Glossary of Arctic Terms</i>, vol. i., p. 13.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Mercator was not an Englishman; he was a Dutchman, born 1512, died 1594.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Three centuries ago, Plancius, the Dutch geographer, devised this for the -North Pole, while Barros, the Portuguese historiographer, did the same for the -South Pole.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> As a corrective to this rather extreme statement, see Clement Markham’s -<i>Threshold of the Unknown Region</i>, 4th Edition, pp. 383-393.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> A decoction prepared by Dr. Kepes, the physician of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Lieutenant Brosch had the entire care of the victualling department, and -deserved our heartiest thanks for the skill and self-sacrifice with which he performed -his duty.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Formerly Captain in the Austrian Merchant Service.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Our position was then in 76° 22′ N. Lat., 63° 3′ E. Long.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> A decoction prepared by Kepes.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Parry mentions, as a fact illustrative of the increase of moisture and its condensation -into ice, that about a hundred hundredweights of ice were once removed -from the lower quarters of the <i>Hecla</i>, which had accumulated there from the breath, -the steam caused by cooking, and the moisture brought down by the clothes of -the men.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> The noise produced by such collisions cannot be more fittingly expressed.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Hall’s contemporaneous expedition excepted.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> See Appendix.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> I take this opportunity of stating that the originals of nearly all the illustrations -of this book were drawn on the spot from nature, and that they have been reproduced -as they were drawn.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> On the 24th of November the thermometer marked -14° F. in the ship’s hole. -The screw propeller had been fast frozen a month before.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> We had brought 1,400 lbs. of it from Bremerhaven.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Parry’s winter night of 1819-20 lasted eighty-four days; Ross’s, in the Gulf -of Boothia, fifty days; Kane’s, in Rennssalaer harbour, 113 days, and Hayes’ -123. In the latter case, however, the mountains on his southern horizon were the -cause why the sun was not earlier visible.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> It has often been asserted that sound accompanying the Aurora has been heard -in the Shetland Isles, and in Siberia; but all scientific travellers protest against -this. Franklin, who at first believed in this alleged phenomenon, afterwards retracted -his opinion, and was convinced that the noise proceeded from terrestrial -causes.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Experience acquired both in Greenland and in Franz-Josef Land convinces me -that autumn is to be preferred to spring for sledge-journeys.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28" id="Footnote_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> This is the reason why the English North Pole Expedition has engaged the -services of two mountaineers accustomed to glacier travelling.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29" id="Footnote_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> I take this opportunity of fulfilling a duty of gratitude, when I add that in our -equipment we followed, in every respect, the tried and tested advice of Admiral -McClintock, and that to this we owed for the most part such successes as we -achieved.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30" id="Footnote_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Broad runners facilitate progress through deep snow. March 7, 1874, we -scarcely could move a sledge of medium size with its load, though we afterwards -transported the same load easily with a sledge with broader runners; and the -former became available when we fastened a pair of Lapp snow-shoes on its -runners.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31" id="Footnote_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> <i>Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole</i>, pp. 145, 146, 4to. London: -1828.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32" id="Footnote_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> <i>Narrative</i>, &c. Intro. p. xiv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33" id="Footnote_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> See description of Parry’s Boats—<i>Narrative</i>, &c. Intro. pp. xi.-xii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34" id="Footnote_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> This was the maximum of cold I observed during my three Polar expeditions.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35" id="Footnote_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Hayes mentions a storm occurring at -27° F.; but this is probably an error -of the press.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36" id="Footnote_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> In Greenland I once heard at the distance of 800 paces a conversation between -Börgen and Copeland carried on in the usual tone.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37" id="Footnote_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Sir John Ross frequently did this, sending the bullet through a solid board. -The freezing point of quicksilver is -40° F. It varies however between -40° and --45° F., according to the purity of the metal.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38" id="Footnote_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> It may easily happen in such weather that travellers on the ice should have -great difficulty in finding the ship, though they should pass by it at less than 200 -paces distant. The direction of the wind contributes but little towards the ascertaining -of their position; amid hummocks of ice the wind constantly changes. On -the 6th of March, Haller and I wandered about for hours amid drifting snow-storms. -Pekel, who came to us from the ship, guided us rightly.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39" id="Footnote_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> There are no glaciers on the coast of Siberia, and the glaciers of Spitzbergen are -not, it seems, large enough to detach icebergs. May not, therefore, the icebergs -which gather at Hope Island, as well as those which are met with on the northern -coasts of Siberia, originate in the glaciers of Franz-Josef Land? Barentz saw, in -August, 1596, on the northern coasts of Novaya Zemlya, as many as 400 icebergs.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40" id="Footnote_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> This of course does not exclude the possibility of finding appropriate winter -harbours in those Sounds we were unable to visit; most probably such occur in -Markham Sound, which abounds in fiords.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41" id="Footnote_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> This applies especially to the region lying to the north of 81° 10′.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42" id="Footnote_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Schönau, near Teplitz in Bohemia, my birthplace.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43" id="Footnote_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Sumbu and Pekel were my own dogs.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44" id="Footnote_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Named after Dove, the celebrated German physicist.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45" id="Footnote_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Parry reached, on the frozen sea to the north of Spitzbergen, 82° 45′ N.L.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46" id="Footnote_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Kane’s dogs died principally in consequence of being fed chiefly on salt meat, -and Hayes’s from a disease among dogs which spreads over all West Greenland. -Epidemics of this kind break out among the dogs of the Eskimos and of the -Siberian tribes. Middendorf mentions, however, that canine madness never occurs -among the dogs of the latter.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47" id="Footnote_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Snow-water was for two years the only water we used, and as none of us -became goîtred, we were a living refutation of the opinion shared by many that its -constant use generates this disease in the inhabitants of the Alps.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48" id="Footnote_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> On board the ship the temperature at the same time was -20° F.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49" id="Footnote_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> It might have been expected that seamen would have been acquainted with -the use of the compass, though the instruments they had at their command were -too small to determine the declination with precision.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50" id="Footnote_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Franklin, speaking of his experience during his first journey, says that their -diet of animal food had rather weakened than strengthened their powers. An -Eskimo, on the other hand, often consumes 20 lbs. of the flesh of a seal in a day, -and seems to thrive on it—a proof how the mode of living of a savage is no rule -for civilized man.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51" id="Footnote_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Our food, which we always took as hot as possible, had made our tongues and -gums as hard as leather, so that we could not discriminate what we ate. Our great -desire was not for flesh, but for white bread, potatoes, and milk.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52" id="Footnote_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> On May 5 a bear got away from us through a bad shot, but a second was -killed just as he had attacked Torossy. May 9, again, a bad shot scared away a -bear; on the eleventh one was killed by Herr Orel. This bear had already -received a ball in his shoulder, and a second in his head an inch and a half under -the right eye.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53" id="Footnote_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> With three boats, two of which were whale-boats, each 26 feet long and 7 feet -broad. His crew wore Eskimo clothing, and, strange to say, some of them had -gutta-percha masks. Parry’s towards the North Pole in 1827, Kane’s in 1855, -and our own, have much in common: but the greatest difficulties were on our side.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54" id="Footnote_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> “Aussingen” is a sailor’s word for a particular rhythm to which they pull in -time.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55" id="Footnote_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> It was Parry’s experience also that nothing melts the ice like rain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56" id="Footnote_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> The wind maintained its westerly character, and we drifted, as we had so often -before, to the <i>right</i> of its direction.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57" id="Footnote_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Baer brought home from Novaya Zemlya ninety species of Phanerogams. -According to an observation of Mojssejew, June 18, 1839, the thermometer in the -sun stood at 93° F., and 59° F. in the shade.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58" id="Footnote_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> On older charts it is still separated by a sound from the mainland. The layers -of drift-wood, which we found everywhere at a considerable height above the level -of the sea, show beyond a doubt that the coast of Novaya Zemlya has gradually -risen; but as in those latitudes this wood rots only after centuries, we have no -measure to estimate the rate of this movement.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59" id="Footnote_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> These have not as yet been published.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60" id="Footnote_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Thermometers should always hang freely; when they are enclosed in cases they -give false values, especially if the cases should be filled with snow. In our first -winter we were obliged on account of the ice-pressures to suspend our thermometers -on the ship in such cases, and there can be no doubt that their readings were -too high. Sometimes, however, they were too low, when the thermometers came -in contact with the snow on the ship. Scoresby, Parry, and we ourselves observed -that the temperature of the snow-covering sometimes sunk in clear winter nights -some degrees below the temperature of the air.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="INDEX">INDEX.</h2> - -<ul> - -<li class="ifrst">A</li> - -<li class="indx">Actiniæ, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alcohol, the best fuel, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amphipoda, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amygdaloids, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Annelides, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antlers of reindeer, superstition respecting, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arctic petrel, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arctic sea, temperature of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ascent of Cape Brünn, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Auk, the, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_380">380</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Cape, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aulis, the harbour of, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Auroras, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">described, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">sign of bad weather, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">influence of, on the magnetic needle, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">described by Weyprecht, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Austria Sound, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">B</li> - -<li class="indx">Balloon, use of, recommended, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barentz, referred to, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">food of his party, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">islands, described by Prof. Höfer, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">incorrect maps of, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">sighted, <a href="#Page_378">378</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basaltic formation of Franz-Josef Land, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bay-ice, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beaches, raised, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bear Island, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bears, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">winter hole, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bears’ flesh, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bessels, Dr., <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Birds, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Black Cape, Novaya Zemlya, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Books in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boots, sail-cloth, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bottles, thrown out, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Britwin, Cape, <a href="#Page_384">384</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bryopogon jubatus, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Buellia stigmatea, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bunting, snow, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">C</li> - -<li class="indx">Cairn erected, <a href="#Page_383">383</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Calking the boats, <a href="#Page_373">373</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cape Look-out, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Frankfurt, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Nassau, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">North, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carlsen, Captain Olaf, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_389">389</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cartridges, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Catabrosa algida, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cattarinich, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cerastium alpinum, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cetraria nivalis, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Climate of Novaya Zemlya, <a href="#Page_379">379</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clothes, suitable, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coal, consumption of, in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">brown, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">house broken up, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coast-water, navigating in, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coffins, the three, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cold, <a href="#Page_246">246, <i>et seqq.</i></a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">effect on man, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Colour of ice, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">of sea, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coltsfoot, gathered in Novaya Zemlya, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Commander, qualities requisite for, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Condensation, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cooking apparatus for sledging, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cost of Polar expedition, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constants, magnetic, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Course of <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crevasse, fall of sledge into, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span>Crew of <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crinoidæ, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crown Prince Rudolf’s Land, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crow’s-nest, erected in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crustaceæ, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Currents, sea, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">of the Obi and Jenisej, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">air and equatorial, meeting of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">warm, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cyperacites, grass of, as foot-coverings, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">D</li> - -<li class="indx">Darkness, effects of, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Deflection on coast of Greenland, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Depôt of provisions, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Diarrhœa, a consequence of extreme cold, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Divers, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Divine service celebrated in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Docks in ice, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dogs, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">death of, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dolerite rocks, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dove, Greenland, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dove, Prof., on the temperature at the Pole, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">glaciers named after, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dress of the Arctic sledger, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Driftwood, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_383">383</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dunen Bay, <a href="#Page_383">383</a>, <a href="#Page_387">387</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">E</li> - -<li class="indx">Easter Sunday, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eclipse of the sun, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eider duck, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Equipment for return journey, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Erratics, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Evaporation from ice, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Expedition, second German, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">cost of various expeditions, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">equipment of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">F</li> - -<li class="indx">Fables of old navigators, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fenzl, Prof., <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Finnmark, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fish described, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flag, Austro-Hungarian, planted, 82·5° N. L., <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flea crab, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fligely, Cape, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Floe, or field-ice, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">age of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">colour of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Food, allowance, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Forget-me-nots in Novaya Zemlya, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fossils in Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fox, white, as food, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Franklin, diet of his party, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Franz-Josef Land surveyed, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">climate, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frost-bite, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">remedies for, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fugloe, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Furs, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Fury</i>, the, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">G</li> - -<li class="indx">Gadus, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geikie’s <i>Great Ice Age</i>, extract from, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Germania</i>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Cape, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geological formation, Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gillis’ Land, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glacier, Dove, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Forbes, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Middendorf, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">insects, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Glaciers, of Novaya Zemlya, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">of Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">calving of, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in Franz-Josef Land, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">height of, <a href="#Page_262"><i>ib.</i></a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">colour of, <a href="#Page_262"><i>ib.</i></a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">motion of, observed, <a href="#Page_344">344</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gloves, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grasses, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greenland, described, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grog, necessary, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gulf stream, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gull, burgomaster, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">robber, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Ross’s, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gulyas, soup, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gyrophora anthracina, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">H</li> - -<li class="indx">Haller, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Hansa</i>, the, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Health in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hellwald, Cape, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hippolyte (Payeri), <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Höfer, Prof., his description of Barentz Isles, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hohenlohe Island, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Holothuriæ, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hoods, knitted, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hope Island, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Horizon visible from <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hornsundstind, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hyalonema, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hydrochloric acid as remedy for frost-bite, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span>Hyperstenite rocks, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">I</li> - -<li class="indx">Ice, bay, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">barrier, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">blink, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">birds, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">bergs, height of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">places where they collect, <a href="#Page_9"><i>ib.</i></a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">oversetting of, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">drift southwards like biers, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">forty feet high, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in Austria Sound, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">detachment of, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in Rudolf’s Land, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-fields, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-foot, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-holes, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-needles, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-pressures, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice (sea), specific gravity of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ice-sheet over Arctic regions, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Iceland Knot, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Iceland moss, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Imbricaria stygia, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Instruments required for sledge journey, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Isbjörn</i>, description of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">beset, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">meets <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Isopoda, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">J</li> - -<li class="indx">Journal, passages from, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356-359</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jurassic formation in Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">K</li> - -<li class="indx">Kaiser Franz-Josef’s Land discovered, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">explored, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258-270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kepes, Dr., <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kittiwake, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Klotz, his singular appearance, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Knot (Iceland), <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Korethrastes, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Krisch, death of, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">L</li> - -<li class="indx">Lamp used, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Land, new, discovered, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">visited, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Land-ice, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Languages, four, spoken in <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leads or waterways, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leigh Smith, Mr., his photographs, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lichens, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">used as tobacco, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lignite, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Liparis gelatinosus, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Littrow, Cape, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lumme, the, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lütke, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">M</li> - -<li class="indx">M’Clintock, on sledge travelling, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">his adventures related to the men, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Magnetic constants observed, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Magnetic readings, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mallemoke, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Matoschkin Schar, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Meals, usual, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Medusæ (Beroë) found, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mess-room described, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Meteorological observations, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Middendorf Glacier, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Moss, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">N</li> - -<li class="indx">Navigation, in coast water, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">only possible in summer, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">best season for, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nassau, Cape, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Night, the Polar, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Nikolai</i>, rescue by the, <a href="#Page_384">384</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noise made by ice-pressures, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noon, December 21st 1873, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nordenskjöld, Prof., <a href="#Page_261">261</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Fiord, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Normans, the, the first Polar navigators, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">North-East Passage, <a href="#Page_21">21-23</a></li> - -<li class="indx">North-West Passage, <a href="#Page_21">21-24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Novaya Zemlya Sea, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">survey of necessary, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">coast of, <a href="#Page_379">379</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">climate of, <a href="#Page_379"><i>ib.</i></a></li> - -<li class="indx">Novaya Zemlya, glaciers of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O</li> - -<li class="indx">Orel, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ostjak dogs, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Owl, snowy, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">P</li> - -<li class="indx">Pachtussow, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pack-ice, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Papaver nudicale, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paper smoked instead of tobacco, <a href="#Page_372">372</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Parhelia, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Parry referred to and quoted, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pay of different Arctic crews, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Penny, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Petermann, Dr., on the influence of the Gulf Stream, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Petroleum used, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span>frozen in lamp, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plancius, his theory of an open Polar sea, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plants, collection of, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">tropical, found in Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plasticity of glacier ice, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polar question, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polar sea (open), its existence questioned, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Seas, North and South compared, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pole, North, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polynia, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polypes, hydroid, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Provisions fail, <a href="#Page_373">373</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">remnant of, divided, <a href="#Page_384">384</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prince Charles’s foreland, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pycnogonida, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pyrites formed, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">R</li> - -<li class="indx">Rain, its effect in breaking up the ice, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Return to Europe resolved on, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Reward offered by the English and Dutch for the discovery of the North-West Passage, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rhizocarpon geographicum, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rocks of Franz-Josef Land, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rorqual (whale), <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ross, Sir James, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ross, Sir John, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rotge, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russians, kindness of, <a href="#Page_386">386</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">S</li> - -<li class="indx">Salm Island, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sandoe, Island of, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saxifrage on the Barentz Isles, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in Franz-Josef Land, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">School on the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scoresby, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scurvy, causes of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">signs of, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in various expeditions compared, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sea-ice, specific gravity of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sea-swallow, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sea-temperature, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seals, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_364">364</a>, <a href="#Page_374">374</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ship, best shape of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">small preferred, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">tonnage of different Arctic ships, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shrimps, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silene acaulis, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sketches, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sketching on the ice, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sledge journey, first, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">second, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">third, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sledge travelling, <a href="#Page_216">216-221</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">clothing for, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sledges drawn by men and dogs, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">equipment of, <a href="#Page_222">222-234</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">description of, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">loading of, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">boats for, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in a snow-storm, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">abandoned, <a href="#Page_377">377</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sleeping bag described, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smith’s Sound, route through, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow-blindness, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow-eaters, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow-huts described, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow-line, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow, fallen, described, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">block, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">constant downfall of, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in extreme cold, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Snow, red, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sonklar glacier, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sound propagated freely in Polar regions, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sound, crackling at edge of ice, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Soundings, table of, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Speed, rate of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sponges, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sporastatia Morio, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Spring (1873), <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stove used on <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Summer (1873), <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">end of second, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sun-rise (1873), <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">(1874), <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sun, power of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sweet-water ice, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Swell of the ocean, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">heard, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">T</li> - -<li class="indx">Tactics of a ship in ice, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tea recommended, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">comfort of, <a href="#Page_355">355</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">leaves Bremerhaven, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">crew of, described, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">at Tromsoe, <a href="#Page_76"><i>ib.</i></a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">beset, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">meets the <i>Isbjörn</i>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">finally beset, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">table of course of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">shored up, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">abandoned, <a href="#Page_348">348</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tegetthoff, Cape, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temperature of sea, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">variations of, in ship, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">low, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thaw water, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thirst, Arctic, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tobacco, valuable, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tonnage of different Arctic ships, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Torossy, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trace for each sledge-dog, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tromsoe, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tropical plants found in Spitzbergen, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tusselago farfara, <a href="#Page_381">381</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tyrol, Cape, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">U</li> - -<li class="indx">Ukase granted by the Russian government, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Umbellula, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Umbilicaria arctica, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Usnea melaxantha, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">V</li> - -<li class="indx">Vegetation of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Victory</i>, stores of the, in 1829, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vienna, Cape, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Volcanic formation of Arctic regions, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Voronin, Feodor, Captain of the <i>Nikolai</i>, <a href="#Page_384">384</a>, <a href="#Page_388">388</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">W</li> - -<li class="indx">Walrus, the, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Water-sky, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Weyprecht, Lieut., <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Whales, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">white, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">White Sea crossed, <a href="#Page_388">388</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Willoughby, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wilczek, Graf, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Island, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wine necessary, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">chemical, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">increased allowance of, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Winter harbour, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Winter night, length of, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">darkness of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wintering spots of Russian expeditions, <a href="#Page_382">382</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wüllersdorf, Urbair, Admiral, his remarks on the course of the <i>Tegetthoff</i>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Z</li> - -<li class="indx">Zaninovich falls into a crevasse, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zoological collection, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></li> - -</ul> - -<p class="titlepage">THE END.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="center larger"><b>MR. 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Sc., <i>Form and Habit in -Flowering Plants</i>.</p> - -<p>Mr. <span class="smcap">J. N. Lockyer</span>, F. R. S., <i>Spectrum Analysis</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Michael Foster</span>, M. D., <i>Protoplasm and the Cell Theory</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">H. Charlton Bastian</span>, M. D., F. R. S., <i>The Brain as an -Organ of Mind</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">A. C. Ramsay</span>, LL. D., F. R. S., <i>Earth Sculpture: Hills -Valleys, Mountains, Plains, Rivers, Lakes; how they were -produced, and how they have been destroyed</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Rudolph Virchow</span> (Berlin University), <i>Morbid Physiological -Action</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Claude Bernard</span>, <i>History of the Theories of Life</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">H. Saint-Claire Deville</span>, <i>An Introduction to General -Chemistry</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Wurtz</span>, <i>Atoms and the Atomic Theory</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">De Quatrefages</span>, <i>The Human Race</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Lacaze-Duthiers</span>, <i>Zoölogy since Cuvier</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Berthelot</span>, <i>Chemical Synthesis</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">C. A. Young</span>, Ph. D. (of Dartmouth College), <i>The Sun</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Ogden N. Rood</span>, (Columbia College, New York), <i>Modern -Chromatics and its Relations to Art and Industry</i>.</p> - -<p>Dr. <span class="smcap">Eugene Lommel</span> (University of Erlangen), <i>The Nature of -Light</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">J. Rosenthal</span>, <i>General Physiology of Muscles and Nerves</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">James D. Dana</span>, M. A., LL. D., <i>On Cephalization; or, -Head-Characters in the Gradation and Progress of Life</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">S. W. Johnson</span>, M. A., <i>On the Nutrition of Plants</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Austin Flint</span>, Jr., M. D., <i>The Nervous System, and its -Relation to the Bodily Functions</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Bernstein</span> (University of Halle), <i>The Five Senses of Man</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Ferdinand Cohn</span> (Breslau University), <i>Thallophytes -(Algæ, Lichens, Fungi)</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Hermann</span> (University of Zurich), <i>On Respiration</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Leuckart</span> (University of Leipsic), <i>Outlines of Animal -Organization</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Liebreich</span> (University of Berlin), <i>Outlines of Toxicology</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Kundt</span> (University of Strasburg), <i>On Sound</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Rees</span> (University of Erlangen), <i>On Parasitic Plants</i>.</p> - -<p>Prof. <span class="smcap">Steinthal</span> (University of Berlin), <i>Outlines of the Science -of Language</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">P. 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