Stray Leaves From An Arctic Journal Part 11

At the commencement of the current century, our knowledge of the northern coast of the American continent amounted to a mere fraction.

On the west, Cook had hardly penetrated beyond Behring's Straits; and on the east, Hudson's and Baffin's Bay formed the limit of our geographical knowledge; except at two points, where the sea had been seen by Hearne and Mackenzie.

Shortly after the Peace, one whose genius and ability were only to be equalled by his perseverance, the late Sir John Barrow, Secretary of the Admiralty, turned his attention to Arctic discovery, and especially the north-west pa.s.sage. He had himself been to Spitzbergen, and as far north as the 80th parallel of lat.i.tude. Combating the prejudiced, convincing the doubtful, and teaching the ignorant, he awakened national pride and professional enterprise in a cause in which English seamen had already won high honours, and Great Britain's glory was especially involved. What difficulties he mastered, and how well he was seconded by others, and none more so than by the enlightened First Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Melville, Sir John Barrow himself has told, in the able volumes which imperishably chronicle the deeds of ancient and modern explorers in Polar regions. Since 1818, with the exception of Sir John Ross's first voyage, we may have been said to have constantly added to our knowledge of the north-west.

It was in 1819 that Parry sailed to commence that magnificent series of discoveries which, since completed by Franklin, Richardson, Beechey, the Rosses, Back, Simpson, and Rae, have left us, after thirty-five years of well-spent toil and devotion, in perfect possession of the geographical features of Arctic America, and added _three thousand six hundred and eighty miles_ of coast-line to our Polar charts. Is this nothing? If the mere _quid pro quo_ is required of public servants, surely the Arctic navigator has far better repaid to his country the pay and food he has received at her hands than those who, in a time of universal peace, idle through year after year of foreign service in her men-of-war; and most a.s.suredly, if we are proud of our seamen's fame and our naval renown, where can we look for n.o.bler instances of it than amongst the records of late Arctic voyages and journeys. The calm, heroic sufferings of Franklin,--always successful, let the price be what it would; the iron resolution of Richardson; Back's fearful winter march to save his comrades; the devoted Hepburn, who, old though he be, could not see his former leader perish without trying to help him, and, whilst I write these lines, is again braving an Arctic winter in the little "Prince Albert;" Parry, who knew so well to lead and yet be loved; James Ross, of iron frame, establishing, by four consecutive years of privation and indomitable energy, that high character which enabled him to carry an English squadron to the unvisited sh.o.r.es of Victoria Land at the southern pole; and lastly, the chivalrous men, who, again under Franklin, have launched, in obedience to their Queen and country, into the unknown regions between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to execute their mission or fall in the attempt.

[Headnote: _NORTH-WEST DISCOVERY._]

It was to save these devoted servants, that the spring of 1851 saw full 500 British and American seamen within the frigid zone. That portion of them that had come by Baffin's Bay had been so far successful in their mission, that they had dispelled all the visions--gratuitous enough--of Franklin having perished by shipwreck or other disaster in his pa.s.sage across the bay.

We had seen his winter quarters; we had seen his lookout posts, and the trail of his explorations. They all said, Onward! To be sure, we did not at once know by which route he had gone onward. The uncertainty, however, gave a spur to those about to be engaged in the searching parties, and each man thought there were especial reasons for believing one particular route to be the true one. The majority--indeed all those who gave the subject any consideration--believed Franklin to have gone either by Cape Walker, or to the north-west by Wellington Channel.

Hope, thank G.o.d, rode high in every breast, and already did the men begin to talk of what they would do with their new shipmates from the "Erebus" and "Terror" when they had them on board their respective ships: and I have no doubt they would have done as one gallant fellow replied, when I asked him if he thought himself equal to dragging 200 lbs., "O yes, sir, and Sir John Franklin too, when we find him."

Increasing light, decreasing cold, plenty to do, and certain antic.i.p.ations upon each man's part, that he would be the fortunate one to find and save Franklin, made the month of April come in on us before we had time to think of it, but not before we were ready.

The original intention was for the sledges to have started on the different routes laid down by our commodore on the 8th of April; but a fall of temperature on the 6th altered this plan, and a delay of one week was decided upon. I therefore availed myself of the occasion to visit Captain Penny's winter quarters; proceeding there on the dog-sledge of Mr. Petersen, who happened to be on board our vessel at the time.

Nothing, I conceive, can be more exhilarating than dog-sledging in the Arctic regions on a fine day, especially when, as in my case, the whole affair has the charm of novelty. The rattling pace of the dogs, their intelligence in choosing the road through the broken ice; the strict obedience paid by the team to one powerful dog whom they elect as leader; the arbitrary exercise of authority by the said leader; the constant use of the whip, and a sort of running conversation kept up by the driver with the different dogs, who well knew their names, as in turn Sampson! Caniche! Foxey! Terror! &c., &c., were duly anathematized, afforded constant amus.e.m.e.nt; apart from Petersen's conversation, which was replete with interest, and the information he gave me of the distances accomplished on the coast of Greenland by the Danes with dog-sledges, made me regret much we had not provided ourselves with a team or two for accomplishing any necessarily rapid journey.

When Mr. Petersen, at Uppernavik, had so n.o.bly thrown up an appointment under the Danish crown to serve as interpreter with Penny in the search for Franklin, he brought with him a sledge and a few dogs: these had twice littered, and the numerous puppies were already grown into serviceable dogs, forming two efficient teams. The major part of the winter, scarcity of food, such as seal and bear, had told severely upon the poor creatures; but an Esquimaux dog lives on little when not worked; and, with a little oatmeal and grease, they had all outlived the severe season; and some bear's flesh having been luckily procured, there was every probability of good service being rendered by them. Our rate of travelling was over five miles per hour, and though making a considerable detour to avoid broken ice, I was shaking Penny by the hand four hours after leaving the "Pioneer:" the distance between the squadrons being about twenty miles in a straight line.

[Headnote: _ADVANTAGE OF WINTERING IN HARBOUR._]

I was much struck with the great advantage of wintering in harbour, and near the sh.o.r.e, over a position, such as our squadron's, in the midst of the floe. There was a cheerfulness in the vicinity of the land, barren though it was, quite refreshing to one who had always a mile to walk during the winter to reach Griffith's Island, or remain satisfied with the monotony of the ice-field around the "Pioneer." Besides being snug in harbour, Captain Penny, satisfied of the security of his vessels, intended to leave only one man in each of them,--every other soul being told off for sledge-parties,--whereas our squadron would have some sixty men and officers left behind to take care of them, exposed as they were to be swept into Barrow's Strait, or farther, by any sudden disruption of the ice. I, therefore, mentally gave my adhesion to the opinion expressed by authorities at home, to secure winter quarters in some bay or harbour, and not to winter in the pack, unless it is unavoidable.

The oldest English officer who had ever wintered within the Arctic circle on a voyage of discovery, Sir John Ross, was not likely to be forgotten by me; and I sincerely congratulated the veteran on his escape from sickness during the past winter: and, though a wonderful instance of physical endurance, I, with others, could not but feel regret that a Naval officer so advanced in years, and who had served so long, should be necessitated to undergo privations, of which those who did not witness them can form no conception.

Time enabled me to do little more than admire the perseverance displayed by Capt. Penny, his officers and men, in their preparations for travelling. Sledges, cooking apparatuses, tents, in short, every thing was ready, having been made by themselves in the course of the winter; and, on the 13th April, six sledges, drawn by seamen, with an officer to each, and provisioned for forty days, would start for Wellington Channel, there to part into two divisions,--Capt. Stewart, of the "Sophia," taking the one side of the Channel, whilst Capt.

Penny, with two extra dog-sledges, would direct the search in general.

Delighted with all the arrangements, and equally so with the high spirit of chivalrous devotion apparent in every word and action of these our gallant coadjutors in the purest of enterprises, my heart was full as I said "Good-bye" to my hospitable friend Penny, on the 11th of April; and a rapid drive by Mr. Petersen carried me to the "Pioneer" in less than three hours. After a short halt, Mr. P. returned to a.s.sistance Harbour, doing full forty miles, within twelve hours, on his dog-sledge.

I was astonished to find, on my return, that as yet the temperature at our winter quarters had not been registered as being above zero; whereas, in a.s.sistance Harbour, Capt. Penny's quarters, the thermometer had occasionally for the past week ranged above it, and on the day before I left showed 11 in the shade. This difference of temperature was, doubtless, occasioned by the radiation of heat from the land, by which they were, unlike ourselves, surrounded.

During my absence, I was told that Mr. M'Dougal, of the "Resolute," who had been despatched as early as the 4th April to inspect the depots formed in the autumn, had returned to the ships, and brought accounts of a wholesale destruction of the one on Somerville Island, by bears.

Hunger and mischievousness seemed alike to have induced the brutes to break and tear to pieces what they could not possibly eat--such as tins of patent chocolate, some of which were fairly bitten through. This information induced us all to take extra precautions in securing the provisions, of which depots during the march were to be formed.

[Headnote: _SLEDGE EQUIPMENT._]

It is now time to describe the sledges and their equipment, upon the completeness of which the lives of our travellers so entirely depended.

The sledges, constructed of tough and well-seasoned wood, had been carefully constructed in Woolwich Dockyard. They were shod with iron, and the cross-bars or battens which connected the two runners, and formed the floor upon which the load was placed, were lashed in their places by us when required for use. At the four corners of the sledges light iron stanchions dropped into sockets, and formed the support for the sides of a species of tray or boat, capable of serving to ferry the sledge crew across water in an emergency, as well as to keep the provisions and clothing in it dry. This boat was made in some cases of gutta-percha, in others of oiled canvas;--

lbs.

And, together with the sledge and drag-ropes, which were made of horse-hair, to prevent their becoming hard and brittle from frost, weighed 120

Two fur blankets and spare blanket, two weighed 40

Nine blanket-bags for sleeping in 42

A tent of oblong form, made of a species of brown holland, supported by four boarding-pikes, and a line which served as a ridge-rope, and was set up to any heavy thing that came to hand 55

Mackintosh floor-cloth to spread over the snow or gravel 12

A shovel to dig out snow for banking-up with 5-1/2

A cooking apparatus, invented by Lieutenant M'Clintock, capable of cooking a pint apiece of tea, cocoa, or pemmican, with a spirit lamp, tallow lamp, and spare kettle 17

s.e.xtant, 1 gun, and gear 10

A bag containing 5 tin pannikins and 5 spoons 5

A knapsack for each man, containing 1 flannel shirt, 1 Guernsey frock, 1 serge frock, 1 pair of drawers, flannel, 1 pair of boot hose, 1 pair of stockings, 2 pairs of blanket-socks, 1 towel, 1 comb, 1 lb. soap 48

Spare boots, and thick Guernsey frocks for sleeping in 36

A tin case, containing pepper, salt, herbs dried, lucifer matches, grog-measure, calico and flannel bandages, plaster adhesive, lint, liniment, eye-wash, pills, simple ointment, glycerine, lancet, tincture of opium, pins, needles, and thread 16

Store-bag, containing broom or brush for sweeping the tent down with, spare boot-soles, wax, bristles, twine, shoe-tacks, c.r.a.pe awls, slow-match, nettle stuff, and strips of hide, cylinders for doc.u.ments, printed records 11

Spare ammunition, cleaning rods, and wrench 14

Kites and string 12-1/2 ________

Dead weight, lbs. 440 ________

Such were the weights of the sledge equipment in the case of one of those intended for a long journey. Nothing, it will be seen, was forgotten, and there was nothing superfluous; yet, as the 440 lbs. had to be dragged by six men, there was already 73 lbs. per man, which would, from its nature, be hardly any lighter at the end of the journey; and as about 200 lbs. was judged to be as much as a man could drag, there only remained 172 lbs. per man available for provision and package.

[Headnote: _SCALE OF PROVISION._]

The daily scale of provision, as ordered by Capt. Austin, during the journeys, was to be as follows:--

Pemmican 1 lb.

Boiled pork 6 oz.

Biscuit 12 oz.

Rum, concentrated 3/4 gill.

Tobacco 1/2 oz.

Biscuit dust 1 oz.

Tea and sugar 3/4 oz.

Chocolate and sugar (alternate days) 1-3/4 oz.

Lime-juice (for 10 days) 1/2 oz.

The fuel allowed to cook this, for a party of seven men, amounted to one pint and one gill of spirits of wine, or one pound eight ounces of tallow.

A little calculation soon showed that about forty days' provision was as much as any one sledge could take with it, or for an outward journey of about twenty days; which, at an average distance of ten miles per diem, would only give an extent of coast-line examined by any one sledge of two hundred miles.

Before I endeavour to show how, by a system of depots and relays, greater distances were achieved, the complete load of a long-party sledge may as well be shown.