Notable Voyagers Part 43

Hobson, who had been exploring, had a very narrow escape of being carried away on the floating ice; but he got back safely to the ship.

After this the ship's company sat down in winter quarters until the 10th of February. Captain McClintock and Lieutenant Young then left the _Fox_ on searching expeditions. McClintock came back on the 14th with intelligence concerning some white men who had been seen off the north-west coast of King William's Land. Young returned early in March, and was off again on the 18th to Fury Beach. Afterwards three search parties were formed. Lieutenants Hobson and Young and Captain McClintock all started. The last resigned to the first-named the most likely field of discovery in King William's Land. McClintock went towards the Fish River, and subsequently found the dead man we have already mentioned, lying face downwards in the snow, near Cape Herschel.

He then came across a boat which Hobson had already found, and left in it a memorandum to the effect that he had discovered the records of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, and had returned to the _Fox_. Along the sh.o.r.e by Cape Victoria Hobson had searched and found the memorandum left in the cairn which told of the death of Franklin on the 11th of June, 1847, and that, after quitting the ships, the one hundred and six survivors, under Captain Crozier, would start for the Great Fish River. Many relics were found by Hobson, and near Cape Crozier he discovered a boat with two skeletons, with matches, spoons, and money, prayer-books, etcetera.

Further investigation proved that all had perished in the attempt to make the North-West Pa.s.sage, an attempt which may be said to have succeeded, though the poor men themselves never lived to tell of their success. They came down Franklin Straits, and had found the Pa.s.sage they sought. The searchers were satisfied, and the _Fox_ returned home.

Captain McClintock had well accomplished his mission. He found that the lamented Franklin had reached within ninety miles of success, for just that distance intervened between him and the place reached by Messrs.

Simpson and Deane in 1838-9. Franklin's men died "in accomplishing their last great earthly task, and but for the energy and devotion of the wife of their great leader, it would in all probability never have been known that they were indeed the first Discoverers of the North-West Pa.s.sage."

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

THE GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN EXPEDITIONS TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS.

The _Germania_ and _Hansa_--They part company--The fate of the _Hansa_ and her crew--The _Germania_ expedition and its return--Voyage of Payer and Weyprecht in 1871--Austro-Hungary expedition--The _Tegethoff_-- Discovery of Franz-Joseph Land--Sledge work--Incidents--The return--The _Tegethoff_ abandoned--Home again.

The _Germania_ and _Hansa_ const.i.tuted the second German expedition to Arctic regions. The first had been undertaken in 1868 under Koldeway and Petermann, but when the _Germania_ returned another expedition on a larger scale--the _Hansa_ under Koldeway, and the sister vessel under Hegemann--proceeded with all the necessary equipment from Bremen on the 15th of June, 1869, and on the 5th of July crossed the Arctic circle, where similar ceremonies to those practised when the "line" is crossed, were performed. Jan Meyer's Land was pa.s.sed, and on the 10th of July the _Hansa_ and _Germania_ parted company in the fog, and met again no more. An error in signalling occasioned the separation.

The _Hansa_ continued along sh.o.r.e and got in amid the ice. The winter set in, and the crew managed to exist as men usually do under such circ.u.mstances. They built a hut and killed bears, living with no very great discomfort till the middle of October, when the ice pressed on the ship and stove it in. The water gained when the ice retreated; the _Hansa_ was doomed to destruction, and she sank, on the 21st, in lat.i.tude 70 degrees 52 minutes North 21 degrees West near the Liverpool coast amid the floating ice.

The crew escaped to the ice. They had already, Crusoe fashion, saved all they could from the ship. The field of ice in which they had encamped drifted away to the south. The floe was examined. It was about seven miles in circ.u.mference, about two miles in diameter, and about forty-five feet thick, five feet being above water. Christmas came, still they drifted. By the new year the ice gave symptoms of breaking up, the wind blew, and the danger was imminent. Though the floe had been considerable no mishap occurred to them. The boats were fortunately in good condition, but day after day the ice kept threatening, until at last the floe became so small that living on it any longer was out of the question. February, March, and April had pa.s.sed thus, and on the 6th of May the lat.i.tude of Bergen had been reached. The ice raft was soon abandoned, the boats launched, but the ice again stopped them. On the 6th of June, after various adventures, the voyage was resumed, and the boats' heads put for Freiderichsthal on the south-west coast of Greenland, near Cape Farewell, which was gained in June, 1870. Schleswig was reached in safety in September _via_ Copenhagen, where they were landed by the _Constance_.

The _Germania_ meantime had continued her voyage, and endeavoured, though without success, to reach the east coast of Greenland. She wintered in Sabine Bay. The ordinary incidents of the winter occurred, and we need not mention the health-drinking and Christmas festivities in the Arctic Regions. The explorers quite disagreed with Kane's "open sea" theory after making some sledge expeditions to verify the suggestion. Ice was everywhere, as far as the eyes could see. Many surveys were undertaken, and much useful scientific information was obtained, but no new discoveries of any importance were made by either the _Hansa_ or the more fortunate _Germania_.

The homeward voyage pa.s.sed without incidents, and the surviving ship returned to Bremen on the 11th of September, when the stupendous results of their countrymen's arms in France were revealed to them in all their meaning.

Several expeditions other than the above were dispatched in 1869, but they did little. In 1870 there was no great voyage accomplished, but in 1871 the Arctic Regions were again looked at as the _Ultima Thule_ of voyagers, and in June of that year Lieutenants Payer and Weyprecht sailed away to Novaya Zemlya, where they found an open sea with little ice. In October they returned to Tromsoe, after sighting the island they sought.

The North-East pa.s.sage now became the idea. That it could be accomplished _via_ Siberia, Lieutenant Payer believed, and the Austro-Hungarian Arctic expedition was soon an accomplished fact.

Doctor Petermann said the work accomplished by the little expedition were very valuable, and it was decided to supplement it. The steamship _Tegethoff_ was fitted out: the equipment was most complete, many well-known Arctic voyagers lending their a.s.sistance. Captain Carlsen was pilot, Captain Weyprecht commanded, and Lieutenant Payer was the land explorer.

The _Tegethoff_ left Bremen on the 13th of June, 1872, and came in sight of Novaya Zemlya on the 29th of July. In August the _Jabjorn_ yacht joined company; but little in the way of exploration was undertaken until August, when the yacht, with Count Wilczek, left the _Tegethoff_ to her own devices. The gallant vessel pushed on, and was beset by the ice very soon on the north coast of Novaya Zemlya, where in many and great dangers the winter pa.s.sed. On the 29th of October the sun disappeared for 109 days! The winter over, the months of May, June, and July were spent in trying to saw the _Tegethoff_ out of the ice; but all the efforts made were futile. The north wind in July sent the ice southward, but in a month the return drift set in with southerly winds, and no hope of the breaking up of the ice was entertained. In August, 1873, the crew sighted land; it was approached, and named after Count Wilczek, the originator of the expedition.

The gloom of Arctic night prevented any more exploration. The vessel continued to drift northward, and at length the floe was driven on an island, where it remained with the vessel, three miles from the sh.o.r.e.

The second winter now began. In January the cold was very severe: the oil froze, the lamps went out, and the brandy even was congealed into a solid ma.s.s. Bears paid the voyagers frequent visits, and many were shot; but all males, no female bears appeared.

In March, Lieutenant Payer and his party went on a sledge-journey in a north-west direction to Hall Island. The whole region seemed "devoid of life"--ice and great glaciers everywhere. The cold was intense. This party returned, and another journey was undertaken to the north with the sleighs, equipped as directed by Sir L. McClintock. This expedition resulted in the discovery of Franz-Joseph Land, as it was named after the Emperor. It is like Eastern Greenland--a "land of desolation," with high mountains and vast glaciers, of a greenish-blue colour. The vegetation is extremely poor, and the country is uninhabited.

Further on they reached another territory, which they named Crown Prince Rudolf Land, the habitation of millions of sea-birds, and thousands of bears, seals, and foxes. A great glacier was crossed, but as it was quitted an immense fissure engulfed the sleigh with the stores, while the others only narrowly escaped by cutting the traces. Lieutenant Payer hurried back for a.s.sistance, and at length dogs, men, and sleigh were pulled up, safe and nearly sound. Rounding Auk Cape, the explorers reached open water by the sh.o.r.e.

Pressing on to lat.i.tude 81 degrees 57 minutes north, the party reached their farthest point. From an elevated position the explorer made his observations, which led him to the conclusion that there is no open polar sea, yet that the ocean is not always covered with ice. There is a medium which a favourable year would improve, and render navigation, near the sh.o.r.e, possible. Having deposited a record of the visit, the party returned over the hundred and sixty miles they had come.

One more little journey was made, and then the thoughts of the officers and men turned to home. On the 20th of May the ship's colours were nailed to the mast, and the retreat was commenced. Provisions were packed in boats, the boats placed on sleighs, but little progress was made at first as all hands were required for each sleigh in turn. _Two months_ were occupied in making a distance of _eight miles_--and a third winter in the ice seemed probable.

At last, in July, they made a mile a day. In August they reached the edge of the pack, when the sleighs were abandoned, and the dogs killed, as no room could be spared. The boats then crossed open water to Novaya Zemlya, and at the end of three months from leaving the ship sighted a Russian vessel. The _Nickolai_ brought them to Vardoe in Norway, where the voyagers landed in September, 1874.

The success of the expedition was unquestionable, for land was discovered two hundred miles north of Nova Zemlya. The success of the sleighing is due to Sir L. McClintock's advice.

[The _Tegethoff_ we see drifted _north_--other vessels we have read of drifted _south_. Does not that indicate a simultaneous movement of ice around the Pole on both sides? The American side going south as the ice-floe on the Asiatic side ascends--as glaciers in Switzerland which are connected, advance and recede in turn. This idea would go to prove that no open sea exists there; the ice covers the whole of the Polar Ocean, and moves north and south correspondingly. This is, however, only speculation, but as the _Tegethoff_ is said to have been drifted by the wind, which must have been southerly, and therefore northerly on the other side, the fact will not militate against the idea above suggested.]

The Austro-Hungarian Expedition did not succeed in discovering the North-East Pa.s.sage. We will now turn to the great Nordenskiold, who did succeed.

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.

THE VOYAGES OF ERIK NORDENSKIOLD--1870-1878.

Expeditions to the North--To Spitzbergen and the Yenissei--The Discovery of the North-East Pa.s.sage.

Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiold was born at Helsingfors, Finland, in November, 1832. His father was a distinguished naturalist; Erik often accompanied him in his expeditions, and thus early acquired a taste for natural history and research. He entered the University at Helsingfors in 1849. The stern rule of Russia subsequently compelled young Nordenskiold to go to Sweden. The governor of Finland, fancying he detected treason in some after-supper speech, Nordenskiold was obliged to depart; but this was the turning point in his career.

The ill.u.s.trious Mosander received the student cordially. Nordensk'iold studied hard, and in 1858 made his first acquaintance with Arctic seas in Torrell's Spitzbergen expedition. In 1861 he again accompanied Torrell to Spitzbergen. In July, 1863, he married. In 1864 he commanded an expedition fitted out by the Academy of Stockholm, and in 1868, aided by Government and Mr Oscar d.i.c.kson, he reached the highest lat.i.tude ever attained in the eastern hemisphere. From this expedition he brought home a rich collection of curiosities. Again, in 1870, Mr d.i.c.kson paid the expenses of a voyage to Greenland.

In 1872, Nordenskiold (whose name, we may mention, is p.r.o.nounced Nordensholt) undertook another Polar expedition with two vessels, the _Polhern_ and the _Gladen_. A quant.i.ty of reindeer-moss was provided and stowed in a third ship, the _Onkel Adam_. Nordenskiold was accompanied by Lieutenant L. Palander, with Doctor Envall, E. Parent, an Italian officer, and Messrs. Wijkander and Kjellman as scientists. On the 4th of July the _Polhern_ and _Gladen_ sailed; from Gothenburg, and when the former reached Tromsoe, the Austrian Polar vessel _Amiral Tegethoff_ was about to sail.

On the 25th of July, South Cape, the southern extremity of Spitzbergen, was sighted, and the vessels proceeded along the coast northward between Prince Charles Foreland and the mainland till Fair Haven was reached.

Here they were obliged to remain because of the ice, and in August the _Onkel Adam_ arrived with the reindeer and other necessary a.s.sistance, and with stores. The attempt to reach the Seven Islands north of Spitzbergen was now abandoned for that season, but some progress to the north was effected, and Mussel Bay, to the north-north-east of Spitzbergen, was selected as winter quarters.

Scarcely had the necessary preparations been made when a sudden and extremely violent storm arose; by this the unexpected advent of the ice was announced. The cold hand was quickly laid upon the waters, and the winter campaign had to be faced. But we may imagine the surprise of the explorers when, as they were settling down in winter quarters, six strangers approached, who informed Nordenskiold that their six ships had been unexpectedly frozen in, and there were fifty-eight men in danger of ultimate starvation!

This was most unpleasant news, for the expedition had only sufficient for its own requirements, and such an addition to the party was a very serious drawback. Still help was absolutely necessary, and a note was sent to the captains of the imprisoned ships, that the explorers would do all in their power.

But a sad blow awaited them. In another severe storm all the reindeer got away; and, of course, a valuable supply of fresh meat, besides transport, was cut off at one fell stroke. Only one of the reins was recaptured, and he was wounded. Fortunately some large wild reindeer were shot, and they made a welcome addition to the larder. At the end of October winter began to set in severely, and the reindeer-moss was utilised by the imprisoned people as food. The winter-time was pa.s.sed as well as possible, and interesting observations were taken. Scurvy and pleurisy, however, attacked the men; and though Christmas and New Year were celebrated, and 1873 was saluted by a display of fireworks, the precarious condition of the crews was by no means ameliorated.

However, lamp-light was dispensed with on the 6th of February, and on the 13th of March the sun was seen again. In January the cold had been "inconsiderable," and the bay had been cleared of ice, but on the 20th of February the cold was very great. April was occupied in preparations for Nordenski'old's expedition across North-East Land, and on the 24th of April he and Palander started with three sleighs. After some delay, in consequence of accident, Palander returned, and Nordenskiold proceeded to Shoal Point, the north-west extremity of North-East Land, where Palander again joined him on the 5th of May (1873).

The sledge party started on the 6th. It consisted of Nordenskiold, Palander, and nine men, who intended to proceed to the Seven Islands which will be found on the map north of Spitzbergen. Each man in turn was cook for the party; he had to rise early and get breakfast ready.

The march was then proceeded with, resting occasionally at certain intervals during the ten hours allotted to the daily journey. Sailing over the ice and snow on the sledges, good progress was made, and on the 12th Costien's Island was reached.

Early on the 16th, Parry Island was gained, and a small depot was made there. Some of the men then were sent back. The leaders of the party here made a survey from an elevated standpoint, and this view showed them that there was no possibility of going north of the Seven Islands, as the ice was in such an uneven condition. The journey in the antic.i.p.ated direction was therefore abandoned as hopeless.

But Nordenskiold would not return by the same way he had come. He determined to go back by way of North-East Land, a course which occupied the party forty days, but they gained considerable information, and the scientific results, as well as the difficulties, were greater than had been expected. The expedition returned safely to Mussel Bay on the 29th of June. The members who had been left behind had pa.s.sed a most uncomfortable time. The cold was great, provisions scarce. Scurvy set in, which, added to home-sickness and anxiety on account of the absent ones, made matters worse. Food became scarcer, but providentially Mr Leigh Smith, in the _Diana_, arrived, and he satisfied the immediate requirements of the unfortunate Swedes. The historian of the expedition warmly acknowledges the a.s.sistance so opportunely rendered.

Spring was at hand. Palander came in, and then Nordenskiold. All anxiety was then over. The same day, the 29th of June, the vessels pa.s.sed through the channel which had been cut in the ice, and then they anch.o.r.ed in open water. No time was lost. The _Onkel Adam_ sailed homeward almost immediately: the _Gladen_ followed. The _Polhern_, however, remained in the icy lat.i.tudes for some time longer dredging.

On the 6th of August, after with difficulty escaping the ice, Nordenskiold arrived at Tromsoe, and on the 29th at Gothenberg, where the expedition dispersed.

In 1875 and 1876 the professor made two voyages to the Yenissei River and up it. By this course he opened up Siberia to trade, and received the thanks of the Russian Government for inaugurating a sea route to Siberia. But these voyages, in a sense tentative, were completely eclipsed by the expedition undertaken in the _Vega_, in which Nordenskiold accomplished the long-desired North-East Pa.s.sage from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific Ocean eastwards. The ease with which he had accomplished the two voyages already mentioned (to the Yenissei River) urged him to proceed with the expedition which he had been studying for years, the discovery of the North-East Pa.s.sage.

Sebastian Cabot was the first adventurer in the work destined to be accomplished by the Swedish explorer. More than three hundred years ago Cabot equipped three ships for the "Merchant Adventurers," and put them under the command of Sir H. Willoughby and Chancelor in 1553. This ended in disaster. In 1580 the "Muscovy Company," as the "Adventurers"

called themselves, sent out Arthur Pitt, who could not open the "pack"

ice. Barentz, who tried three times, in 1593, 1595, and 1596, was closed up in the ice of Novaya Zemlya, and perished. Henry Hudson tried in 1607-8. The Danes made the attempt in 1653. Captain J. Wood also sailed to the unhospitable sh.o.r.es of Novaya Zemlya, and so terrified people by his descriptions that they gave up the attempt in despair.

Thus the North-East Pa.s.sage became a dreaded and a sealed course to the mariners of all nations. It was deemed impossible to break through the icy barrier; and the Russians made the attempt only to prove the a.s.sertion by failure. But when Nordensk'iold had reached the Kara Sea, and the Yenissei River, he began to think he could also solve the long-tried problem of the North-East Pa.s.sage eastwards to the Pacific.

a.s.sisted by his liberal friend, Mr Oscar d.i.c.kson, and supported by King Oscar the Second of Sweden, and M. Sibiriakoff, a Siberian landholder, Nordenskiold purchased the steam-whaler _Vega_--a name now celebrated throughout the civilised world. She was equipped and manned under Government auspices, and provisioned for two years. She sailed from Gothenburg on the 21st of July, accompanied by the steamer _Lena_, commanded by Johannesen from Tromsoe. There were also supply vessels in company, but our narrative (which is compiled from "Nordenskiold's Voyages," and other sources) will deal with the _Vega_, and incidentally with the _Lena_, till she parted company at the mouth of the river whose name she bears. In the expedition were included many scientific gentlemen, and the crews were composed of picked men.

The vessels rounded the North Cape, and on the 29th of July sighted Novaya Zemlya. Then they pa.s.sed the Yergar Strait and entered the Kara Sea, the immense gulf lying between Novaya Zemlya and the north point of the Asiatic continent, Cape Chalyaskin. On the 31st of July the little fleet was united at Chabarook (Charbarova). The vessels which had accompanied the _Lena_ and _Vega_ went up the Yenissei River with cargoes, and returned safely to Norway. The _Vega_ and _Lena_ proceeded, and after some delays the North-East Cape (Cape Chalyaskin) was reached for the first time. Flags were hoisted and salutes fired to emphasise the fact, and they were acknowledged by an immense bear that came out upon the ice to welcome the ships. Hence fogs and occasional ice-floes hindered the navigation. Many very interesting scientific searches were made, and after the 23rd of August the sea was smooth and free from ice up to the delta of the Lena River. Here the vessels parted company on the 27th-28th of August, the _Lena_ to go up the river, while the _Vega_ proceeded alone to the Siberian Islands.