The Open Polar Sea: a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole, in the Schooner 'United States.'

Front matter

'■ ■ THE OPEN POLAR SEA: A NAERATIVE OF A VOYAGE OF* DISCOVERY TOWARDS THE NORT' POLE, IN THE SCHOONER "UNITED STATES." Elf Dr. I. I. HAYES. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON, 1867. Efltered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by I. I. Hayes, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. / HAD INTENDED TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO WILLIAM PARKER FOULKE, Of Philadelphia, To whom I am indebted for all that a powerful intellect and a generous friendship could do, to give practical shape to my plans, and to insure success to an enterprise in which I had embarked, with the simple advantage of an aim, and with no better guide than the impulse of youth : but since it is denied me to pay that tribute of my admiration to one of the noblest of men, I now inscribe it to his MEMORY.

Preface

. The design of this book may be briefly explained. I have attempted little more than a personal narra tive, endeavoring to select from my abundant notes such scenes and incidents of adventure as seemed to me best calculated to bring before the mind of the reader, not merely the history of our voyage, but a general view of the Arctic regions, — its scenery and its life, with a cursory glance at those physical forces which, in their results, give characteristic ex pression to that remote quarter of the world. A day of months, followed by a night of months, where the mean annual temperature rises but little above zero, must necessarily clothe the air and the land scape with a sentiment difficult to appreciate, or, I might perhaps say, feel, without actual observation. I shall be abundantly rewarded if I have succeeded in impressing upon the reader's mind, with any de gree of vividness, the wonders and the grandeur of Nature as unfolded to us under the Arctic sky.

I know it is usually thought that a book of trav els should be simply a diary of events and incidents ; but this, of necessity, involves a ceaseless repetition, and it seemed to me that I would do better to drop

PREFACE.

. VI from my diary all that did not appear as immedi ately relevant to the scene ; and, indeed, where the occasion appeared to require concentration, to aban don the diary altogether, and use the more concise form of descriptive narrative. The reader will observe that I have not attempted, in any sense, to write a work of Science. True, the purpose of the voyage was purely a scientific one, — its chief object and aim being to explore the boundaries of the Open Polar Sea ; at least to de termine if such a sea did exist, as had been so often asserted ; but while I have given a general discus sion of the conditions of the Polar waters and the Polar ice, and have recorded many new facts in vari ous departments of physical and natural science, yet I have desired to treat the subject in a manner which, as it seemed to me, would be most acceptable to the general reader, rather than to the scientific student, — preferring to direct the latter to those more strictly scientific channels where my materials have been or are about being published.

Soon aster returning from the North, my principal records were placed at the disposal of the Smithso nian Institution at Washington ; and I have employed such leisure as I could command in their elaboration and discussion, — the principal labor, however, falling upon Mr. Charles A. Schott, Assistant, United States Coast Survey, who brought to the task the best fac ulties of a well-stored mind, and unusual powers of patient investigation ; and papers, giving a full

PREFACE.

. VII analysis of the magnetic, meteorological, astronomical, geographical, pendulum, and tidal observations, were pre pared, and were accepted for publication in the Smith sonian " Contributions to Knowledge." I regret to say that the publication of these papers has been much delayed. Deeming it desirable that some of the general conclusions to which we had arrived in our discussion of the observations should be given to the world without further postponement, I proposed to embody some leading facts in a short Appendix to this volume. Upon submitting the matter to the learned Secretary of the Institution, it was, however, claimed by him that, since I had intrusted the mate rials to his care, the Institution now possessed the exclusive right to whatever advantage was to be de rived from their publication.

To a proposition so eminently reasonable I readily assented, especially as I was informed that the papers were already in type and were to be published immediately ; and, considering myself thus absolved from any further responsibility to the scientific world for the long delay, I accordingly abandoned the idea of the Appendix. The Chart exhibiting the track and discoveries of my voyage, and of my various sledge journeys, was claimed, in like manner, as the exclusive property of the Smithsonian Institution, and, like the papers, was to be published immediately. Hence it is that the small map which illustrates this volume is but a copy (reduced ten diameters) of my field chart, projected on the spot from my unrevised materials. It

PREFACE.

. is perhaps needless for me to observe that entire accuracy was not attainable in the field, inasmuch as I had neither the leisure nor the facilities for reducing the magnetic variation, nor for obtaining the absolute time. I am happy to say, however, that no greater discrepancy exists than the one which places my highest latitude two minutes too far south on the field chart ; but the reductions having been made, and a chart projected therefrom, I had con fidently relied upon this source for the correct information which the Smithsonian Institution now alone possessed. This failing me, I was obliged to fall back upon my original resources, as the time was too short for a new reduction. I am glad to say, however, that the field chart is sufficiently accurate for every practical purpose, and differs chiefly from the one prepared, with greater carefulness, and of large size, for the Smithsonian " Contributions to Knowledge," in the unimportant feature of the names applied to newly discovered places, some of which were changed aster my return.

No list of these alterations having been preserved, and being unable to get the more accurate map again into my hands from the Sec retary of the scientific institution in whose care it had been placed, as before observed, for publication, I have simply adopted the original nomenclature, and have used the names as they appear in my journal and on my field chart. This explanation is made in anticipation of the possible contingency of the Smith sonian Institution publishing the map, for some years

PREFACE.

. IX past in its possession, — an event which I think un likely to happen, and which will now be unnecessary, the more especially as I am at present engaged in a new reduction of my materials, and the projection of a new map, the publication of which, in sufficiently large form to give it topographical as well as geo graphical value, has been proposed by my distin guished and very kind friend, Dr. Augustus Peter mann, Gotha, in his Geographical Journal. Papers descriptive of the botanical collection, prepared by Mr. Elias Durandj of the algœ, by Mr. Ash mead ; of the lichens, by Professor James ; of the birds, by Mr. John Cassin ; of the invertebrata, by Dr. Wil liam Stimpson ; of the mammalia, by Dr. J. H. Slack ; of the cetacea, by Professor E. Cope ; of the infusoria, by Dr. F. W. Lewis ; of the fishes, by Dr. Theodore Gill ; and of the paleontology, by Professor F. B. Meek, have appeared from time to time in the " Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," excepting the last, which was published in the Amer ican "Journal of Arts and Sciences."

Dr. J. Atkin Meigs has in preparation a monograph on ethnology, based upon a collection of upward of one hundred and forty specimens, and I shall soon have completed a more elaborate discussion of the Greenland Gla ciers and other collateral topics than has been al lowed me by the limits and character of this work. I should do great injustice to my own feelings, did I not here express the acknowledgment of my obligation to those societies, associations, and indi-

PREFACE.

. X viduals who united themselves with me in effecting the organization of the Expedition, and who liber ally shared with me its expenses. My wishes were always promptly met by them, to the extent of their ability ; and the enterprise was sustained with a zeal and interest rarely accorded to a purely scientific purpose. That I have not before published an ac count of my voyage, or presented any detailed state ment of my discoveries to those who had a natural right to expect it, has been entirely owing to the circumstance that my time has been wholly occupied in the public service, from the period of my return until late last year ; and they will, I trust, accept as a sufficient excuse for my silence during that period, the fact that the command of an army hospital, with from three to five thousand inmates, which devolved upon me during the greater part of the recent war, allowed me little leisure for literary or scientific work.

It will also be understood that the temporary abandonment of the exploration was due to the same general cause. October 23d, 1866. TO THE EXPEDITION.* THROUGH A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHI- CAL AND STATISTICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK. EGBERT L. VIELE, Chairman; HENRY GRINNELL, Treasurer. Henry Grinnell. A. D. Bache. George Folsom. Henry E. Pierrepont. Benjamin H. Field. M. de LeRoquette. The " American Journal of Arts and Sciences " — Profs. Silliman and Dana. Egbert L. Viele. Cyrus W. Field. J. L. Graham. August Belmont. Horace B. Clafflin. George Opdyke. Brown, Brothers & Co. F. S. Stalknecht. John Jay. C. Godfrey Gunther. Peter Cooper. Wm. Remsen. J. Carson Brevoort. Lewis Rutherford. C. P. Daly. Hugh N. Camp. W. A. White. John D. Clute. Marshall Lefferts. Wolcott Gibbs. John D. Jones.

Joseph Harsen. Alexander H. Stevens. John C. Green. Samuel E. Barlow. A. H. Ward. James T. Hall. * The author has reason to suppose that there are several persons to whom the Expedition is indebted for support whose names, not having been furnished him, do not appear in this list. Desiring to make it en tirely complete, he will feel personally obliged to any one whose name is omitted to notify him of the fact, through the agency by which the sub scription was furnished. E. A. Stansbury. W. T. Blodgett. F. L. Hawks. Robert B. Winthrop. G. P. Putnam. Dr. Samuel W. Francis. Frank Moore. A. W. White. A. H. Wood. H. M. Field. Blakeman & Phinney. Harpers Brothers. John Austin Stevens. George A. Woodward. C. Detmold. George L. Samson. Henry A. Robbins. Wm. H. Allen. Albert Clark. Joseph W. Orvis.

John D. Wing. Grinnell & Bibby. Simeon Holton, Jun. Z. T. Detmold. Francis Lieber. F. E. Church. Bayard Taylor. O. M. Mitchell. Sheldon, Blakeman & Co. American Desiccating Co. Ruxton, Barker & Co. Henrietta B. Haines. Mary W. Talman. Clarence A. Seward. G. Tagliabue. Messrs. Nequs. THROUGH COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF TRADE AND ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. FRANCIS COPE, Treasurer. Wm. Parker Foulke. Joseph Harrison, Jun. Henry Cope. Childs & Peterson. Samuel J. Reeves. Edward Trotter. J. T. Alburger & Co. M. J. Wickersham. Thomas Sparks. Alfred Cope. Wm. Bucknell. John Rice. North American Life Insur- E. J. Lewis. Joseph Leidy. R. E. Rogers. Jacob P. Jones. ance Co. Delaware Mutual Ins. Co. Corn Exchange. Cope Brothers. Isaac Lea. J. B. Lippincott & Co. M. W. Baldwin. R. Pearsall.

C. Macalister. Samuel E. Stokes. Dr. T. B. Wilson. James C. Hand. Henry C. Townsend. Richard Price. Henry C. Carey. John C. Cresson. Wm. R. Lejee\ M. L. Dawson. Samuel Coffin. W. Haye. Aubrey H. Smith. C. Townsend. E. C. Knight. Buckman & Co. E. Durar. Lodge 51, A. Y. M. John Thompson. John P. Crozer. Joseph Jeanes. E. J. Levis. E. H. Butler. Blair & Wyeth. King & Baird. Sharp & Brother. Rowland & Irvin. Henry Winsor. David McConkey. Wilson, Childs & Co. A. Whitney & Son. Townsend Sharpless. David S. Brown. Edward A. Souder. Geo. N. Tatham. John A. Brown. B. Marshall. R. Marshall. Thomas Richardson & Co. D. Haddock, Jun. J. B. Morris. Israel Morris. Chas. Ellis. B. C. & R. A. Tilghman. John W. Sexton. Wm. M. Baird. James H. Orne. Joshua L. Bailey. John Grigg. William Sellers & Co. Tobias Wagner.

James Addicks. Benj. Marsh. Warren Fisher. Wm. S. Vaux. Dr. James Bond. Chas. Henry Fisher. J. Edgar Thompson. Charles E. Smith. Buzby & Co. Weaver, Fitler & Co. James Leslie & Co. McAlister & Brother. Bible Society. John H. Cooper. Frothingham, Wells & Co. Fairman Rogers. S. Hazard. Isaac J. Williams. John L. Leconte. J. C. Trautwine. Edward Hayes. Buckner & M'Connor. Burley & Co. Mrs. Dr. Bond. THROUGH COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS, ALBANY, N. Y. D. V. N. RAD- CLIFFE, Treasurer. J. H. Armsby. D. V. N. Radcliffe. Erastus Corning. Thomas W. Olcott. Eli Perry. R. C. Davis. Isaac W. Vosburg. John T. Rathbone. Alden Marsh. S. H. Ransom. R. H. Wakeman. J. O. Souner. James Kidd. A. A. Dunlap. Alanson Sumner. James W. Cook. E. Owens. A. B. Banks. Charles L. Garfield. David J. Boyd. T. Rousell & Son. W. Frothingham.

G. J. H. Thatcher. Samuel Anable. John Tracy. Cook & Palmer. THROUGH THE CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND COMMITTTEE OF THE ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, BOSTON. RICHARD BAKER, Jun., Treasurer. Richard Baker, Jun. Warren Sawyer. James Lawrence. Jonathan Phillips. Nathan Appleton. Joseph Whitney. Abbott Lawrence. George W. Lyman. Edward Wigs-lesworth, Francis Skinner. John Stetson. J. D. W. Joy. O. W. Peabody. S. A. Dix. Theodore Lyman. Richard P. Pope. David Sears. George B. Blake. Naylor & Co. Thomas Lee. Philip H. Sears. B. W. Taggard. H. O. Houghton. . Columbia Lodge. Woburn Lodge. Mt. Lebanon Lodge. Winslow Lewis Lodge. Amos A. Lawrence. Jacob Bigelow, M. D. James M. Beebe. A. W. Spencer. S. H. Walley. Wm. Gray. Merchants' Insurance Co. (through Capt. Smith.) Manufacturers' Ins. Co. J. Sawyer & Co. H. A. Whitney.

Geo. R. Russell. L. Agassiz. Wm. H. Kennard. E. Hammer (Danish Con sul.) B. A. Gould. C. C. Felton. D. N. Haskell. Wm. Baker. Daniel Paine. Prof. J. Lovering. Prof. E. N. Horsford. H. Howard. Messinger & Brothers. Middlesex Co. Wm. M. Parker. Francis Kendall. Oak Hall. C. G. Kendall. Fenno & Co. E. R. Mudge & Co, F. A. Hawley & Co. Andrew Pierce. Wilkinson, Stetson & Co, Merrill & Co. Burnham & Scott. March Brothers. Allen, Whiting & Co. Huntington, Wadsworth Parks. & William R. Lovejoy & Co, Whiting, Galloupe & Co. Kelley & Levin. Fitchburg Woolen Co. Macullum, Williams Parker. & John A. Whipple. Stetson, Kendall & Minot. Isaac Fenno. Edward Everett. N. P. Banks. Charles E. Wiggin. Joshua Blake. Frederick W. Lincoln. John Cummings, Jun. Preston & Merrill. Wm. Read & Son. Richard Fay, Jun.

Redding & Co. John Clark. James O. Safford. S. S. Arnold. Winslow Lewis, M. D. Hostetter & Smith, (Pitts- Benj. French. burg, Pa.) Black & Bacheller. John Wilson. Wm. B. Boyd. Henry W. Poole. Otis Norcross. H. B. Walley. Richard F. Bond. L. Audenried & Co. Wm. Furness, Jun. John Paine. James Sturgis. Thornton K. Lothrop. Caleb Curtis. Noble, Hammott & Hall. N. Sturtevant & Co. Chas. D. Homans, M. D. George L. Pratt. Wm. F. Weld. J. G. Bigelow. A. G. Smith. Wm. D. Atkinson, Jun. Jos. W. Wightman. George H. Snelling. Henry P. Kidder. Henry Mulliken. A. W. Stetson. Chas. J. Sprague. J. C. Hoadley. A. Loring. N. I. Bowditch. H. Poor & Son. Stone, Wood & Baldwin. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Thomas Thompson. Wm. Bond & Son. Pierce & Co. Mrs. Pratt. Mrs. E. Thompson. W. Clafflin & Co. Day, Wilcox & Co. J. J. Adams & Co. Alex.

Williams & Co. E. Paige & Co. Joshua Stetson. Chas. W. Freeland & Co. Burrough, Bro. & Co. Frost & Kimball. Washington Mills. Hunt & Goodwin. Geo. W. Simmons. Nevin, Sawyer & Co. George Osgood. D. P. Ives & Co. Max, White & Bartlett. J. B. Kendall. Sewall, Day & Co. E. A. & W. Winchester. Seth Adams. Theodore H. Bell. Brown & Taggard. Winsor & Whitney. Richard Morris Hunt. Edward J. Thomas. Wm. B. Hayden. J. & J. F. Samson & Co. Wilder & Eastbrook. Maynard & Noyes. Winn, Eaton & Co. J. H. Poole. E. H. Blake. Fogg, Houghton & Co. Brown & Stanley. Lewis R. Reynolds. Swann, Brewer & Tileston. E. B. Moore. J. Childs, Jun. Doan & Skilton. John E. Hayes. Ballard & Prince. Parker, Gannett & Osgood, Denton & Wood. Dana, Farrar & Hyde. Solo. Piper. Foster & Smith. Wm. K. Lewis & Co. Thomas W. Pierce.

Joseph B. Glover. Jacob Stan wood. E. P. Tileston. Isaac Rich. Addison Gage. I. N. Brown. Salem T. Lamb. Daniel D. Kelley. New Bedford Cordage Co. C. B. Bryant. Wm. M. Jacobs & Son. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAQB 1. MAP OF THE POLAR REGIONS 1 Drawn by C. A. Schott. Engraved by J. Schedler. 2. MAP OF SMITH SOUND, SHOWING DR. HAYES' TRACK AND DISCOVERIES 72 Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler. 3. MAP OF PORT FOULKE, THE WINTER QUARTERS OF THE EXPEDITION 96 Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler. 4. AN ARCTIC TEAM 104 Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes. EngTaved by J. A. Bogert. 5. A BEAR-HUNT 174 Drawn by Darley, from Description. Engraved by J. A. Bogert. 6. CROSSING THE HUMMOCKS 322 Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. A. Bogert. 7. THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA 346 Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes.

Engraved by Fay & Cox. 8. A WALRUS-HUNT 408 Drawn by Darley, from Description. Engraved by J. A. Bogert. 9. TYNDALL GLACIER, WHALE SOUND 438 Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Photograph by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by Kingdon & Boyd. EXPLANATION OF TAIL-PIECES. Drawn on wood by G. G. While from. Photographs and Sketches by Dr. Hayes. Engraved mostly by J. A. Bogert. PA0E 1. Anchor 15 2. Aeched Iceberg 27 3. Greenlander in his Kayak 34 4. Upernaviic 43 5. Snowflake (magnified three diameters) 56 6. Seal on Cake of Ice 67 7. Head of a Reindeer 91 8. Port Foulke 100 9. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 126 10. Chester Valley, showing Alida Lake and the Glacier 136 11. " My Brother John's Glacier," from First Camp 148 12. Group of Reindeer 164 13. Schooner in Winter Quarters 211 14. The Esquimau Hut at Etah 235 15. Head of Walrus 247 16.

Portrait of Birdie, the Artic Fox 250 17. Sonntag's Grave 276 18. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 296 19. Camping in a Snow-Bank 306 20. Polar Bear 314 21. Dog Sledge 321 22. Head of the Esquimau Dog Oosisoak 332 23. Cape Union 352 24. A Sketch 302 25. Observatory at Port Foulke 375 26. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 380 27. Kalutunah and his Family 395 28. Head of Arctic Hare 425 29. A Sketch 433 30. " End " 454 > ) UT/1 Æ7 CONTENTS.

Introduction

. Plan of the Expedition. — First Announcement. — Appeal to Scientific Societies. — Aid solicited. — Public Lectures. — Liberality of various Societies and Individuals. — Vessel purchased in Boston. — Interest manifested in that City. — Difficulty in obtaining a proper Crew. — Organization of the Party. — Scientific Outfit. — Abundant Supplies 1

Chapter II

Passage to the Greenland Coast. — Discipline. — The Decks at Sea. — Our Quarters. — The First Iceberg. — Crossing the Arctic Circle. — The Midnight Sun. — The Endless Day. — Making the Land. — A Remarkable Scene among the Bergs. — At Anchor in Proven Harbor 16 CHAPTER in. The Colony of Proven. — The Kayak of the Greenlander. — Scarcity of Dogs. — Liberality of the Chief Trader. — Arctic Flora 28

Chapter IV

Upernavik. — Hospitality of the Inhabitants. — Death and Burial of Gibson Caruthers. — A Lunch on Board. — Adieu 35

Chapter V

Among the Icebergs. — Dangers of Arctic Navigation. — A Narrow Escape from a Crumbling Berg. — Measurement of an Iceberg .... 44

Chapter VI

Entering Melville Bay. — The Middle Ice. — The Great Polar Current. — A Snow-Storm. — Encounter with an Iceberg. — Making Cape York. — Rescue of Hans CONTENTS. XX CHAPTER Vn. PAQH Hans and his Family. — Petowak Glacier. — A Snow-Storm. — The Ice-Pack. — Entering Smith Sound. — A Severe Gale. — Collision with Icebergs. — Encounter with the Ice-Fields. — Retreat from the Pack. — At Anchor in Hartstene Bay. — Entering Winter Quarters *>8

Chapter VIII

Our Winter Harbor. — Preparing for Winter. — Organization of Duties. — Scientific Work. — The Observatory. — Schooner Driven Ashore. — The Hunters. — Sawing a Dock. — Frozen up. — Sunset 92

Chapter IX

Sunset. — Winter Work. — My Dog-Teams. — " My Brother John's Glacier." — Hunting. — Peat Beds. — Esquimau Graves. — Putrefaction at Low Temperatures. — Sonntag climbs the Glacier. — Hans and Peter. — My Esquimau People. — The Esquimau Dog. — Surveying the Glacier. — The Sailing-Master. — His Birthday Dinner 101

Chapter X

Journey on the Glacier. — The First Camp. ■ — Scaling the Glacier. — Character of its Surface. — The Ascent. ■ — Driven back by a Gale. — Low Temperature. — Dangerous Situation of the Party. — A Moonlight Scene 127

Chapter XI

Important Results of the recent Journey. — The Glacier System of Greenland. — General Discussion of the Subject. — Illustrations drawn from the Alpine Glaciers. — Glacier Movement. — Outline of the Greenland Mer de Glace 137

Chapter XII

My Cabin. — Surveying. — Castor and Pollux. — Concerning Scurvy. — Dangers of eating Cold Snow. — Knorr and Starr. — Frost-Bites. — Hans, Peter, and Jacob again. — Coal Account. — The Fires. — Comfort of our Quarters. — The House on Deck. — Mild Weather. — Jensen. — Mrs. Hans. — John Williams, the Cook. — - A Cheerful Evening 149 CHAPTER Xni. Increasing Darkness. — Daily Routine. — The Journal. — Our Home. — Sunday. — Return of Sonntag. — A Bear-Hunt. — The Open Water. — Accident to Mr. Knorr. — A Thaw. — " The Port Foulke CONTENTS. XXI PAGE Weekly News." — The Tide-Register. — The Fire-Hole. — Hunting Foxes. — Peter 165

Chapter XIV

Midwinter. — The Night of Months. — Brilliancy of the Moonlight. — Mild Temperatures. — Remarkable Weather. — A Shower. — Depth of Snow. — Snow Crystals. — An Epidemic among the Dogs. — Symptoms of the Disorder. — Great Mortality. — Only one Team left. — New Plans. — Schemes for reaching the Esquimaux in Whale Sound 192

Chapter XV

The Arctic Midnight. — Sonntag starts for Whale Sound. — Effects of Darkness on the Spirits. — Routine of Duties. — Christmas Eve. — Christmas Day. — The Christmas Dinner 200

Chapter XVI

The New Year. — Looking for Sonntag. — The Aurora Borealis. — A Remarkable Display. — Depth of Snow. — Strange Mildness of the Weather. — The Open Sea. — Evaporation at Low Temperatures. — Looking for the Twilight. — My Pet Fox 212

Chapter XXII

Spring Twilight. — Arrival of Esquimaux. — Obtaining Dogs. — Kalutunah, Tattarat, Myouk, Amalatok and his Son. — An Arctic Hospital. — Esquimau Gratitude CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIH. PAGE Kalutunah returns. — An Esquimau Family. — The Family Property. — The Family Wardrobe. — Myouk and his Wife. — Peter's Dead Body found. — My New Teams. — The Situation. — Hunting. — Subsistence of Arctic Animals. — Pursuit of Science under Difficulties. — Kalutunah at Home. — An Esquimau Feast. — Kalutunah in Service. — Recovering the Body of Mr. Sonntag. — The Funeral. — The Tomb 265

Chapter XXIV

Starting on my First Journey. — Object of the Journey. — A Mishap. — A Fresh Start. — The First Camp. — Hartstene's Cairn. — Exploring a Track. — A New Style of Snow-Hut. — An Uncomfortable Night. — Low Temperature. — Effect of Temperature on the Snow. — Among the Hummocks. — Sighting Humboldt Glacier. — The Track impracticable to the Main Party. — Van Rensselaer Harbor. — Fate of the Advance. — A Drive in a Gale 277

Chapter XXV

Sending forward Supplies. — Kalutunah as a Driver. — Kalutunah civilized. — Mr. Knorr. — Plan of my Proposed Journey. — Preparing to set out. — Industrious Esquimau Women. — Death and Burial of Kablunet. — The Start 290

Chapter XXVI

The First Day's Journey. — A Fall of Temperature. — Its Effect upon the Men. — Camped in a Snow-Hut. — The Second Day's Journey. — At Cairn Point. — Character of the Ice. — The Prospect. — Storm-stayed. — The Cooks in Difficulty. — Snow-Drift. — Violence of the Gale. — Our Snow-Hut 297

Chapter XXVII

The Storm continues. — At Work. — Among the Hummocks. — Difficulties of the Track. — The Snow-Drifts. — Slow Progress. — The Smith Sound Ice. — Formation of the Hummocks. — The Old lee- Fields. — Growth of Ice-Fields. — Thickness of Ice. — The Prospect 307

Chapter XXVIII

The Difficulties multiplying. — Sledge broken. — Reflections on the Prospect. — The Men breaking down. — Worse and Worse. — The Situation. — Defeat of Main Party. — Resolve to send the Party back and continue the Journey with Dogs CONTENTS. XXIII

Chapter XXIX. Pagb

The Main Party sent back. — Plunging into the Hummocks again. — Advantages of Dogs. — Camp in an Ice-Cave. — Nursing the Dogs. — Snow-Blindness. — A Chapter of Accidents. — Cape Hawks. — Cape Napoleon. — Storm-stayed. — Grinnell Land looming up. — Discovering a Sound. — Ravenous Disposition of Dogs. — A Cheerless Supper. — Camping in the Open Air. — Prostration of Men and Dogs. — Making the Land at last 322

Chapter XXX

The Prospect Ahead. — To Cape Napoleon. — To Cape Frazer. — Traces of Esquimaux. — Rotten Ice. — Kennedy Channel. — Mildness of Temperature. — Appearance of Birds. — Geological Features of Coast. — Vegetation. — Accident to Jensen 333

Chapter XXXI

A New Start. — Speculations. — ■ In a Fog. — Polar Scenery. — Stopped by Rotten Ice. — Looking Ahead. — Conclusions. — The Open Sea. — Climax of the Journey. — Returning South 343

Chapter XXXII

The Open Polar Sea. — Width of the Polar Basin. — - Boundaries of the Polar Basin. — Polar Currents. — Polar Ice. — The Ice-Belt. — Arctic Navigation and Discovery. — The Russian Sledge Explorations. — Wrangel's Open Sea. — Parry's Boat Expedition. — Dr. Kane's Discoveries. — Expansion of Smith Sound. — General Conclusions drawn from my own Discoveries and those of my Predecessors 353

Chapter XXXIII

On Board the Schooner. — Review of the Journey. — The Return down Kennedy Channel. — A Severe March in a Snow-Storm. — Rotten Ice. — Effects of a Gale. — Returning through the Hummocks. — The Dogs breaking down. — Adrift on a Floe at Cairn Point. — The Open Water compels us to take to the Land. — ■ Reaching the Schooner. — Projecting a Chart. — The New Sound. — My Northern Discoveries 363

Chapter XXXIV

Inspection of the Schooner. — Method of Repairing. — The Serious Nature of the Injury. — The Schooner unfit for any further Ice- Encounters. — Examination of my Resources. — Plans for the Future COjNTENTS. XXIV

Chapter XXXV. Pass

The Arctic Spring. — Snow disappearing. — Plants show Signs of Life. — Return of the Birds. — Change in the Sea. — Refitting the Schooner. — The Esquimaux. — Visit to Kalutunah. — Kalutunah's Account of the Esquimau Traditions. — Hunting-Grounds contracted by the Accumulation of Ice. — Hardships of their Life. — Their Subsistence. — The Race dwindling away. — Visit to the Glacier. — Re-survey of the Glacier. — Kalutunah catching Birds. — A Snow-Storm and a Gale. — The Mid-day of the Arctic Summer . . . 381

Chapter XXXVI

The Arctic Summer. — - The Flora. — The Ice dissolving. — A Summer Storm of Rain, Hail, and Snow. — The Terraces. — Ice Action. — Upheaval of the Coast. — Geological Interest of Icebergs and the Land-Ice. — A Walrus Hunt. — The " Fourth." — Visit to Littleton Island. — Great Numbers of Eider-Ducks and Gulls. — The Ice breaking up. — Critical Situation of the Schooner. — Taking Leave of the Esquimaux. — Adieu to Port Foulke 396

Chapter XXXVII

Leaving Port Foulke. — Effort to reach Cape Isabella. — Meet the Pack and take Shelter at Littleton Island. — Hunting. — Abundance of Birds and Walrus. — Visit to Cairn Point. — Reaching the West Coast. — View from Cape Isabella. — Plans for the Future. — Our Results. — Chances of reaching the Polar Sea discussed. — The Glaciers of Ellesmere Land 416 CHAPTER XXXVin. Leaving Smith Sound. — Crossing the North Water. — Meeting the Pack. — The Sea and Air teeming with Life. — Remarkable Refraction. — Reaching Whale Sound. — Surveying in a Boat. — The Sound traced to its Termination. — Meeting Esquimaux at Iteplik. — Habits of the Esquimaux. — Marriage Ceremony. — The Decay of the Tribe. — View of Barden Bay. — Tyndall Glacier 426

Chapter XXXIX

Homeward Bound. — Entering Melville Bay. — Encounter with a Bear. — Meeting the Pack. — Making the " South Water. " — Reaching Upernavik. — The News. — To Goodhaven. — Liberality of the Danish Government and the Greenland Officials. — Driven out of Baffin Bay by a Gale. — Crippled by the Storm and forced to take Shelter in Halifax. — Hospitable Reception. — Arrival in Boston. — Realize the State of the Country. — The Determination. — Conclusion