Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands 9781512819137

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Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands

Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands by OSCAR M. VILLAREJO

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press

© 1965 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania Published in Great Britain, India, and Pakistan by the Oxford University Press London, Bombay, and Karachi Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 65-20735

7494

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks for assistance in the procurement of the rare documents and books which have been used in the preparation oí the present work must go to the following individuals and institutions: Mr. Ralph W. Hansen, Manuscripts Librarian, the Stanford University Libraries (California); Mr. Andrew H. Brown and Miss Esther Ann Manion of the staff of the National Geographic Society (Washington, D.C.); Mr. Anderson and other members of his staff of the Chester County Historical Society (West Chester, Pennsylvania); Mr. Herman R . Friis, Senior Specialist in Cartographic Archives, National Archives and Records Service (Washington, D.C.); Captain F. Kent Loomis, USN (Ret.), Assistant Director of Naval History, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Department of the Navy (Washington, D.C.); and Mrs. Evelyn Stefansson, Librarian, the Stefansson Collection, Baker Library, Dartmouth College. For research, editorial comment, and technical assistance in the preparation of the typescript, the following persons should be named: Dr. Theodore Powell, arctic historian, for his kind suggestions; Dr. Ivar Jensen of the faculty of Glassboro State College for his translations from the Danish; Mrs. Catherine Ridgway of the library staff of Glassboro State College for assistance in research; and Mrs. Lois Schumann for proofreading the Petersen manuscript.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T h e author of this work extends his grateful acknowledgments to Mr. Harold W. Thompson, Jr., Head Librarian, Glassboro State College, New Jersey, for bringing to his attention the arctic narrative of Johan Carl Christian Petersen (Savitz Library MS No. 7) and for providing the author with valuable assistance in editing the manuscript. O.M.V. March 3, 1965 C.W. Post College of Long Island University Greenvale, New York

Contents

Introduction Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands by Johan Carl Christian Petersen Afterword (containing extracts from the original Journal of Dr. Kane now preserved in the Stanford University Library) Appendix A: Letter from Dr. I. I. Hayes to William Elder (December 5, 1857) Appendix B: Report of E. K. Kane, U.S.N., Commanding the Second Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition, to the Secretary of the Navy (October l i . 1855) Bibliography Index

Illustrations

The following illustrations appear as a group after page is8. Elisha Kent Kane, M.D., U.S.N. Portrait of Sir John Franklin Ε. K. Kane Carl Petersen Engraving of John Carl Petersen after a contemporary photograph Mathew B. Brady's photograph of Amos Bonsall, Henry Brooks (First Officer), Elisha Kent Kane, William Morton (Steward), and Isaac Israel Hayes (Surgeon) Departure of the Arctic Expedition Dr. Kane and party abandoning their ship Facsimiles of gold medals presented to Dr. Kane by the Royal Geographical Society and by Queen Victoria Dr. Kane's body lying in state in Independence Hall, Philadelphia Medals awarded to the members of the Kane Expedition Map of 1636 of Baffin's Bay Map of the route of the withdrawal party led by John Carl Petersen

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ILLUSTRATIONS

T h e Discoveries of the Second American Grinnell Expedition Detail of the Inglefield map used by Dr. Kane for his expedition Tennyson's Monument Icebergs near Kosoak (Life Boat Cove) Lieutenant Edwin J. De Haven, U.S.N. Henry Grinnell Elisha Kent Kane in the cabin of the "Advance" T h e U.S.S. "Advance" and the U.S.S. "Rescue" entering Lancaster Sound

Crew of the Arctic Brig "Advance": Second Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin (1853-1855) * Elisha Kent Kane, M.D., "Passed Assistant Surgeon," Lieutenant of the U.S. Navy, the commander of the expedition. Born in Philadelphia. * Isaac Israel Hayes, M.D., of West Chester, Pennsylvania, the surgeon of the expedition. August Sonntag, German-born astronomer of the expedition, formerly of the Royal Observatory of Vienna. *

Henry Brooks, First Officer, boatswain of the U.S. Navy, and keeper of the log, veteran of a previous arctic expedition with Dr. Kane.

James McGary, Executive Officer, with many years of experience in the arctic seas aboard whaling ships. Carl Petersen, arctic guide and Eskimo-speaking interpreter, a Dane, Vice-Govemor of the Danish colonies of Greenland at Upemavik, a veteran of previous British arctic expeditions during the search for Sir John Franklin. John Wall Wilson, sailing master of the "Advance," an experienced navigator with many years of service aboard ships in the Indian Ocean. * Amos Bonsall, the officer in charge of taking daguerreo-

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C R E W O F T H E A R C T I C BRIG " A D V A N C E "

types for the expedition, an eastern Pennsylvania farmer, with abilities as a hunter and naturalist, related by marriage to the family of Dr. Kane. • William Morton, Steward, born in Ireland, veteran of a previous arctic expedition with Dr. Kane. Won worldwide renown for having reached the "highest north" o£ the second Grinnell expedition (Lat. 8 i ° 22') during a sledge journey with Hans the Eskimo to Cape Constitution in northern Greenland (June, 1854). Christian Olsen, carpenter, a Dane, a veteran sailor aboard ships in the Baltic Sea. Died from injuries during the expedition. Henry Goodfellow, a well-educated Pennsylvanian, a lifelong friend of Dr. Kane. William Godfrey, ordinary seaman, an East River boatman from New York. John Blake [real name William Hussey], ordinary seaman, a sailor from Baltimore. George Whipple, ordinary seaman, an English sailor from Hull. George Riley, assistant steward, a recent Irish immigrant. George Stephenson, ordinary seaman, an Irish ex-patriot. Jefferson Temple Baker, ordinary seaman, died from exposure during the expedition. Thomas Hickey, ordinary seaman, an Irish immigrant. Pierre Schubert, cook, a native of France. Died from exposure during the expedition. Hans Christian Heindrick, a nineteen-year-old half-breed Eskimo from the Moravian settlements of northern Greenland, an expert hunter. • Identified by name in the Brady group photograph of 1856 showing the leaders of the expedition.

Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands

Introduction

" I N T H E M O N T H OF DECEMBER, 1 8 5 2 , I HAD T H E HONOR OF

receiving special orders from the Secretary of the Navy to conduct an expedition to the Arctic Seas in search of Sir John Franklin." With these words Elisha Rent Kane, a surgeon of the United States Navy, begins a minor classic in the history of American polar discovery entitled Arctic Explorations in the Years 1853, '54, '55 (Philadelphia: Childs and Petersen, 1856, 2 vols). T h e two volumes in question have been eloquently described by the Dictionary of American Biography (X, 257) as a work which "lay for a decade, with the Bible, on almost. . . every parlor table in America." T h e statement is probably true, for there can be little doubt that Arctic Explorations was the most popular narrative of its kind to be published in the United States during the years immediately preceding the Civil War. Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the commander of the brig "Advance" during the years 1853-55, w a s a m a n many talents, of strong will, and of frail health. Born in a distinguished Philadelphia family, he succeeded, in spite of recurring periods of illness, in becoming a respected surgeon. Besides being a naval medical officer who had seen service in such widely separated parts of the world as •5

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DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O THE P O L A R LANDS

Macao, Ceylon, India, Egypt, and Mexico, he was a competent writer and an artist of considerable skill, as the illustrations in his Arctic Explorations attest. In Arctic Explorations Dr. Kane gives his own version of the accomplishments and sometimes horrifying tribulations of the voyage—an expedition to the frozen wastes of northern Greenland representing the first major effort of the United States government to conquer the North Pole. We are about to consider in the pages which follow another version of that expedition written by Johan Carl Christian Petersen, a member of Dr. Kane's crew. Petersen's narrative, originally written in Danish and anonymously translated into English, is here published for the first time for American readers. T h e main events which Petersen describes correspond in general to the salient points in Dr. Kane's narrative; but in the interpretation of these events there are notable differences. It is necessary, therefore, to present in this Introduction some historical background so that the reader may judge for himself what the true story of the expedition may have been. T h e arctic voyage of Dr. Kane is one of those sombrely dramatic episodes in the annals of exploration in the far north which is almost forgotten today, for it had the misfortune of being eclipsed a few years after its termination by events of infinitely greater magnitude. T h e civil war in Kansas (May, 1856), the Dred Scott decision (March 6, 1857), the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858), and John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry (1859)—not to speak of the momentous events of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period—tended to obliterate the memory of the second Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition from the public mind soon after it occurred. Nevertheless, the current bibliographies in English testify to the immense popularity of the events treated in Dr. Kane's Arctic Ex-

INTRODUCTION

17

plorations for innumerable readers living in that selfconscious era of emerging American gentility during the presidency of James Buchanan. More than sixty separate works of the nineteenth century alone (excluding their translations in French, German, Czech, and Danish) are listed in the major libraries of the United States and Great Britain concerning the exploits of Ëlisha Kent Kane (18201857), the young physician from Philadelphia who commanded the second Grinnell expedition to the arctic seas in search of the almost legendary Sir John Franklin. If it is true that the ominous drift of events preceding the outbreak of the Civil War interrupted for more than a decade the awakening interest of the American public in voyages of discovery towards the arctic and antarctic seas, the thesis can be probably sustained that the second Grinnell expedition was never evaluated properly in its time. T h e evidence shows, at least, that Dr. Kane's Arctic Explorations in the Years 1853, '54, '55 remains somewhat of an anomoly to this day. In spite of the Victorian propriety of its language, the work reveals, upon analysis, disquieting aspects of that expedition which are not set at rest, for example, by the nature of the charges hurled against Dr. Kane by William C. Godfrey—an ordinary seaman attached to the expedition—in a curious work entitled Godfrey's Narrative of the Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin, 1853-4-5. With a Biography of Dr. Elisha K. Kane from the Cradle to the Grave. By Wm. C. Godfrey, One of the Survivors of the Expedition (Philadelphia: J. T . Lloyd and Company, 1857). T h e sensational charges set forth by Godfrey in his narrative are completely absent, however, when the reader turns to that other widely known account of the second Grinnell expedition written by the surgeon of the brig

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DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

"Advance" entitled An Arctic Boat Journey in the Autumn of 1854. By Isaac I. Hayes, M.D. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Dr. Norton Shaw. London: Richard Bentley. New Burlington Street. Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty, i860. T h e narrative of Hayes is an extraordinarily vivid recital of the vicissitudes of the ill-fated boat journey of 1854 and must be regarded as being favorably disposed towards the commander of the "Advance". Mention should also be made of still another account of the Kane expedition of 1853-1855 which is distinctly hostile towards its American commander. T h e work in question was never printed in an English translation from its Danish original, although it can still be found in a narrative, now rare, entitled Erindringer fra Polarlandene optegnede af Carl Petersen, Tolk ved Pennys og Kanes Nordexpeditioner 1850-1855. Udgivne af Lauritz B. Deichmann, Lieutenant. Med Traesnit og Kort mer en Deel af Baffinsbay og Smiths-Sund. (Copenhagen: P. G. Philipsen, 1857 [Copy in the Library of Congress. Class Mark; 665 1853 K52]). T h e foregoing work by Johan Carl Christian Petersen, it might be remarked, was written by the veteran arctic explorer who had served as Dr. Kane's Eskimo-speaking interpreter aboard the "Advance" during the expedition of 1853-1855. When a modern reader consults the various printed narratives of the Kane expedition which have been written by its survivors, he learns that the best available accounts of that enterprise are the four published works just named. It is true, however, that at least three other narratives of lesser importance can be added to the list. Among these is the notorious Professor Sonntags Thrilling Narrative of the Grinnell Exploring Expedition to the Arctic Ocean in the Years 1851854, and 1855 . . . . By Professor Au-

INTRODUCTION

»9

gust Sonntag, astronomer to the Expedition, formerly of the Royal Observatory at Vienna, and late of the U.S. National Observatory (Philadelphia: Jas. T . Lloyd & Company, 1857). T h e trustworthiness of this narrative has been compromised to such a degree by Dr. Sonntag's total repudiation of the book several months after its publication that the work is valueless to modern bibliographers. In fact, the work is treated contemptuously as follows in the Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America (New York: Bibliographical Society, 18681936): The [book] . . . is not really the work of Sonntag. During his absence in Mexico, C. C. Rhodes purchased from Mrs. Sonntag a brief article intended for publication in some magazine; and, merely using the main facts there presented, prepared the Narrative. Sonntag wrote from Mexico, April 22, 1857: "I am very much mortified to see my name at the head of such a wretched concern, especially as I never wrote anything about the expedition which could have given cause to a book like this." Six of his companions on the expedition [I. I. Hayes, Henry Brooks, George Stephenson, William Morton, Amos Bonsall, and Henry Goodfellow] signed a protest against the publication of the work under his name. See the Philadelphia Evening Journal, May 19, 1857. (Vol. XX, p. 104.) T h e trustworthiness of the following work written by a sixth surviving member of the second Grinnell expedition is likewise open to doubt. T h e title of the volume reads: Dr. Kane's Arctic Voyage; Explanatory of a Pictorial Illustration of the second Grinnell Expedition . . . by William Morton (New York: Barton and Son, 1857), of which a copy is found in the New York City Public Library. T h e author of this narrative is the celebrated William Morton, the steward of the brig "Advance" during the voyage of 1853-1855. According to the accounts printed in the New York and Philadelphia newspapers upon the return o£ Dr. Kane and his companions to the United States after

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DR. KANE'S VOYAGE T O T H E POLAR LANDS

their historic expedition (October 11, 1855), W i l l i a m M o r t o n was credited with having been the only h u m a n on earth to have seen the measureless warm-water O p e n Polar Sea which, according to the scientific theories of the time, was supposed to exist at the N o r t h Pole beyond a vast circumpolar barricade of ice e n d i n g approximately at the 80th Parallel. In c o m m e n t i n g upon the lonely sledge j o u r n e y through the ice fields of northern G r e e n l a n d w h i c h M o r t o n and Hans H e n d r i c k the Eskimo pursued to the extremely high latitude of 81 0 22" in the m o n t h of June, 1854, Samuel M . Smucker, an early biographer of Dr. Kane, describes the character of this " O p e n Polar Sea" thus in his treatise entitled Arctic Explorations and Discoveries ( N e w Y o r k : Miller, O r t o n 8c Co., 1857): This then was the utmost limit and termination of their journey toward the pole. Mr. Morton ascended an eminence here, and carefully scrutinized the aspects of nature all around him. Six degrees toward the west of north, he observed a lofty peak, truncated in its form, and about three thousand feet in height. This elevation is named Mount Edward Parry, after the great pioneer of Arctic adventure; and is the most extreme northern point of land known to exist upon the globe. From the position which Mr. Morton had attained, he beheld toward the north, from an elevation of four hundred feet, a boundless waste of waters stretching away toward the pole. Not a particle of ice encumbered its surface. He heard the dashing of unfrozen waves, and beheld a rolling surf like that of more genial climes, rushing and dashing against the rocks upon the shore. This was certainly a mysterious phenomenon. Here was a fluid sea, in the midst of whole continents of ice, and that sea seemed to wash the Pole itself. T h e eye of the explorer surveyed at least forty miles of uninterrupted water in a northern direction. T h e point thus reached in this exploring expedition, was about five hundred miles distant from the Pole. Had the party been able to convey thither a boat, they might have embarked upon the bright and placid waters of that lonely ocean. But having been able to make this journey only with the sledge, further explorations were of course impossible. T h e most remarkable development connected with

INTRODUCTION

21

these discoveries was, that the temperature was here found to be much more moderate than it was further south. Marine birds sailed through the heavens. Rippling waves followed each other on the surface of the deep. A few stunted flowers grew over the barren and rocky shore. T h e inference which may be drawn from these and other facts is, that this open sea, termed the Polar Basin, stretches to the Pole itself . . . . (Pp. 486-487.) A c c o r d i n g to the contents of Morton's narrative, Dr. Kane's Arctic Voyage; Explanatory of a Pictorial Illustration, the steward of the b r i g " A d v a n c e " apparently attracted large audiences in the principal cities of the U n i t e d States d u r i n g the years 1856-1857 b y delivering illustrated lectures o n his expedition by sledge to the shores of ail obviously imaginary O p e n Polar Sea. T h e illustrations used in Morton's lectures, however, appear to b e lost, since they are not reproduced in his book. Y e t Morton's achievement was not accepted wholeheartedly by certain notable arctic authorities of his time, as shown b y the f o l l o w i n g remarks printed in the columns of the New York Daily Times in the fall of 1858: A t a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Dr. Rink, a Dane, read a paper in which he challenged the accuracy of nearly all the alleged discoveries of Dr. Kane on the North Coast of Greenland. T h e lecturer maintained that the line of coast on the American coast of Baffin's Bay as high as 81 degrees of latitude sketched in Dr. Kane's Chart was fictitious, and was founded on observations reported to have been made from points where it was impossible to have seen the land. Many other portions of Dr. Kane's narrative were disputed and it was roundly asserted that the American was hoaxed by his steward. These views were endorsed by Sir George Back, Captain Colinson, and Dr. Armstrong. Sir Roderick Murchison was in the chair, but he said nothing on the disputed questions. T h e objections of Dr. R i n k to crucial details appearing in the chart w h i c h Dr. K a n e published in 1856 in an

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DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

appendix attached to his narrative Arctic Explorations in the Years 1853, '55 cannot be sustained today, yet Dr. Rink was upon solid ground when he cast doubt upon the exact nature of the assertion made by Dr. Kane's steward in the course of the latter's illustrated lecture tour in the United States during the years 1856-1857. Distinct reminiscences, by the way, of the widely held theory of the Open Polar Sea—so characteristic of the thinking prevalent in scientific circles in the time of Dr. Kane and William Morton—are found as early as 1838 in certain ornate passages inserted by Edgar Allan Poe in his imaginative tale about a land peopled by jet-black inhabitants in the midst of a measureless lonely ocean at the South Pole beyond an extensive circumpolar belt of ice. In Chapter X V I I of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (New York, 1838), as it is recounted by Poe, the ship "Jane" under the command of Captain Guy negotiates, at length, the zone of ice and drifting floes near the Antarctic Ocean under circumstances which read as follows: We now sailed to the southward without meeting any interruption of moment until the sixteenth [of January, 1828], when, at noon, we were in latitude 81° 21', longitude 42o W. We here again sounded, and found a current setting still southwardly, and at the rate of three-quarters of a mile per hour. The variation per azimuth had diminished, and the temperature of the air was mild and pleasant, the temperature being as high as fifty-one. At this period not a particle of ice was to be discovered. All hands on board now felt certain of attaining the pole. When a modern reader scrutinizes this passage, as well as similar extracts from Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, he quickly perceives the true nature of William Morton's Dr. Kane's Arctic Voyage; Explanatory of a Pictorial Illustration of the second Grinnell Expedition. A t least a portion of Morton's narrative is strongly colored

INTRODUCTION

23

by the then prevailing scientific opinion that a boundless, moving, fluid ocean is probably located in a zone of mild temperatures beyond a formidable barricade of ice at each antipode of the earth. According to this opinion, also, the circumpolar barricade of ice terminates at the 8oth Parallel both in the arctic and antarctic zones. It is therefore evident that Morton's widely heralded claim of having discovered an "Open Polar Sea" at latitude 8i° 22' in northern Greenland is an assertion which somewhat compromises Dr. Kane. There is available to the modern reader still a seventh account of the second Grinnell expedition of 1853-1855 which was written by one of its survivors; but since it was penned fifty years after the events which it describes, the narrative must necessarily be approached with caution. T h e account to which we refer is Amos Bonsall's memoir "After Fifty Years" that Rudolf Kersting inserted as a separate chapter in his book about the polar regions entitled The White World (New York, 1902). Amos Bonsall, the last living survivor of the Kane expedition, was the officer of the brig "Advance" who was in charge of making daguerreotypes for the expedition. Although the U.S. Navy had provided the "Advance" with the apparatus for taking daguerreotypes of the arctic scenes which Bonsall and his companions were to encounter at unprecedented latitudes, the labors of Bonsall as the ship's photographic chronicler came to a disastrous end in the year 1855. As Bonsall says himself (p. 43) in his narrative, the results of his work "were lost on our return. T h e box containing the daguerreotypes was put upon a sledge on the ice, and was carried away, together with the whole collection of Arctic birds, which had been prepared with great care for the Academy of Natural Science. This was an irreparable loss, and one to this day I have never ceased to regret."

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DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

T h e present discussion regarding the original sources which have survived relative to a bibliography of the expedition of Dr. Kane cannot be complete without mentioning William Elder's somewhat colorless Biography of Elisha Kent Kane (Philadelphia: Childs and Peterson, 1858). Published only a year after the unexpected death of Dr. Kane at the early age of thirty-seven, the Biography treats adequately its patriotic theme of a national hero who had planted the flag of the United States in regions of the arctic wastes of Greenland far beyond that of any previous expedition. T h e chief fault of the Biography in recounting the events of the second Grinnell expedition of 1853-1855 appears to be a notable reluctance on the part of Mr. Elder to discuss a crucial episode during the expedition about which there is much obscurity. T h e episode of the "withdrawal party" of 1854 in which such individuals of the crew of the "Advance" as Carl Petersen, I. I. Hayes, August Sonntag, William Godfrey, and Amos Bonsall chose to separate themselves from the ship's company in a vain effort to reach by open boats the far-distant Danish settlements of Greenland (August 24 to December 12) is a matter that has perplexed many admirers of Dr. Kane. T h e whisper of "mutiny" is distinctly heard as one reads certain passages in at least two of the published narratives of the second Grinnell expedition which have been cited in this Introduction although at no point in these accounts is the suggestion of a mutiny explicitly stated. It is a matter of perplexity, also, to find that Dr. I. I. Hayes, the surgeon of the "Advance," has made no mention whatsoever in his Arctic Boat Journey in the Autumn of 18¡4 of any friction which might have existed between Dr. Kane and the members of the "withdrawal party" at the time when nine individuals of the eighteenmember crew of the "Advance" effectively split the com-

INTRODUCTION

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bined forces of the expedition of D r . Kane in the lonely ice fields of the far north at the site of the hopelessly frozen-in A m e r i c a n ship. D r . Hayes depicts for us in his Arctic Boat Journey a scene of idyllic harmony existing between the crew and the commander of the " A d v a n c e . " Certainly, n o suggestion of disunity can be f o u n d in these lines: Before noon [August 28, 1854] the sledges were packed, and all was ready. Dr. Kane then called us to the cabin. In some nook or corner of the afterport-locker the careful steward [William Morton] had stowed a couple of bottles of champagne, the existence of which was known only to the commander and himself. One of these was drawn from its hiding place, and in broken-handled teacups we exchanged mutual pledges. T h e "God speed you" of those who remained was answered with a reciprocal good wish from those who were about to leave. Next moment we had shaken hands and said good-bye all around, and, mounting the companion-ladder, were off. (Pp. 38-39.) O n the other hand, a reader finds this entry for T h u r s day, A p r i l 13, 1854 in the original log b o o k of the " A d vance," as that v o l u m i n o u s record is still f o u n d today in the archives of the Manuscript Division of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia: Thursday, A p r 13 [1854]—Oppressed by constant deck labour and short hands. We have but thirteen officers and men off the sick list. Received a letter from Dr. Hayes refusing to do duty unless at hours selected by himself. Wrote a kind remonstrating letter which is not yet answered . . . . Unfortunately, the l o g b o o k of the " A d v a n c e " contains no further information a b o u t the refusal of Dr. Hayes "to do duty unless at hours selected b y himself." In its present state this day-to-day record of the second G r i n n e l l expedition reveals an unaccountable gap between the entries for T h u r s d a y , A p r i l 13, 1854, and T u e s d a y , M a y 1, 1855. T h e pages covering this period are missing and seem to have

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DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R

LANDS

been removed b y an u n k n o w n person. T h u s , it is impossible to determine f r o m the log u p o n what date after T h u r s d a y , A p r i l 13, 1854, Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes, the surgeon of the " A d v a n c e , " decided to submit himself again to the orders of his commander. Moreover, it is impossible to determine f r o m the pages of the log w h i c h still remain intact the precise nature of the events that occurred aboard the " A d v a n c e " on the occasion w h e n nine members of the expedition (including D r . Hayes) separated themselves f r o m their commander and the remainder of the ship's company in order to embark u p o n that series of h a r r o w i n g adventures narrated so successfully b y Hayes in his Arctic Boat Journey in the Autumn of 1854. A s stated before—if we are to believe Hayes—the members of the "withdrawal party" of the " A d v a n c e " took leave of Dr. Kane on the most cordial of terms on A u g u s t 28, 1854; yet we are confronted b y the additional fact that in one of the hitherto unpublished accounts of the second Grinnell expedition, w h i c h will be f o u n d in its proper place after the pages of this Introduction, Johan Carl Christian Petersen, the acknowledged leader of the withdrawal party of 1854, writes the f o l l o w i n g lines to describe the situation aboard the " A d v a n c e " on A u g u s t 24, 1854: Dr. Kane called together a ship-council a few days after his return. He imparted to us that since there appeared no hope of getting away and since we, moreover, were in want of fuel and provisions, he would permit every one of us, who might have the desire and courage, to abandon the ship and to save ourselves as best we could. As for himself, he intended to re· main on board. He granted us a term of 24 hours for reflection; and, when it expired, he again called us together to hear what resolution we had taken. When it became evident, however, that 12 men out of the 18 that composed the crew demanded to leave the ship, it seems that Dr. Kane felt some hesitation. Because he read to us a paper which he demanded to be signed by Mr. Hayes, Bonsall, Sonntag, Olsen, Wilson, and Hans the Greenlander. T h e three former gentlemen signed it without

INTRODUCTION

remonstrance, but Dr. Kane contrived to keep the other three —Olsen, Wilson, and Hans—on board partly by persuasion and not without some menace, as it seems to me. T h e company which thus resolved to leave the ship consisted then of 9 individuals, who unanimously chose me to be their leader and agreed in every respect to obey my commands. T h e Petersen MS, f r o m w h i c h the preceding lines have been quoted, also recounts the f o l l o w i n g version of the events w h i c h took place aboard the " A d v a n c e " at eleven o'clock on the m o r n i n g of A u g u s t 28th: We [the members of the withdrawal party] left the ship at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. Olsen had already announced in the morning to Dr. Kane his resolution to join our party. But the Doctor declared that he would not grant him the permission and would consider it as a desertion if he left the ship; and thus he remained on board. We were accompanied by McGary, Hans, and Thomas [Hickey]; we carried the red boat with the rest of our baggage on the large sledge and arrived at 6 o'clock in the afternoon to the Whale boat A s it can be seen f r o m the f o l l o w i n g paragraphs (pp. 157-158) extracted f r o m Godfrey's Narrative of the Last Grinnell Exploring Expedition (Philadelphia, 1857), the circumstances relating to the withdrawal party of 1854 recounted by W i l l i a m G o d f r e y are not too radically different from the version of the same events given to us b y Petersen: About the latter part of August all hands were summoned on deck, and Dr. Kane, in a formal speech, announced that such of the men as wished to leave the brig for the purpose of traveling homeward, had full permission to do so. I perceived that the apprehended scarcity of provisions led to this generous offer. As I had never enjoyed much comfort or experienced much kindness, on board of the Advance, I was one of the first to embrace this opportunity to depart. A majority of the brig's company, viz., Sonntag, Dr. Hayes, Petersen, Bonsall, Blake, Riley, Whipple, and Stevenson, came to the same conclusion. Our withdrawal left but eight persons on board. Dr. Kane furnished us with a boat placed on sledge-runners,

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DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R

LANDS

and some few cooking utensils and other articles which could be spared from the brig. We bade our comrades who stayed behind an affectionate adieu, and started on the 28th of August [1854]—rather too late in the season for such an undertaking. Our purpose was to proceed by boat or sledge conveyance, as we best could, to Upernavick, the most northern Danish settlement, from whence we expected to find a passage to some vessel to our own country. It is now a matter of history that the members of the withdrawal party mentioned by name in the preceding paragraphs returned to the ice-bound brig "Advance" at Van Rensselaer Harbor (December 12, 1854) under conditions of famine, sickness, exhaustion, and utter demoralization after their unsuccessful attempt to reach the far-distant Danish colony of Upernavik in their open boats. T o the credit of the commander of the "Advance" it can be said that not many months after the failure of the withdrawal party to reach Upernavik, Elisha Kent Kane successfully planned, organized, and executed one of the most remarkable journeys of escape in the annals of arctic explorations (May 17 to August 6, 1855) when he conducted his sick and scurvy-ridden companions from the ice-bound brig in which the expedition had been trapped for two years and led his men to safety by means of sledges and open boats to the Danish settlements of northern Greenland 1,300 miles distant from the ruins of his ship. T h e removal of numerous crucial pages from the log book of the "Advance" raises interesting questions in regard to the connection between Dr. I. I. Hayes and William Elder. Certain extraneous notations inscribed upon the log book show that William Elder, the author of A Biography of Elisha Kent Kane (Philadelphia: Childs and Petersen, 1858), was in possession of this reliable and authentic record of the ship's operations in 1857—that is to say, during the time when Elder was in the latter stages

INTRODUCTION

29

of writing his Biography. T h e first page of the l o g book—a journal of the ordinary commercial type which has been rebound i n leather—reveals the f o l l o w i n g title: Journal of Operations O n Board Ship. T h e r e follows o n the reverse side of the title page a caption reading thus: This log is in the handwriting of Dr. Kane and presented to Ferd J. Dreer by his friend Geo. W . Childs. A t the m i d d l e of this v o l u m e of u n n u m b e r e d pages, directly after the entry relating to Dr. 1 . 1 . Hayes of A p r i l 13, 1854, w h i c h has already been mentioned, there appear the two f o l l o w i n g notations: This journal is the only "Log" now kept as such by the brig Advance. It is placed in the hands of Mr. Brooks the first officer for daily entries, and is the Official Record of the Expedition. Ε. K. Kane Second Grinnell Expedin. The entries in this volume entitled at the head of next page, "Journal", and in an unbound Record endorsed "Journal of Operations on board ship" are in the handwriting of Dr. Kane. Together they are a part, or two severed parts of the First Officer's "Log". Dr. Kane in his "Arctic Explorations: the Second Grinnell Expedition," Vol. 1. page 171 (XV Chap.) says "thereupon comes in mine ancient. Brooks; and I enter in his journal No. 3 all the work done under his charge . . . ." William Elder Philadelphia December 23, 1857 Directly after this page in the l o g book of the " A d v a n c e " one finds another section of the v o l u m e containing entries written o u t b y D r . K a n e between T u e s d a y , May 1, 1855 and T u e s d a y , M a y 22, 1855. T h e first page of this second section contains the simple title: " J o u r n a l " . O n the last

GO

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R

LANDS

p a g e o£ this s e c o n d s e c t i o n of t h e l o g b o o k ,

immediately

f o l l o w i n g D r . K a n e ' s e n t r i e s f o r M a y 22, 1855, t h e r e a p pears a postscript written on J u l y

20, 1862, b y

G o o d f e l l o w , o n e of t h e s u r v i v o r s of t h e s e c o n d

Henry

Grinnell

e x p e d i t i o n . T h e p o s t s c r i p t r e a d s as f o l l o w s : T h e f o r e g o i n g record i n this b o o k is, as D r . K a n e certified o n one of the pages, the L o g of the B r i g A d v a n c e of the 2nd G r i n n e l l Arctic E x p e d i t i o n . A ship's log is technically kept by the first-officer. So, f o r this diary H e n r y Brooks, boatswain, U.S.N., is responsible as the authoritative officer b u t as Brooks h a d n o pretension to literary culture Dr. K a n e w i t h that proper deference to f o r m w h i c h always characterized h i m h u m b l y constituted himself the amaneunsis of Brooks a n d clothed the sailor's report of each day's w o r k w i t h appropriate expressions a n d wrote it down. T h i s diary, alike w i t h everything w h i c h bore the impress of the author's h a n d or emanated f r o m his m i n d , is an evidence of his methodical habits a n d love of order. A t the same time that it bears, i n c o m m o n w i t h his more studied work, the i m p r i n t of his artistic graces of m i n d a n d soul. N o matter w h a t cares w e i g h e d u p o n his heart—what disapp o i n t e d hopes or g r o w i n g wants—as regularly as the sunless day rolled by unregistered o n the dial of the heavens by a rising a n d setting sun: Sitting by his little table at the fire, the i n k o n the stove by him, at the accustomed hour, w i t h Brooks, he b e n t over the Journal, a n d recorded the fortunes of the day. It was more than a bare report of operations: It is a history of his labors, his stupendous efforts, his carefully prepared plans; a n d he could not forbear always f r o m a d d i n g some t h o u g h t of sympathy and hope f r o m the w o r l d of Christian h u m a n i t y from w h i c h we were banished. His relations of familiar kindness towards Brooks were honorable to b o t h parties, and illustrated an interesting trait i n the character of Dr. Kane. Brooks was truly one of nature's noblemen. H e was a man. Dr. K a n e told me that w h e n he fiist k n e w Brooks in the first E x p e d i t i o n b e f o r e the hardy seaman's faculties had b e e n somewhat impaired by the hardships of two A r c t i c voyages, " B r o o k s h a d one of the best heads he ever k n e w . " H e was a t h o r o u g h sailor, and a respected boatswain in the N a v y , of a great deal of native intelligence, an honestsailor's quick sense of honor, a n d a child-like loyalty of heart.

INTRODUCTION

31

He did not survive his leader many months, although less than thirty years of age. The rigors of a life spent at sea in extreme climates gave him the appearance of a much older man, and signs of age told of a broken constitution. Looking over these pages, I see much which calls vividly to mind with the freshness of the real scene, circumstances and incidents, the actors in which have all, or nearly all, passed away; and perhaps they are happy in being mercifully spared the misery of looking on the unhappy condition of our beloved country. Henry Goodfellow July 20th 1862 26th Reg. P.V. Early in 1961 an unpublished letter written by I. I. Hayes to William Elder, dated at Cleveland, Ohio, on December 5, 1857, w a s found among the papers in the Stewart collection of rare books and manuscripts at Glassboro State College (New Jersey). Owing to circumstances which cannot be explained, the letter accompanied a 73page narrative, written in English, entitled Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands. This latter MS, signed and dated by "Charles Petersen" at Copenhagen in April, 1856, is on the whole, an accurate translation of the "Voyage of Dr. Kane" as that arctic tale is recounted in Danish in Johan Carl Christian Petersen's published volume, Erindringer fra Polarlandene optegnede af Carl Petersen. Tolk ved Pennys og Kanes Nordexpeditioner 1850-185; (Copenhagen, 1857). Both of the documents to which we refer are reproduced with necessary explanatory notes in the main text of the present volume. Of the two newly discovered documents relating to the second Grinnell expedition which have just been described, the letter written by Hayes to William Elder of December 5, 1857, appears to provide an important clue towards the solution of the question regarding the missing pages found in the original log book of the brig "Advance." T h e Hayes letter was written from Cleveland eighteen

DR. KANE'S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

days prior to the time when W i l l i a m Elder inserted his interesting notations at Philadelphia in this same log book. Moreover, Elder announces to us in these notations that the log book—with its otherwise continuous entries—did not come to h i m intact but as "a part, or two severed parts, of the First Officer's L o g . " A n extract of the letter written by Hayes follows: Upon this subject [of the withdrawal party of 1854] there is no end of obscurity, for I think that any one who will trouble himself to look beneath the surface of things will see that the clearest understanding existed among the crew of the "Advance". I have heard it said by men who surely ought to have had more penetration that there was dissatisfaction and a mutinous spirit [aboard the ship]. I need not tell you that this carries its own false interpretation upon its face 8c is simply an insult to the courage of Dr. Kane & his qualifications of command. That it is an injustice to his associates is but a small matter in comparison. Others have said that under the head of self preservation being the first law of creation, the separation was right. This is equally unjust and shallow, for it will be clear to any man that such could not have been the case when it is remembered that the party turned out into an icy wilderness with but a few weeks of navigable season before them and but the prospect of finishing or making a journey of 1300 miles in that time. Had they turned their comrades out of the vessel Sc taken possession [of the ship], there would have been some truth in the assertion. Dr. Hayes also writes in another portion of his letter to W i l l i a m Elder: You may not be aware of the fact, but so it is that this obscurity [in Dr. Kane's own account of the withdrawal party in Arctic Explorations, I, 348-351] has led to an interpretation - b y persons eager to find fault—unfavorable to myself and others connected with me. It is in your power to make the matter clear and, by so doing, I need hardly say you will honor the memory of the dead while you serve the living. By so doing, I am very sure, you will have served the wishes of the illustrious subject of your history [Dr. Kane]. Since W i l l i a m Elder's Biography of Elisha Kent Kane, published in 1858, is written in such a way as to avoid all

INTRODUCTION

33

reference to the withdrawal party of 1854, the presumption must be that Elder followed the implied advice given to him in the letter written by I. I. Hayes. It is also not outside the range of possibility that it was William Elder or George W. Childs, or both, who had immediate and direct knowledge on December 23, 1857, the matter of the disappearance of numerous pages regarding the withdrawal party from the log book of the brig "Advance" as that mutilated journal of continuous entries is found in its present condition today. Considering these circumstances, it is not strange that Dr. I. I. Hayes should have written his letter to Elder on December 5, 1857. Dr. Kane died at Havana on February 16, 1857; and it is an additional coincidental fact that a considerable portion of Elder's Biography of Elisha Kent Kane (pp. 285-416) consists of an elaborate description of the unprecedented civic ceremonies attending Dr. Kane's funeral journey from Havana to New Orleans, Louisville, Columbus, Baltimore, and finally to his native city of Philadelphia, where the remains of Dr. Kane lay in state at Independence Hall (March 11-14, 1857) during a period of national mourning featured by nation-wide tributes from such prominent American citizens as President James Buchanan, the Hon. Charles Sumner, the Hon. Edward Everett, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, General Lewis Cass, Washington Irving, William H. Prescott, Professor Louis Agassiz, General Wool, William Cullen Bryant, and Commodore Perry. T h e death of Dr. Kane was also noted with expressions of regret in the "Obituary of Eminent Persons" published in the Illustrated London News of March 14, 1857 (Vol. X X X , No. 849, p. 240). It is apparent that Voyage to the Polar of a special type in of the Hayes letter

the Petersen MS entitled Dr. Kane's Lands likewise bears a relationship connection with the subject matter of December 5, 1857, addressed to

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

W i l l i a m Elder. Aside f r o m Petersen's Erindringer fra Polarlandene optegnede af Carl Petersen w h i c h was printed at Copenhagen in 1857 and the Narrative of the Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition that was published by W i l l i a m G o d f r e y at Philadelphia in the same year 1857, the Petersen MS of 1856 is the only account of the expedition which speaks frankly a b o u t the semimutinous nature of the withdrawal party of 1854. Y e t W i l l i a m Godfrey's Narrative cannot be said to b e an entirely disinterested account of the events which it unfolds. T h i s is proved by the fact that the Narrative attempts to show through a variety of instances that Dr. Kane's characterization of W i l l i a m Godfrey as a member of his crew w h o was guilty of "mutinous desertion" (See Arctic Explorations, II, pp. 78-89) is libellous and entirely false. A n illustration of the thesis of Godfrey's Narrative is seen i n the following words which were printed in one of the preliminary pages of the book at the time when it was published only three and a half months after the spectacular civic events attending the funeral of Dr. K a n e at Philadelphia: "Why Did Dr. E. K. Kane T r y to Kill God£rey?"-London Times. Appeal of an Arctic Explorer, Wm. C. Godfrey, to the American Public: Fellow Citizens—I am the man whom Dr. Kane, in his published volume, has stigmatized as a mutineer and deserter, and whose moral character he has blackened with many reproachful epithets and insinuations, without giving the least proof that I ever committed any offense against the laws of my country, or ever was guilty of one dishonorable action. These unfounded and libellous charges against an unoffending citizen of the United States have been circulated all over the civilized world; and (strange to say) the only man who has raised a voice in my defense is an Englishman, the editor of the North British Review, who has shown, by Dr. Kane's own statements, that he has done me grievous and undeserved wrong. I have

35

INTRODUCTION

prepared a faithful account of my adventures in the Polar regions, showing to what injurious treatment I was subjected while on board the exploring brig Advance. In this forthcoming volume, I have shown that I placed my life in the greatest peril by traveling on foot 95 miles, in the darkest and coldest part of the Arctic winter, to procure food for my dying companions. I have shown that I saved Dr. Kane's life at the risk of my own, and that he afterward attempted to shoot me, without any just cause or provocation. T h e book containing an account of my hard-ships, sufferings, and wrongs in the arctic regions, will be published within a few days, by Mr. Lloyd of Philadelphia. Such has been the influence of the stigma cast upon my character by Dr. Kane's publications, that I have found it almost impossible to obtain employment in the United States; the reader, therefore, will not be surprised when I say that I have been compelled to drive an omnibus in Philadelphia, the past year, for a living. This Vindication would have appeared sooner, but I was unable to meet the expense of publication, until Mr. Lloyd agreed to publish my book at his own risk. This gentleman has enabled a poor and unfortunate man to bring his cause before the American public, from whom he asks no more than a fair and impartial hearing, and a just decision, according to the true and obvious merits of the case. Philadelphia, June ist, 1857

Wm. C. Godfrey

T h i s is not the place to pass j u d g m e n t upon the character of W i l l i a m G o d f r e y n o r u p o n the accuracy of the story which he tells to the A m e r i c a n public in his Narrative of It is suffithe Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition. cient to say here that a m o n g the surviving entries f o u n d in the log b o o k of the b r i g " A d v a n c e " are the f o l l o w i n g notations referring to W i l l i a m G o d f r e y and to J o h n Hussey (alias " W i l l i a m B l a k e " ) , both ordinary seamen of the crew of Dr. K a n e d u r i n g the second G r i n n e l l expedition to the arctic seas: 1853 Tuesday, July 5—Confined William Godfrey and John for insubordination and disrespectful language to Brooks.

Mr.

J6

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

Monday, July 11—Crew came aft and reported William Godfrey as productive of disturbance in their mess. Saturday, July 23—Left Uppernavik filling up our water casks and heading up the coast. Took on board Mr. Petersen, whose services were engaged by me for this expedition. Salary to commence from this date. Saturday, Aug 13—Omitted to mention that on Thursday, Aug l i , William Godfrey made an assault upon Mr. Wilson accompanied with abusive language. The case was investigated by my order by Messrs. Bonsall, Olson, and McGeary and the result now on file decided me to confine Godfrey in the Booby Hatch on bread and water. Tues & Wednes. Nov 15 & 16-Petersen brewed beer: 2 bbls. One mixture was for scurvy. Nov 24, Thürs—Brooks & McGeary . . . show decided symptoms of scurvy. Sunday, Nov 27—Football on ice. Monday, Dec 5—Health of brig improving. Scurvy cases better. Dr. Kane scorbutic and rheumatic. Commenced eating puppies. Thursday, Dec 8—43° below Zero. Wednesday, Dec. 14—Party in honor of Henry Grinnell. Extra dinner . . . Turk our best dog died. I854

Friday, Jan 27—Placed John Huzza in solitary confinement, vacating for that purpose my stateroom. Except for complete separation from his associates, every indulgence is given to his personal comfort. His offense was mutinous conduct, refusing to obey orders, threatening to kill our dogs and other acts of insubordination. This is his fourth offense. Huzza is a hard-working but dangerous and . . . man. His influence upon the crew is of the very worse description. Friday, Feb 9th—Released William Huzzy, alias John Blake. Monday, Feb 27—Mr. Petersen shot an arctic hare. In spite of the nature of the previous entries, which represent Godfrey as a common "wharf-rat" or worse, one finds no evidence whatsoever to dispute his authorship of of the work known as Godfrey's Narrative of the Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition. T h e r e can be n o doubt, either, that the Petersen MS, now in the possession of the library of Glassboro State College, is a bonafide

INTRODUCTION

37

work of the author to which it is attributed, as shown by the fidelity with which its unknown translator rendered into English its corresponding text from the Danish narrative entitled Erindringer fra Polarlandene optegnede af Carl Petersen (Copenhagen, 1857). T h e present Introduction would fall short of its purpose if nothing were said in these pages about the underlying motives which impelled Elisha Kent Kane to navigate his 129-ton brig "Advance," with its relatively untrained crew of sixteen Americans, two Danes, a Frenchman, and a halfbreed Eskimo hunter, into the dangerous and unexplored waters of Smith's Sound (Lat. 78° 21' N.; Long. 74° W.) in an apparently hopeless search for Sir John Franklin. As it is well known, Sir John sailed under orders of the British Admiralty in 1845 with two specially equipped arctic vessels—the "Erebus" and the "Terror"—in an endeavor to find the fabled Northwest Passage, mentioned by Frobisher and other sixteenth-century navigators, from Europe to the China Seas. It is a commonplace of nineteenthcentury history that Sir John Franklin died on June 11, 1847, ten months after the "Erebus" and the "Terror" became fast frozen in the ice near King William Island in the Canadian arctic archipelago. T h e remaining 128 members of the expedition presumably perished through disease, exposure, and starvation shortly after they abandoned their ships on April 12, 1848. T h e astonishing story of the ultimate discovery by Captain Francis Leopold M'Clintock of the pathetic documents left behind in a caim at Point Victory on King William Island by the sorely beset survivors of the Franklin expedition has been admirably narrated by M'Clintock in his Voyage of the "Fox" in the Arctic Seas. A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions (London: J. Murray, 1859). In recent years, owing to the special studies of

G8

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

Rear-Admiral Noel Wright upon all of the facts known about the Franklin expedition, a new line of evidence seems to show that a considerable number of the survivors of the expedition could have been slain by the savage Eskimos inhabiting Boothia Felix, adjacent to King William Island. [See Rear-Admiral Wright's Quest for Franklin (London: William Heinemann, 1959), pp. 152-164]. Such a theory of a massacre by Eskimos is quite plausible, since innumerable personal articles belonging to the members of the expedition, such as buttons from uniforms, gold and silver watches, mahogany snow shovels, compasses, telescopes, and silves spoons and forks, have been found in the possession of the Eskimos of the remote north ever since the early months of the year 1854. In July, 1853, at the time that Dr. Kane set forth for the arctic regions in the American brig "Advance" to participate in the wide-spread search conducted by the British Admiralty for the relief of Sir John Franklin and his companions, Johan Carl Christian Petersen—Dr. Kane's arctic guide and Eskimo-speaking interpreter—was enjoying an enviable reputation as one of the foremost experts in the world concerning polar explorations. T h e British Royal Navy had made use of Petersen's services as an interpreter among the Eskimos and as a master of sledge operations as early as 1847. T e n years later, in 1857, Petersen reached the climax of his career as a veteran of the most significant arctic expeditions of his time when Captain M'Clintock engaged him as a valued member of his crew aboard the "Fox" during M'Clintock's notable voyage to King William Island in search of Sir John Franklin and his companions. In fact, it is the preface of Captain M'Clintock's narrative concerning the voyage of the "Fox" (p. 14) which informs us that Petersen had been "worthily honored" by the King of Denmark with the silver cross of Dannebrog

INTRODUCTION

39

for his unique contributions to explorations in the polar seas. Born in Denmark but having lived the greater part of his life in the Danish colonies of Greenland near Upernavik, Petersen was well-fitted for the task of lending assistance to the Admiralty in its systematic search for the survivors of the Franklin expedition. More than once his name appears in dispatches addressed to the Admiralty praising his excellence as a hunter, as an arctic guide, and as a stern practitioner of the art of survival in the polar regions which he had learned first-hand from long residence among the Eskimos. Spurred on by public opinion throughout the world and by the urgent demands of Parliament, the Admiralty organized no fewer than forty separate voyages to the arctic seas between 1847-1858 in its efforts to find traces of the "Erebus" and the "Terror" and their officers and crews. (For a complete list of the expeditions, consult Sir John Richardson, The Polar Regions, pp. 172-174). During the course of five of these expeditions to Lancaster Sound in the summer of 1850, a searching party led by Captain Erasmus Ommanney of H.M.S. "Assistance" found unmistakeable traces of the Franklin expedition in the environs of Beechey Island. T w o days later (August 27, 1850), while visiting the island itself, another search party organized by Captain William Penny of the "Lady Franklin" discovered three well-marked graves belonging to members of the lost expedition. Other relics nearby showed plainly the nature of the disaster which had befallen Sir John and his companions. Captain Penny's search party, however, could find no trace of the two ships, the "Erebus" and the "Terror," in the vicinity of Beechey Island. It was not until later—in October, 1854—that Dr. John Rae, a medical officer with the Hudson's Bay Company, turned over to his superiors at Montreal many personal articles

40

DR. KANE'S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

belonging to members of the Franklin expedition which he had collected from nomadic Eskimos of the Boothia Peninsula. T h e Eskimos could not provide Dr. Rae with an adequate explanation of how they had acquired the articles; but they volunteered the information that four winters previously (Spring, 1850), other Eskimos of the Peninsula had seen a party of forty emaciated white men dragging a boat southward over the ice along the coast of King William Island and from thence to the mouth of the Great Fish River, where the entire party perished either from cannibalism or starvation. T h e Eskimos also informed Dr. Rae that the ships or ship of the white men had been crushed by ice and that the bodies of thirty-five of the survivors had been discovered near George Back's Great Fish River—named by the Eskimos Out-koo-hi ca-lik. Owing to the deep drifts of snow separating him from the Great Fish River, Dr. Rae could not verify the details of the story told to him by the Eskimos. Among the arctic explorers who were present at the scene of operations at Beechey Island in August, 1850, at the time that Captain Penny discovered the graves of the three members of the Franklin expedition were Johan Carl Christian Petersen and Elisha Kent Kane. T h e former was a member of the crew of the "Lady Franklin," commanded by Captain Penny of the British naval service, while the latter was the senior surgeon (attached to the brig "Advance") of a squadron of two ships commanded by Lieutenant Edwin J. De Haven of the U.S. Navy which was assisting the British Admiralty in its search operations. In the annals of arctic explorations of the nineteenth century, this particular expedition led by Lt. De Haven is known as the first Grinnell expedition, named after the wealthy merchant and philanthropist who financed the voyage, Mr. Henry Grinnell of New York City. It is likely

INTRODUCTION

41

that it was during the De Haven expedition to the arctic seas, and particularly on the occasion when the crews of Captain Penny and Lieutenant De Haven were examining the traces of the Franklin expedition on Beechey Island in August, 1850, that Dr. Kane first became acquainted with the Danish explorer Johan Carl Christian Petersen. Several weeks later, the two ships of Lt. De Haven became fast frozen in the polar ice pack and drifted helplessly for a distance of more than a thousand miles from the Wellington Channel to the Danish colonies in Greenland. Eventually, the two ships succeeded in freeing themselves from the thawing ice near Proven and made their way successfully to port in New York City in the autumn of 1851. Although it was plain that the first Grinnell expedition had by no means achieved its major objectives in the arctic seas, a direct outcome of the voyage was the enormously successful account of the expedition by Dr. Kane entitled The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin. A Personal Narrative (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1853). Aside from this first edition of 1853, other editions of Kane's narrative were published at New York in 1854, 1856, and 1857, while similar imprints of the work appeared in Boston and London simultaneously. Even before the work was published, however, the status of Dr. Kane as an arctic explorer must have been elevated considerably within circles of the United States naval service, owing to the well-documented nature of Dr. Kane's letters to the then Secretary of the Navy, the Hon. John Pendleton Kennedy, regarding the points of dispute between the Americans and the British in respect to the unknown lands of the arctic regions recently discovered by the De Haven expedition (See Elder, pp. 159-162). Eventually, Dr. Kane was to assign the name the "Kennedy Channel" to the unexplored body of open water which William Morton is

42

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

alleged to have seen on his sledge expedition with Hans the Eskimo to Cape Constitution in June, 1854. T h e geographical chart which Dr. Kane appended to his second published narrative, Arctic Explorations (1856), designates the channel by that name and such it remains today in modem maps of the arctic regions. T h e failure of the first Grinnell expedition to come to the relief of Sir John Franklin and his companions had naturally placed formidable obstacles in the way of organizing a second venture for the same purpose. Ultimately, however. Dr. Kane was chosen by Mr. Grinnell to be the leader of a second projected voyage, although that generous benefactor to the cause of rescuing the lost Franklin party from the polar ice fields could not promise to finance it with the same degree of philanthropy with which he had contributed to the first. According to Kane's biographer, Samuel M. Smucker, Dr. Kane began a systematic campaign directly after his appointment to secure an appropriation from Congress as the only practical means of ensuring the complete success of his voyage. Although he enjoyed a position of great trust with the Smithsonian Institution at Washington and even with the Secretary of the Navy, the Hon. John P. Kennedy, Dr. Kane soon discovered that he was not destined to lead the kind of a large-scale government-financed expedition to the polar regions which he had planned. Smucker touches upon this subject when he writes as follows on Pages 77-78 of his Life of Dr. Elisha Kent Kane and of Other Distinguished American Explorers (Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, 1858): . . . [Dr. Kane's] greatest toils and his severest disappointments, during this anxious and laborious interval [1851-1853], were connected with his efforts to obtain an appropriation from Congress. The distinguished representatives of the nation listened to his glowing appeals and his unanswerable arguments in reference to the importance, value, feasibility, and glory of the proposed expedition, whereby, as he confidently

INTRODUCTION

43

anticipated, the lost navigators would be found, and the whole civilized world would ring with acclamations and plaudits of American heroism, valor, and philanthropy, which alone had been able to deliver the lost navigators from their icy prison: they listened, promised assistance, turned away, and forgot all about it. T h e truth probably was, that Dr. Kane would not and did not deceive, bribe, feed, and liquor extensively enough to engage the serious cooperation of the mercenary and sensual legislators of the people; and therefore all his exertions in that quarter ended in total failure. Smucker's rather intemperate remarks u p o n this subject overlook the natural aversion of members of the U.S. Congress at that time to ally themselves publicly with a distinctly British h u m a n i t a r i a n venture rather than one w h i c h was A m e r i c a n . Further testimony i n regard to the severe restrictions imposed u p o n Dr. K a n e in organizing the second G r i n n e l l expedition comes f r o m Mr. A m o s Bonsall, one of D r . Kane's companions o n this fateful voyage of 1853-1855. In a letter dated o n O c t o b e r 13, 1857, t o G- W . Childs, the publisher of W i l l i a m Elder's Biography of Elisha Kent Kane, Bonsall remarks (pp. 273-274 of the Biography) that the second G r i n n e l l expedition left m u c h to be desired in the way of nautical e q u i p m e n t and the discipline of its crew. H e writes in respect to D r . Kane's situation in the early months of 1853: On account of . . . [Dr. Kane's] sickness at the time of the fitting out of the Expedition, a great deal was necessarily intrusted to others, and we sailed very imperfectly prepared to encounter the perils and privations of an arctic winter; and, worse than all, the men had been shipped from the ordinary class of sailors in port, without regard to their moral character or physical ability; and before reaching Greenland we had difficulties with some which should not have occurred, and others were comparatively useless on account of sickness. It might also be said that the simple rules described b y Dr. Kane i n his Arctic Explorations (I, p. 16) for the governance of his ship m i g h t have contributed in some degree

44

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO T H E POLAR LANDS

to the restlessness of his motley crew at the time when the arctic brig, the "Advance," sailed towards Greenland in the summer of 1853. Dr. Kane says: We did not sail under the rules that govern our national ships; but we had our own regulations, well considered and announced beforehand, and rigidly adhered to afterward through all the vicissitudes of the expedition. These included— first, absolute subordination to the officer in command or his delegate; second, abstinence from all intoxicating liquors, except when dispensed by special order; third, the habitual disuse of profane language. We had no other laws. T h e readers of the narrative entitled Dr. Kane's Voyage to the Polar Lands will presently learn that the Petersen MS makes a special point of criticizing the commander of the "Advance" for preparing to depart for the perilous arctic seas from Upernavik with a poorly equipped ship and an inexperienced crew. Yet such a state of affairs could not have been the fault of Dr. Kane. T h e major part of the blame on that score, rather, should have fallen upon those members of the U.S. Congress from whom Dr. Kane had vainly sought a modest appropriation of funds to pursue a voyage which was not only humanitarian in nature but which, as events were to prove later, brought back to the Navy Department invaluable data in regard to the mapping of a reliable channel through the ice leading to within five hundred miles of the North Pole. It is to the credit of the Navy Department and the Smithsonian Institution that means were found within their respective annual appropriations to supply Dr. Kane and his astronomer, Dr. August Sonntag, with the latest scientific instruments to enable the brig "Advance" to establish a station for meteorological and other exact observations in the polar ice fields during the winters of 1853-1854. T h e r e is reason to believe that this semi permanent observatory was the first scientific station ever to be established under the subsidy of a modem government in the arctic regions.

INTRODUCTION

45

It preceded by many years, certainly, the important meteorological station of the U.S. government which A. W. Greely maintained at Fort Conger (Latitude 81° 45' N.) in Lady Franklin Bay between 1881-1883. Petersen's narrative criticizes the commander of the "Advance" from another point of view. According to Petersen, Dr. Kane was grossly in error in persistently sailing northward as far as Latitude 78o 45' at a season of the year when he should have proceeded in a southerly direction in order to find suitable winter quarters in a protective harbor. Petersen observes that as a result of such a miscalculation on the part of Dr. Kane, the brig "Advance" became permanently frozen in the ice at Van Rensselaer Harbor on September 10, 1853, thereby condemning its crew to two full years of isolation in the polar regions and the eventual loss of the ship. This latter charge by Petersen is clearly more serious than the previous one and would require cogent arguments to refute it. In his preliminary report to the Secretary of the Navy describing his expedition of 1853-1855, Dr. Kane acknowledges that his decision to sail northward during the closing days of August, 1853, had met with the firm but polite contrary advice of his subordinate officers. Dr. Kane writes in Arctic Explorations (II, 302-303) concerning this particular phase of his voyage: We were now [August, 1853] retarded by the rapid advance of winter: the young ice was forming with such rapidity that it became evident that we must soon be frozen in. At this juncture my officers addressed to me written opinions in favor of a return to a more southern harbor; but, as such a step would have cost us our dearly purchased progress and removed us from the field of our intended observations, I could not concede to their views. What precisely were the "intended observations" to which Dr. Kane refers in his preliminary report to the Department o£ the Navy? Were they observations relating

46

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

exclusively to the search for Sir John Franklin? T h e answer to this last question must be in the negative. In the specific order issued to Dr. Kane by the Secretary of the N a v y o n February 9, 1853 (See Arctic Explorations, II, 299-300), the N a v y Department appears to have shown a greater interest in the observations which the second G r i n n e l l expedition was prepared to make in the arctic seas w i t h its newly acquired scientific instruments rather than in the prosecution of a fruitless search for the long-lost polar expedition of Sir John Franklin and his companions. T h e written order issued to D r . Kane b y John P. Kennedy, the Secretary of the Navy, is most explicit on this subject. It reads thus: Navy Department February 9, 1853 Sir:—In connection with the special duty assigned to you by the order of this Department bearing date November 27, 1852, your attention is invited to objects of scientific inquiry; particularly to such as relate to the existence of an open Polar sea, terrestrial magnetism, general meteorology, and subjects of importance in connection with natural history. You will transmit to the Department, when opportunities offer, reports of your progress and the results of your search, and, on your return to the United States, a full and detailed narrative of the incidents and discoveries of your exploration by land and sea, as matters of the scientific observations herein referred to. Repeating my best wishes for your success, I am, very respectfully, 8c. Passed Assistant Surgeon E. K. Kane United States Navy, New York

John P. Kennedy

T h e N a v y Department order of February 9, 1853, is careful to mention "the existence of an open Polar sea" as one of the chief objects of investigation for D r . K a n e and the crew of the U.S. brig " A d v a n c e . " T h e subject is intriguing, for in a lecture delivered before the A m e r i c a n Geographical and Statistical Society in N e w Y o r k C i t y o n

INTRODUCTION

47

December 14, 1852, Dr. Kane set forth his views in regard to a theory about the arctic regions which enjoyed a position of great authority among the most noted geographers of the fifties in the nineteenth century. (See "Access to an Open Polar Sea Along a North American Meridian: A Paper by Dr. Ε. K. Kane, Lieut. U.S.N.", The New York Daily Times [December 15, 1852], Vol. I, No. 388, p. 4.) In the official text of this lecture which is found in Pages 543-552 of Dr. Kane's narrative of the De Haven expedition to the arctic seas entitled The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin (1853), the author cited such individuals as the Rev. Dr. William Scoresby, Sir Charles L. Giesecke, Baron Ferdinand Wrangell, Sir David Brewster, and H. W. Dove in support of the proposition that there must exist at the North Pole a moving, open sea in a zone of comparatively mild temperatures. This polar sea, or "Polynya," as Kane termed it in his lecture, was supposedly surrounded by a circumpolar barricade of ice in a zone of maximum cold between the 75th and 80th parallels. Dr. Kane observed in regard to the term "Polynya" in his lecture of 1852 that The circumpolar ice, as I will venture to name it, may be said to bound an imperfect circle of 6000 miles in circumference with a rude diameter of 2000 miles, and an area, if we admit its continuity to the pole, one third larger than the continent of Europe. But theory has determined that this great surface is not continuous. It is an annulus, a ring surrounding an area of open water—the Polynya, or Iceless Sea. Following these remarks in his lecture, Dr. Kane implied that he would endeavor in his forthcoming polar expedition to penetrate the melting barricade of ice between these parallels during the months of July and August in order to sail with freedom into the vast polar ocean in the zone of mild temperatures located beyond the ice barricade,

48

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

beginning with the 8oth parallel. Dr. Kane concluded his lecture by saying: It is my intention to cover each sledge [o£ the forthcoming second Grinnell expedition] with a gutta percha boat, a contrivance which the experience of the English has shown to be perfectly portable. Thus equipped, we follow the trend of the coast, seeking the open sea. Once there, if such a reward awaits us, we launch our little boats, and bidding God speed us, embark upon its waters. It is evident from the statements made by Dr. Kane in his New York lecture, delivered as late as December, 1852, that his plan of search for the brig "Advance" during J u l y and August of the following year would be to penetrate the ice barricade at the zone of maximum cold and to follow the supposed track of Sir John Franklin's ships up the Wellington Channel (or through any suitable channel adjacent to it) into a moving, open, polar sea which was alleged to exist above the 80th parallel. Dr. Kane appears to have withheld the details of this plan of search from Petersen and the other officers of his ship as his expedition approached Smith's Sound at the upper waters of Baffin Bay in 1853. Rejecting the counsel of these experienced mariners to turn southward before the winter season had advanced too far, the commander of the U.S. "Advance" sailed steadily northward during the month of August until his ship was finally arrested by great masses of polar ice sixty feet high near Van Rensselaer Harbor at Latitude 78 o 45'. Dr. Kane informs us in his preliminary report to the Secretary of the Navy that immediately following this inflexible impediment to his progress (August 29), he transferred the command of his ship to Christian Olsen and led a detachment of men with one whale boat and a sledge towards the north as far as Latitude 80°, deep into the frozen fastness of what is now

INTRODUCTION

49

termed the K a n e Basin. Needless to say, he d i d not find any sign of a moving, open, polar sea at this 8oth parallel for the simple reason that such an expanse of ocean in a zone of m i l d temperatures d i d not exist except in the minds of certain prominent geographers of Europe and A m e r i c a towards the m i d d l e of the nineteenth century. Dr. K a n e {Arctic Explorations, II, 303) describes the result of his sledge j o u r n e y to the n o r t h between A u g u s t 29 and September 10 in this fashion to the Secretary of the N a v y : We were obliged, of course, to follow all the indentations of the coast [of the Kane Basinl, and our way was often completely obstructed by the discharge of rocks from adjacent cliffs. In crossing a glacier we came near losing our party, and were finally compelled to abandon the sledge ana continue our journey on foot. W e succeeded, however, in completing our work, and reached a projecting cape, from which, at an elevation of eleven hundred feet, I commanded a prospect of the ice to the north and west as high as latitude 8o° N. A black ridge running nearly due north, which we found afterward to be a glacier, terminated our view along the Greenland coast to the eastward. Numerous icebergs were crowded in masses throughout the axis of the channel, and, as far as our vision extended, the entire surface was a frozen sea. T h e island named Louis Napolean on the charts of Captain Inglefield does not exist. T h e resemblance of ice to land will readily explain the misapprehension. T h e result of this journey, although not cheering, confirmed me in my intention of wintering in the actual position of the brig; and I proceeded, immediately on our return [September 10], to organize parties for the fall, with a view to the establishment of provision-depots to facilitate the further researches of the spring. N o d o u b t it was a vast disappointment for D r . Kane to discover an interminable frozen sea stretching northward from L a t i t u d e 800 N . as he contemplated the scene on September 5, 1853, f r o m a high elevation near C a p e Douglas through his 20-diameter Fraunhofer telescope (See Arctic Explorations, I, 101-102). Petersen (who realistically

go

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E TO T H E P O L A R LANDS

informs us in his narrative that Dr. Kane's theory o£ an "Open Polar Sea" stood in contradiction to the known facts of arctic discoveries) is quite correct in saying that his commander had made a grave miscalculation. As matters turned out, the U.S. "Advance" had travelled so far north at the commencement of the long arctic winter that the brig was now frozen solidly in the ice with no prospect of escaping southward, even when the ice thawed during the following spring and summer. It also appears that Dr. Kane had made another miscalculation. He was in error in respect to the actual route pursued by the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Although Sir John had sailed northward into the Wellington Channel as far as 77° N., he followed the instructions of the Admiralty punctiliously in July, 1846, by sailing southward when his ships encountered impenetrable barriers of ice at that high latitude. As Captain M'Clintock was destined to learn when his search party found the long-lost records of the Franklin expedition in a cairn at Point Victory in the Canadian arctic archipelago (May, 1859), the two ships under the command of Sir J o h n Franklin became fast frozen in the ice near the northern point of King William Island on September 12, 1846, at Lat. 70° 05' N. and Long. 98° 23' W. and were subsequently abandoned by their crews. Dr. Kane's brig "Advance," on the other hand, was stopped by the ice near the mouth of Smith's Sound (Latitude 78° 45') and was finally warped into a safe refuge at Van Rennselaer Harbor at Lat. 78 o 38' Ν. and Long. 7 1 ° 14' W. Dr. Kane, therefore, was following a distinctly false path when he sought the track of Sir John Franklin and his ships in a hypothetical, moving, open polar sea in a zone of mild temperatures above Latitude 80° in the upper waters of Baffin Bay. In other words, in common with his predecessor, Sir John

INTRODUCTION

51

Franklin, w h o had searched in vain for the famous Northwest Passage of the Elizabethan navigators, Dr. Kane was obliged to learn that there was a certain price to pay for lending credence to an old, persistent, and totally false theory concerning the arctic seas w h i c h had been advocated by a l o n g line of distinguished geographers, including such individuals as Scoresby, Gieseke, Parry, Wrangell, Sir Edward Brewster, and H . W . Dove. T h e precise ancestry of this theory is obscure, b u t the f o l l o w i n g Elizabethan pamphlet of the year 1595 concerning an open polar sea in the arctic regions does not differ in too many essentials f r o m the content of the lecture entitled "Access to an O p e n Polar Sea in connection w i t h the Search after Sir John Franklin and his C o m p a n i o n s " w h i c h D r . Kane delivered in N e w Y o r k C i t y to the A m e r i c a n Geographical and Statistical Society o n D e c e m b e r 14, 1852: T h e Worldes Hydrographical Discription, Wherein is Proued not Onely by Aucthoritie of Writers, but also by Late Experience of Traueliers and Reasons of Substantial Probabilitie, that the Worlde in All his Zones, Clymats and Places, is Habitable and Inhabited, and the Seas likewise vniversally Nauigable without any Naturall Annoyance to Hinder the Same whereby Appeares that from England there is a Short and Speedie Passage into the South Seas, to China, Molucca, Phillipina, and India, by Northerly Nauigation, to the Renowne Honour and Benifit of her Maiesties State and Communalty. Published by I. Dauis of Sandrudg by Dartmouth in the Countie of Devon, Gentleman. Anno 1595. May 27. Imprinted at London by Thomas Dawson dwelling at the Three Cranes in the Vinetree. And are there to be Sold. 1595. {Photostatic reproduction of the Massachusetts Historical Society, No. ißß.) It should n o t b e forgotten in regard to the pamphlet just named that Sir J o h n Franklin had subscribed to a very similar theory of an open polar sea in a zone of mild temperatures in his Narrative of a Second Expedition to the

52

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

Shores of the Polar Sea in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827, by John Franklin (London: J . Murray, 1828). It is also evident from the references which Dr. Kane had made to "Captain Inglefield" in his address to the American Geographical and Statistical Society of New York (December 14, 1852) that he was well aware o£ Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield's recent claim of having discovered an "Open Polar Sea" beyond the headlands of Smith's Sound during his voyage in the 149-ton screw steamer "Isabel" to Latitude 78° 35'. Indeed, a curious reader would have been able to predict with accuracy the exact destination of the American brig "Advance" at the commencement of its voyage to the arctic regions from Upernavik (July, 1853) if he had carefully studied, as Dr. Kane had done, certain imaginative and even poetical passages found in Sir Edward's A Summer Search for Sir John Franklin; with a Peep into the Polar Basin. By Commander E. A. Inglefield, R.N. . . . with a New Chart of the Arctic Sea (London: Thomas Harrison, 1853). 232 pp. In referring to the "Open Polar Sea" which he had glimpsed north of Smith's Sound on August 26, 1852, Commander Inglefield remarks in his account of the voyage: We were entering the Polar Sea, and wild thoughts of getting to the Pole—of finding our way to Behring Strait—and most of all, of reaching Franklin and giving him help, rushed rapidly through my brain . . . On rounding Cape Alexander the full glory of being actually in the Polar Sea burst upon my thoughts, for then I beheld the open sea stretching through seven points of the compass, and apparently unencumbered with ice, though bounded on east and west by two distinct headlands. (Pp. 65-67.) Unfortunately, a great arctic storm drove Sir Edward's ship southward after he had successfully sailed past Cape Alexander, and he was obliged to retreat still farther southward in order to avoid being frozen in by the ice with the

INTRODUCTION

53

rapid advance o£ winter. Sir Edward, however, had time to note in his chart the supposed location of a small tract of low-lying land in the "Open Polar Sea" which he named the Island of Louis Napolean, and of this island, as well as of others which he imagined to be nearby, he had this to say on Page 125 of his newly published treatise: These islands, I have every reason to believe, are only the portals, if I may use such a term, of the great Polar Basin; and if penetrated with prudence and in a fair season, will perhaps effect a readier communication with the missing expedition [of Sir John Franklin^, and earlier solve the north-west passage problem, than pursuing our comrades in their own footsteps, on the route which, we think, they must have followed. These last remarks written by Sir Edward A. Inglefield show plainly that Dr. Kane's plan of search in the vicinity of Smith's Sound in August, 1853, had been greatly influenced not only by the advice of his immediate predecessor to the Sound but also by a very old tradition of the sea going back to the time of the Elizabethan navigators. Given the limited amount of knowledge about the polar regions which was available to arctic explorers in the fifties of the nineteenth century, it is not surprising that Dr. Kane should have been victimized by the fallacious theory of an open polar sea when he followed the route of Captain Inglefield into Smith's Sound and reached Latitude 78° 45' on August 26, 1853. T h e Petersen MS which forms the basis of the present inquiry reveals many other opinions which do not flatter Dr. Kane. Many of these can be discounted, however, owing to the deep personal animus coloring the narrative. In all probability, the only serious charge which Petersen can sustain in his MS by means of provable facts is that the commander of the "Advance" disregarded the repeated warning of his subordinate officers when he insisted upon

54

DR· K A N E ' S V O Y A G E TO T H E P O L A R LANDS

piloting the "Advance" through the freezing waters of the far north to a point where the ice never melts. Petersen criticizes Dr. Kane severely for his unaccountable obstinacy in many portions of his manuscript, but it is on Folio 71 of his narrative that he strikes with great precision at the underlying weakness of the general plan developed by Dr. Kane for his expedition of 1853-1855: Dr. Kane had the firm belief that there needs must exist a polar sea—an opinion which I could not share with him. The open sound towards the north [the Kennedy Channel] of which I have spoken above is nothing but a passage . . . and none of us have seen any Polar Ocean. What Capt. Penny has said about the Polar Sea is nothing but a very exaggerated description of such a passage in the Wellington Channel, and what he says of the warmth increasing further towards the North, has no other foundation that it was at the height of the Summer season when we visited these regions . . . . In all likelihood, the troubles of Dr. Kane with his crew, including the episode of the withdrawal party of 1854, originated, as Petersen implies in this paragraph, from the totally false scientific theory concerning the arctic regions which persuaded the commander of the "Advance" to sail his ship as late as the end of August, 1853, through the ice-choked waters of Smith's Sound to an unprecedented latitude for arctic navigation. Aside from the hostile observations which Petersen records in his MS concerning Dr. Kane, he includes in his narrative a graphic account—told in a bare laconic style— of the principal events of the second Grinnell expedition as seen by an eyewitness who was not an American. Since the Petersen MS begins as abruptly as it does at about the time (July 23, 1853) when Dr. Kane engaged him at Upernavik to be a member of his crew, it might be well to conclude this Introduction by quoting a passage from a private letter which Dr. I. I. Hayes, the surgeon of the

INTRODUCTION

55

expedition, wrote to a friend from Proven on July 20, 1853 (See United States Magazine, N o v e m b e r 15, 1854, V o l . I, No. 7, pp. 194-195) in respect to the recent arrival of the brig " A d v a n c e " to the Danish colonies of Greenland immediately prior to its brief stopover at Upernavik and its fateful voyage to Smith's Sound: Leaving Proven and the civilized world at our backs, we will, in an hour, be pushing forward to the scene of our explorations. This is, as you are aware, Smith Sound. How far we will be able to penetrate with our vessel into this unknown region, will depend upon the point at which nature has thrown up her impenetrable ice barrier. Its waters have only yet been sighted by previous navigators of this region, and we have every reason to hope that we may be able to conduct our explorations into this unknown and mysterious quarter of our planet. Once arrived at the terminus of our voyage, winter quarters will be selected at a point protected to the northward and westward by some prominent headland, against the floating ice in the early spring. In this selection, great experience and judgment are required, but in our commander's sagacity we have every confidence. . . . Once at anchor, but few hours will expire before a boat and sleigh party will set out to continue that which could not be accomplished with the vessel. This party will consist of nine, all of which have, I believe, been selected, as all hands have volunteered; but the doctor is not very communicative as to his intentions, and we are in ignorance as to who will be its fortunate members. They take with them one of the light India-rubber boats, constructed by Mr. Bennet, and [Eskimo] dogs. N o doubt, I. I. Hayes is referring here to the sledge expedition, consisting of seven picked m e n and one whale boat, w h i c h Dr. K a n e subsequently led from the b r i g " A d v a n c e " o n A u g u s t 29, 1853 towards the frozen regions of the far north at L a t i t u d e 800 in the expectation of finding the O p e n Polar Sea of his scientific calculations.

Dr. Kane s Voyage to the Polar Lands by Johan Carl Christian Petersen

A FEW DAYS AFTER M Y ARRIVAL A T UPERNAVIK 1 A PROPOSI· tion was m a d e to m e to participate in another

expedition

to the N o r t h Pole, yet m y h e a l t h h a d suffered s o m e w h a t in the

first

voyage;2 a n d I was obliged, contrary

to

my

desire, to r e f u s e the offer. T h e f o l l o w i n g year, o n the 20th of J u l y , 1853, D r . K a n e arrived off U p e r n a v i k a n d c a m e o n shore f u r n i s h e d

with

t h e p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e D a n i s h G o v e r n m e n t t o o b t a i n assistance f r o m the Danish Colonies in Greenland. It was i n t e n t i o n t o p r o c e e d a s f a r n o r t h as p o s s i b l e .

his

Addressing

1 T h e most northern of the Danish settlements on the western coast of Greenland, consisting of traders, government officials, and white and Eskimo settlers. In 1853, the port of Upernavik (Latitude 72° 47' N.) accommodated numerous commercial vessels engaged in whaling. 2 Petersen is speaking about his term of service as an Eskimo interpreter and as a master of sledge operations for Capt. William Penny during the latter's recent voyage (1850-1851) to the arctic seas in search of Sir John Franklin. Directly after his return to Greenland from that voyage, Petersen was asked by Capt. E. A . Inglefield, R.N., to become a member of his crew aboard the arctic steamer "Isabel," which was about to sail (July 12, 1852) to the unexplored waters of Smith's Sound in a continuation of the search for Franklin. As Petersen says in the above paragraph, he declined the offer.

57

58

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

himself to me, he inquired whether I were disposed to join the expedition with the same emoluments which I had enjoyed on my earlier voyage. I should be treated as an officer, without, however, considering myself as belonging to the ship's crew, nor be subject to its discipline. Whereas I was bound to perform the duties of an interpreter and to act as counsellor in every case where particular experience was required to navigate those seas obstructed by ice and, besides, serve as leader of sledge expeditions. I asked whither the expedition was going and received the answer that its object was to ascend as far as possible into Smith's Sound and, at all risks, to proceed some distance north of Cape Alexander. It was likewise told me that the voyage would not be of long duration, although, for the sake of security, the ship had been provisioned for three years. Repeated exhortations were made, and at last I accepted the proposal and went on board the vessel, which was one of those American ships that two years ago had suffered the misfortune to get adrift against the ice. It was the twomasted schooner "Advance" commanded by Dr. Kane who, not being himself a mariner, had a sailing master, Mr. Wilson, to conduct the vessel. Besides myself there was another Dane aboard, the carpenter Olsen. 8 1 met likewise on board Dr. Sonntag, an Astronomer from Altona 4 and the physician, Dr. Hayes. T h e ship was very strongly built. It was better joined in the middle than "Lady Franklin""; it had very heavy 8 Identified as "Christian Ohlsen" by Elisha Kent K a n e in Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, 1853, '54/55. Philadelphia: Childs & Petersen, 1856., I , 18. Olsen died of injuries sustained on a sledge expedition during this voyage on J u n e 1 2 , 1855, as narrated by K a n e in Arctic Explorations

(II. 3'5)·

* I n 1853 Altona was a populous town located not f a r f r o m H a m burg in Holstein, Germany. s T h e " L a d y Franklin," named in honor of the w i f e of Sir J o h n Franklin, was the ship commanded by Captain W i l l i a m P e n n y in the voyage of 1850-1851.

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

59

deck beams and a threefold sheathing. It had, besides, a strong ice-cover of iron bars, w h i c h reached as high as the fore-railing. T h e s e iron-bands were a quarter of an inch in thickness. T h e ship was provisioned with salted victuals and some dried meat in tin-boxes; b u t there were no boiled provisions, such as were provided by the English expedition of Capt. Penny. N o r was the crew the best chosen for such a tour; more than half the men had never been on board before, and the rest were ignorant of the navigation in the polar seas.® Kane had brought with h i m nine Newfoundland dogs, in the supposition that they might be drilled to sledge-driving and had, moreover, brought 20 drilled G r e e n l a n d dogs. T h e crew did not a m o u n t to half a score of hands, w h i c h is by far too small an equipage for the service o n board a ship where so great a part of the crew are continually exposed to become disabled by scorbut, 7 frost, and other sickness w h i c h so easily attack the Europeans in these latitudes. It was not w i t h o u t some misgivings that I made all these observations after having gone on board; and I must own, besides, that I did not expect any great result from this undertaking. Already, w h i l e we were getting under sail, it became evident that the ship was not sufficiently well-commanded and that the skill and drill of the sailors left m u c h to be desired. T h e glance with which the skillful carpenter Olsen—a m a n so hardened to the sea—saluted me, w h e n c o m i n g on deck, at once told me far better than 6 Dr. K a n e (Arctic Explorations, 1, 18) states that w h e n the p o l a r e x p e d i t i o n u n d e r his c o m m a n d r e a c h e d the coast of G r e e n l a n d in the s u m m e r of 1853, it consisted o f the f o l l o w i n g persons: H e n r y Brooks, First Officer; Isaac I . H a y e s , M . D . , S u r g e o n ; J o h n W a l l Wilson; August Sonntag, Astronomer; James M c G a r y ; A m o s Bonsall; George Riley; George Stephenson; W i l l i a m Morton; George W h i p ple; C h r i s t i a n O h l s e n ; W i l l i a m G o d f r e y ; H e n r y G o o d f e l l o w ; J o h n Blake; Jefferson T e m p l e Baker; Peter Schubert, Cook; and T h o m a s Hickey. 7

Scurvy.

6o

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

many words would have done that the ship's crew and Commander were a poor concern after all. Yet, in spite of this—I was already on board and now to retire? No—I could not persuade myself to do that I It seemed to me that my presence here was necessary; because I was certainly somewhat acquainted with the conditions in the polar regions and I felt as if a presentiment whispered to me that this ship never would return and that my experience, perhaps, might prove useful to these daring but unskilled Americansl On the 24th of July we set sail and stood North with a light breeze. I began to get accustomed to my new fellow mariners, and the navigation went on pretty well; and thus we reached the Dyvelstom 8 in 3 to four days. T h e weather was beautiful and the breeze such as to enable us to carry all our sails—nay, it was strong enough to fill them all. Thus we reached the middle of Melville Sound. T h e ice had broken unusually early this year, and we tried as much as possible to take advantage of this happy circumstance. Dr. Kane did not like the measures of circumspection which the English apply against the drifts of ice when these begin to show a threatening appearance. This precaution consists of bringing the ship into dock in the manner already described. He, on the contrary, tried always to bid defiance to the ice, a practice which he soon found an opportunity to regret. It did not take long before we were entirely obstructed by ice which impeded our progress. W e were thus obliged to reach a larger ice-floe where we could moor the ship and in this we at last were successful. Here we observed a huge bear one day accompanied by a cub; we gave them chase and after some hot pursuit we were fortunate enough in killing both. After a short stay, we started but were soon stopped again. W e 8

Devil's Thumb Bay, according to modem maps of Greenland.

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were lying surrounded by ice in a small space of open water, on every side encompassed by drifts of ice. Dr. Kane, apprehending that the ice would entirely hem us in, attempted to get out of this difficulty and set sail again. After a short navigation, we observed three ice-bergs which lay right in our course. It became necessary to try to get past them; but in order that this could take place, we were obliged to pass a mass of drifting ice which floated between us and the ice-bergs, in such a manner that we could get to the lee-ward of it while, on the contrary, Dr. Kane attempted to pass it on the weather bow. This could not be done. I perceived this well enough; and, when the pilot, Mr. Brooks, handed the helm to me with a polite admonition, I took it; but felt embarrassed to give any decisive advice and, still more, to take the command of the ship. I expected that the Doctor should himself discover the impending danger; but, as he gave no orders, I kept the prescribed course, yet I could not avoid the danger of the bow running against the ice-floe. T h e ship then hawled upon the wind, and we turned now right upon the icebergs, which were separated from one another by a narrow channel. No order was yet given, although we were in danger, by the velocity with which we came, to run against them and to lose both bowsprit and spars. No time was now to be lostl I called to Dr. Sonntag to throw loose the main sail, which he did; and the vessel began to fall off; but it was already rather late. At this moment Dr. Kane discovered the danger and called out to me to pull the rudder close to the larboard. "Larboard is," grumbled the carpenter; and, at the same instant, the quarter struck the ice-berg so violently that the quarter-boat was shivered against one ice-berg, while the ship lay squeezed in between both of them. Now a rather unpleasant scene took place between Dr. Kane and Brooks, who reciprocally re-

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proached one another to have caused the damage suffered and the critical position in which the ship was placed. While they were quarrelling, the danger of being crushed between the ice-bergs became more and more threatening. Olsen undertook to get the ship out of its dangerous position; and, when bracing back, the ship drove aft, and getting clear of the ice-bergs, it fell off before the wind; and we now steered south of those fatal ice-bergs and found an open sea. T h e ice opened somewhat; and we worked away for Cape York, which we reached in 6 days. W e continued our course northward without meeting any adventures, with the exception of quite a number of walruses, which we met in these waters. We found a dead unicorn® with a horn 31^ ells in length. We doubled Cape Alexander and reached Littleton Island without any disaster. Here Dr. Kane landed and deposited some provisions for any accident that might happen. A metallic boat was likewise brought on shore.10 Although winter was now approaching and we were already farther north than Dr. Kane had announced that he intended to go, he could not be persuaded to take winter quarters. T h e British under the command of Capt. Penny had not gone into winter harbor before September. Why should he, an independent American, feel himself under the necessity to seek refuge in a harbor at the close of August? This was an impossible thing—quite out of questioni We were for several days 9 A n a r w h a l . T h i s p a r t i c u l a r species of w h a l e h a s a l o n g , bony, hornlike projection extending forward from the skull above the eyes. Since a n E n g l i s h " e l l " measures forty-five i n c h e s i n l e n g t h , the h o r n of the n a r w h a l d e s c r i b e d b y P e t e r s e n w a s m o r e t h a n t h i r t e e n feet long. 1 0 D r . K a n e states i n a l e t t e r t o the Secretary of t h e N a v y , d a t e d A u g u s t 7, 1853 (Arctic Explorations, I I , 3 1 8 - 3 1 9 ) , t h a t h e h a d dep o s i t e d a m e t a l l i c l i f e b o a t a n d a s u p p l y of stores i n a c a i r n at L a t i t u d e 7 8 o 24' Ν . o n L i t t l e t o n I s l a n d i n t h e e v e n t t h a t h i s expedition should need them in an emergency.

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totally screwed u p between drifts o£ ice, yet the b o l d D r . Kane, on the sea so improvident, took no precautions against the severe and gloomy winter. A t last we arrived off Godsend Island where we moored. Kane and others, myself b e i n g of the party, w e n t on shore and we f o u n d the cottage of an Esquimau, w h i c h had been inhabited not long ago; because we f o u n d there a quantity of b l u b b e r sewed u p in skins and other traces, such as fox-traps of the k i n d used by the E s q u i m a u x , w h i c h indicated that the inhabitants were not far off and might speedily return. T h e ice was all adrift, but we could not immediately leave this place; we therefore occupied ourselves with hunting. A t last we too got adrift, n o anchor w o u l d hold, and we had the misfortune to lose one. W e continued to drift along with the ice; and we were already prepared for the contingency that our vessel a second time w o u l d make an involuntary voyage d o w n the Baffin Bay. 1 1 Y e t fate had determined it other-wise! N e a r the Dyvels-Ridge, toward Stafford-Head, the ice opened; and we worked o u r way by continued exertions towards this promontory, though we had arrived so far North that the ice there never melts. Yet Dr. Kane would listen to no advice about the necessity of taking winterquarters farther South. It was his opinion that he must 1 1 Petersen has already referred to the fact in his narrative that in 1851 the U.S. b r i g " A d v a n c e " h a d suffered the misfortune " t o get adrift against the ice." D u r i n g the first G r i n n e l l e x p e d i t i o n in search of Sir J o h n F r a n k l i n (1850-1851), the " A d v a n c e " , as well as a n o t h e r A m e r i c a n vessel, the " R e s c u e " , was c o m m a n d e d by L i e u t e n a n t E d w i n J. D e H a v e n of the U . S. N a v y , w i t h Elisha K e n t K a n e serving o n board the f o r m e r as chief surgeon. B o t h ships became fast frozen in the ice d u r i n g the v o y a g e and drifted helplessly more than 1,000 miles i n the polar seas f r o m the W e l l i n g t o n C h a n n e l to the D a n i s h colonies in G r e e n l a n d . F u l l particulars of this episode d u r i n g the voyage of 1850-1851 can be f o u n d in D r . Kane's The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1853), p p . 22-23; 494-508.

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winter farther North than ever has been done by any Englishman, and that the "Stripes and stars" ought to wave where no "Union J a c k " had ever fluttered in the polar gale. T h e water became so low that we always got aground at low-water, and only when high-water set in could we advance farther toward the north: T h e crew were not at all satisfied with this kind of manoeuvering; and Olsen and myself, who were accustomed to polar expeditions, had no doubt about the failure of the enterprise and the loss of the ship. One day we had an unusual high-water and an open sea toward the South. We proposed to Dr. Kane to profit by the present occasion to get out of our perilous situation, which seemed nearly desperate—but in vainl He would not turn Southward, but would advance as far North as possible. T h e favorable opportunity had soon gone forever; the ice closed again. Soon the ship ran fast in the ice, and we were thus obliged, forced on by necessity, to take winter-quarters at this place situated several miles north of Stafford-Head, where we nevertheless succeeded in getting moored near some small islands. While we were engaged in warping the ship to its winterharbor, Dr. Kane had gone north with a whale boat. He followed the coast, crossed a couple of gulfs, where he found open water, and reached Cape Douglas, a trip lasting about a week. 12 On his return, the ice opened during a 12 Petersen shows by his remarks that he was well acquainted with the new map of Smith's Sound published by Captain E. A. Inglefield in 1853, for it is the Inglefield map of 1853 which reveals the location of Cape Douglas to arctic navigators for the first time. The surviving MS. of the log of the brig "Advance" (See Introduction) takes note of a journey by sledge which Dr. Kane and certain picked men of his crew made to Cape Douglas along the eastern shore of what is now known as the Kane Basin (August 28 to September 7, 1853). It was on this sledge expedition that Dr. Kane and his companions first saw the massive Humboldt Glacier in Greenland, the largest in the world.

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brisk southeast wind; and another favorable opportunity offered itself to us to escape; but he steadily opposed every proposition which tended towards our going south. Next day we were frozen fast; and, after two days, the thin-ice was already so strong that it could carry us. This was the beginning of September. We made, then, our arrangements for our stay, without being able to form any opinion as to its length. We made nearly the same preparations with regard to the ship as on the expedition of Capt. Penny, only that he built a wooden shed over the fore-part of the vessel instead of the tent on board "Lady Franklin". On shore Dr. Kane erected an observatory. His intention was to undertake meteorological observations, being particularly desirous of studying the condition of the Atmosphere, the north-lights, etc. A guard attended continually who, among other duties, was ordered every hour to mark the thermometer in order to determine the mean temperature of the winter. T h e state of the Barometer was likewise frequently investigated. Yet, as far as I could judge, none of the observations were undertaken with that care and accuracy which would be required in order to be of any real importance, and the results which Dr. Kane has obtained ought certainly never to be laid as foundation for scientific conclusions. 18 Dr. Kane asked me to give him some explanations with regard to the migrations of the fishes, and I communicated to him the observations which I had had an opportunity of making during my long residence in Greenland. T h e most important results of my observations are the following: T h e Whales seem to follow the ice, in such a manner T h e meteorological and other scientific observations to which Petersen refers are presented in great detail in Kane's Arctic Explorations (II, 341-467). This same data was printed as early as i860 by Charles A. Schott in official publications of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, D.C. 13

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that when it thaws in summer, they then turn northward; and in the fall, when there is too much ice in the north and ice enough in the south, they then go southward. T h e White Whale migrates to the south in the beginning of October and arrives generally off Upernavik between the ι and 4 of October. Whence it comes is not known with certainty. It is supposed that it starts from the Wellington Channel, that it then passes through Lancaster-Sound towards the Baffins Bay, because in the Smith Sound I have not seen a single White Whale, although I was obliged to make a long sojourn there. A t the close of October, they go farther south. T h e Narwhal or KillerWhale arrives at Upernavik by the first days of November. Like the White Whale, it moves in immense swarms,14 but never approaches the Ice-blinks15 or Glaciers near enough to be caught in nets, which is the case with the White Whale. It seems that the Narwhal and the White Whale have a different place of sojourn during the summer. I have seen many Narwhals during summer in Smith's Sound and Melville Bay, but I never met there the White Whale. T h e latter is very meager when it arrives at Upernavik, which is not the case with the Narwhal, which probably does not go so far north. As soon as the ice breaks up in spring, the 1 4 H e r m a n M e l v i l l e s u p p l i e s the f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n o f t h e y e a r 1671 i n the p r e f a c e of Moby Dick (1851) i n o r d e r to s h o w t h e r a r i t y of the w h i t e w h a l e : " O n e of o u r h a r p o o n e r s t o l d m e t h a t h e c a u g h t o n c e a w h a l e i n S p i t z b e r g e n t h a t w a s w h i t e a l l o v e r —A Voyage to Greenland, A.D. i6yi. H a r r i s C o l l . " O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , Sir W . E . P a r r y w r i t e s as f o l l o w s i n d e s c r i b i n g his v o y a g e t o the a r c t i c seas i n the s u m m e r of 1825: " . . . a n d w e w e r e o n e d a y v i s i t e d , at the p l a c e w h e r e the Fury w a s l e f t , b y h u n d r e d s o f w h i t e w h a l e s s p o r t i n g a b o u t i n the s h o a l w a t e r close to the b e a c h . " See P a r r y , Three Voyages for the Discovery of a North-West Passage (London: John M u r r a y , 1 8 3 5 ) , I I I , 241. 10 Ice-blink: T h i s t e c h n i c a l t e r m is d e f i n e d as " a p e c u l i a r a p p e a r a n c e of the a t m o s p h e r e o v e r d i s t a n t i c e " b y D r . K a n e i n Arctic Explorations, I, 14.

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Narwhal, as well as the White Whale, go again northward; but they do not approach so near the land as in the autumn, because they move on under the drift-ice. It is generally supposed that they approach so near the land on account of their fear of the Sword-fish which constantly pursue them. The Greenlanders are of the opinion that the Sword-fish devour only the flesh of the male whale and that if they kill a female by mistake, they leave it untouched. I cannot decide whether this opinion is correct or not; but it is certain that I have found many whales killed by Sword-fish, of which no parts were devoured; but they were always females. The Sword-fish never goes under the ice, a circumstance of which the Whale profits. I have observed that during the spring, the loiterers among the White Whales are chased by the Sword-fish. In their distress, they then seek land, while their enemies keep them beseiged. When such an accident happens, then the pursued Whales generally become the prey of the Greenlanders. The real Whale does not move on in swarms, but only in very small numbers and these, travelling singly, have been seen at Upemavik. In the summer season the Kapolak (Fin-whales), the Tigarotlik, and the Tunalik (the latter of which has no backfin like the two former and is much larger than they) reside out in the open water and very seldom appear north of Disco-Island, but they are more frequently seen along the shores of South Greenland. Of the Seals, the Svartsides migrate northward in the spring and return southward in autumn. They always move on in large swarms of one or two hundred; but in the seas of South Greenland, the swarms are said to be far more numerous. Another kind of Seal, the Retsider, as it is called in Danish, travels singly and sojourns always

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near the ice. It appears most frequently in Northern Greenland, where it lives all the year round near the ice. Of the genus of the Herrings, the so-called A musettes appear in immense swarms as far north as Disco-Island. T h e Salmon-trout or, in Danish Laxört, appear as far north as I have been. A t the high latitudes where we wintered with Dr. Kane, I found only the T r o u t and the Grayfish—Graafisk—a small fish which resembles very much the Whiting. T h e Forelle (another kind of Trout) I have not seen farther north than Upernavik. T h e Salmon proper is found only in one bay or frith in South Greenland between Frederikshavn and Godhavn. T h e Kaleratlik is a particular kind of Halibut which distinguishes itself from the common Halibut by its being dark on the belly and the back; it is very fat. It does not go farther north than Upernavik and only in friths into which the Glaciers extend. Yet it is caught in very deep water. They say that it can be caught at a depth of 200 or 300 fathoms, but only during the winter, as it constantly seeks the ice. T h e common Halibut does not go farther north than Disco-Island. Of the fauna in these northern regions, there is not much to be said. In the environs of Cape Alexander hares are numerous; reindeer are likewise found. T h e y live on moss and grass, which grow very sparingly. During summer the rocks may be said to be entirely covered with teals, or Krikand in Danish, which breed there in immense swarms. These birds serve as a very important food for the Esquimaux. T h e savage Esquimaux, who possess such scanty means to procure the necessaries of life, have great facility in catching these birds. T h e capture is accomplished by means of a bow-net, which consists of a ring through which are drawn strings of seal-skin. When the swarm flies over the ledge of a rock, the sportsman standing beneath it

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effects the capture by extending his arms. One can form an idea of the immense quantity of these birds by knowing that a child, by means of the bow-net, is able to catch several hundreds of these in the course of a few hours. T h e Esquimaux construct trenches with stones for the depositories of the birds caught during the summer which, without salt, are dried on the rocks or simply thrown down into these trenches and are afterwards eaten without any preparation. It is a remarkable circumstance that these people are able to live without salt. T h e only food they use to cook is the meat of the fox. T h e skin of the teal serves the Esquimaux as dress. T h e feathers are turned inward and the flesh-side outside. From Cape York to the Lake of Idak, situated somewhat to the north of Cape Alexander, are found some 124 savage Esquimaux, who are divided into different tribes and who wander about during Summer in quest of provisions for the winter months. 1 ' Their language does not differ essentially from that of the Greenlanders in the Danish Colonies, and the only difference consists of such dialectical variations as are everywhere found in the various provinces of a country where the written language remains the same. I have found no difficulty whatever in understanding the language of the savage inhabitants. Their number seems to be on the decline, which is likewise the case with the Southern Greenlanders. T h e Esquimaux dwelling between Cape York and the Lake of Idak are heathens. T h e y believe in a mighty spirit called Tonarsuk and in an eternal life. Their priests—Angekoks by name—are likewise sorcerers or wizards. T h e y have quite a number of superstitious rites and their traditions stand in the nearest 16 Petersen is probably referring here to the Eskimo settlements of Peteravik, Etah, and Anoatok as they appear in Dr. Kane's map of 1855 entitled "Chart Exhibiting the Discoveries of the Second American Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin."

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connection to their religion. They possess many myths, or tales, which are similar to those prevailing among the old Greenlanders in the Danish districts, although sometimes told with certain variations. Because the Danish Greenlanders, in spite of their Christianity, still cling to their old tales with such affection, they may, in some manner, be considered to form part of their perculiar nationality. I intend farther on to relate some of their tales and adventures, which were related to me by an old Greenlander near Upernavik when he was well-disposed; though I must remark that these stories were likewise known among the savage Esquimaux between Cape York and Lake Idak. It is true that the author was a Christian; but he was one according to the manner of Greenland, viz., extremely superstitious, having more superstition than Christian faith (or, as the Dane says, more over-faith than faith). Although he appeared to despise the heathen Angekok and to consider the spirit Tonarsuk as a devil, he, nevertheless, in his secret thoughts seemed to be convinced of the great power of the sorcerer and the existence of the Spirit. Whenever any of the savage families of Esquimaux have had a scanty fishing, they generally join company with another who has been more successful. They help one another in a friendly manner, and their wanderings always tend to find the place best adapted for fishing. They live with single wives, and domestic fidelity is considered a sacred duty. When a man and a woman are full grown, they generally join company, having performed certain formalities. These are different in the various districts, with the exception, however, of those Esquimaux who inhabit the territory between Cape York and the lake of Idak, who are totally ignorant of any matrimonial ceremonies. Whenever young folk agree to live as husband and wife, they move away together without the intercession of any Angekok. Their social pleasures

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consist mostly of a k i n d of dance which is accompanied by songs of very m o n o t o n o u s melodies, a n d their only ins t r u m e n t used on this occasion is the Pateriak. It consists of a piece of gut-string which is strung over a bone, b e n t in a circular f o r m and serving as a frame. O n this r i n g they strike w i t h a n o t h e r bone. T h e sound produced is the accompaniment to t h e song a n d regulates the dance. A m o n g the s u p e r n a t u r a l beings w h o are objects of belief among the savage E s q u i m a u x a n d some Greenlanders in the n o r t h e r n Danish districts, one is particularly celebrated. T h i s is the Innersuit. T h e Innersuit, according to the belief of the Esquimaux, are a kind of pygmies or goblin dwarfs w h o i n h a b i t the cliffs in the neighborhood of the firths. T h e y are of a d i m i n u t i v e stature and, besides, discernible by their entire w a n t of a nose. T h e y generally lie in ambuscade b e h i n d the promontories a n d at other places, where they can secrete themselves a n d await the approach of an u n h a p p y Kayak-man. W h e n e v e r such an accident happens, they p o u n c e u p o n him, cut off his nose, and receive h i m in their brotherhood. B u t even the kindest treatment cannot conciliate a captive E s q u i m a u x to the equivocal existence of the Innersuit. W e hear, therefore, curious stories a b o u t transformed E s q u i m a u x w h o have been so f o r t u n a t e as to o b t a i n their liberty a n d also the restoration of their noses by the skilful exorcism of some gifted Angekok. O n such occasions the nose, they say, comes flying t h r o u g h the sky a n d darts at its f o r m e r place, after a great n u m b e r of exorcisms have b e e n duly performed. Yet even the most honest magician cannot prevent that a scar across t h e nose will indicates the temporary hob-goblin w h o has become again an E s q u i m a u ! 11 Besides the spirit T o n a r s u k the E s q u i m a u x have a sacred veneration for the m o o n ; and, w h e n a n eclipse takes place, certain ceremonies are p e r f o r m e d at which the Angekok

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shows much activity. I have never had an opportunity to be present at any of these solemnities, and the account which I have been able to gather of these activities is so scanty and incomplete that I cannot give any satisfactory description of them. Among their tales and traditions are some which indicate an earlier connection with the Esquimaux on the opposite American coast. They are, however, very insignificant. Some of their stories are simple adventures, wherein they introduce their chiefs, together with animals, which likewise play the part of speaking and acting persons. The most garrulous animals which figure in these adventures are the seal, the walrus, the fox, and even the mute salmon. I shall here present a few specimens of these tales which serve as entertainment among the northernmost inhabitants of the Danish colonies. They are likewise known among the savage Esquimaux, though among them they have a less connected shape, while I must add that none of these have ever come before the public by the press, with the only exception of the Tale about the "Sun and Moon." In what work this has been published, I cannot tell, but when I heard it, it occurred to me that I had formerly read it in some ancient German collection of fables or another. The other tales, on the contrary, I have never met with in any author. I In former days the land where the Colony of Godthaab is now established formed one continent with Disco-Island. But an Angekok, who wished to remove this Island to Upernavik on account of its edible plants which were wanting at Upernavik, undertook the difficult task to separate the Island from the Mainland and tow it up to Upernavik. The most important of these shrubs was the Angelica, which they call Quaner. The priest succeeded in getting the island separated from the coast and began to

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tow it along by means of a seal-skin strap; but another Angekok who lived at the present Godthaab bewitched the strap and it burst as soon as the island had got underway. Yet the Angekok who towed it was an able necromancer, and before the moving island had lost its rapidity entirely, he tore off some hair from his head and continued to tow the island. T h e other priest, however, was so powerful that by continual exorcisms he caused the hair to break likewise, and the former Angekok was no longer able to find any charm sufficiently efficacious to move the island farther on toward the North. He was obliged to let it remain where it now lies, and since that time nobody has been able to remove it. II While hunting the reindeer, two tribes once met north of the place which is at the present day called Upernavik. The one of these lived in Upernavik; the other had come from another region. Every one of the tribes was commanded by a powerful warrior as chieftain. T h e foreign tribe had made an excellent capture; but the Upernavikians had been unsuccessful and were in want of food. T h e strangers invited the Upernavikians to partake of their repast; but their strong man prohibited them to accept the invitation, because he considered it as an humiliation to eat at the table of the stranger. T h e n the Chieftain of the strangers arose, laid an arrow on the bow, and shot it off against a cliff where it stuck, boring itself deeply into the rock. He showed the arrow to the Upernavik chieftain and said: " T h e man who can do the same I acknowledge to be my Master." When the Upernavikian saw this, he said: " T h o u art my Lord," and after this essay he found no longer any indignity in the enjoyment of the hospitality of the Stranger.

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III Once there was a man who lived at the place now occupied by the Colony of Rittenbek. The name of this man was Gerijak. One day he said to his wife that she should sew him a quantity of skin-mittens, as he intended to travel to the American coast in his kayak. When the mittens were ready, he took leave of his wife and little son, sat down in his kayak, and began his voyage. Having got far away from his home, he met a number of sea-lice who wanted to devour his kayak. He threw a bird-arrow among them, rowed past the swarm; and, while the sea-lice consumed the arrow, he got clear of them and escaped. Once more he met them and got off in the same manner, when he at last beheld the land in the distance. He pulled ashore, where he discovered a small house. After landing, he entered the house where he found an old woman occupied in scraping lard from a seal-skin. She invited him to rest himself and told him that she soon expected her daughters home from a fishing in the "hollow of the sea." Soon afterwards the two daughters of the old woman made their appearance, every one bringing along two huge Swartsides (seals). They told him that they were to take care of their mother, as there was no man to do so. Then they invited him to accompany them next day on a fishing expedition and promised to indicate a most excellent plan to him where booty would be plentiful. He accepted the invitation and was awakened very early next morning by the two maidens, with whom he started for the hollow of the sea. There he beheld all kinds of fish in immense quantity. The girls caught at once four huge Seals, which they carried home, one in each hand. All this appeared very strange; and he began to suspect that there was some witchcraft at the bottom of it. He resolved, therefore, to

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leave the house next day. This he did as soon as he awoke and learned that the girls had already gone fishing. He now pulled away; and, having lost sight of the land, he met with two immense mountains which were separated by a channel. He rowed in between them, but soon discovered that they were moving and approaching one another and threatened to crush him. He now pulled away with all his might, and succeeded in escaping before the Mountains struck against one another; yet the shock took place in the very instant his kayak was clearing the Channel, and thus he got the stern of the kayak crushed. Now he heard a voice from the mountains which exclaimed: "This time those have lost, who seldom lose." He pursued his course, but during the latter part of his voyage he found no men nor women on the American side. While returning home, he met the same mountains again separated by the Channel; but this time he prudently rowed around them; and every time that a pair of mittens became used up, he threw them into the sea and put on a fresh pair. He now reached his home; and, when approaching, he heard a song of joy sung by a number of people. On landing, he learned the cause of the hilarity, his son having caught a huge whale which they towed on shore in the women-boats. He was received with joy, but he did not venture on another visit to the American coast. IV There was once a country where there lived many brothers and one single sister. On an evening when they were gathered in a social meeting of rejoicing and dancing, the young girl felt herself caught and held fast by a pair of strong arms. This is the manner in which a Greenlander, when in love, declares his affection for the chosen one. It was dark in the house, and she could not discover

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who it was that held her; but it must needs be one of the brothers, since there were no other men in the country; but who it was, she could not conceive. In order to learn his identity, she smeared her hand with soot and went with the other maidens to the festivity. Every one of the young men grasped his maid, and there was one who likewise held her. She cut off her breasts, the one after the other, and threw them at him, exclaiming: "If thou holdest rights eat it." T h e n she lit a whisk of moss and ran out of the house. He did the same and pursued her. T h e fire in his moss soon became extinguished, but he continued to follow her to the end of the Earth. T h e n they rose to Heaven where she became the Sun and he the Moon, which still is pursuing her. Her fire continues to burn; hence, the Sun is bright and warm, but his fire was extinguished; and, hence, the Moon is cold and dimly shining like a burning coal. Half the moon is black, because half his face has become blackened. 17 I have given these tales exactly as they were told to me in the form in which they most frequently appear. T h e stories which the Esquimaux tell their children and in which, as above mentioned, animals enter as speaking persons are so insipid and senseless that I shall make no mention of them. T h e general content of the conversations of the Esquimaux are always a circumstantial account of what has happened on their fishing expeditions, with the capture of each seal or whale; and its death and flaying are then described with the most detailed accuracy. This talk is their delight, although all their adventures resemble one another like one drop of water to another. In another 17 This same Eskimo tale of the sun and moon is recounted by Isaac Israel Hayes in his Arctic Boat Journey in the Autumn of 1854 (Boston: Brown, Taggard, and Chase, i860), pp. 254-255.

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place I shall relate how the savage Esquimaux contrive to catch the walrus and I shall then, likewise, give some curious sketches of their manner of life which could not be separated very well from our personal adventures in the polar regions without causing prolix and tedious repetition. I have already mentioned that the North American expedition in no respect was so well-equipped or manned as were the British expeditions with which I formerly had become connected. Dr. Kane was no Capt. Pennyl Nor could his crew be compared to that on the ships of Capt. Penny, either with regard to their number or their ability. In the same manner as we most rashly and inconsiderately had gone into winter harbor, all of the arrangements of Dr. Kane bore witness to his want of practical skill when compared to the English; and yet his task was, as it appeared, to surpass these. For this purpose he went so far North. Therefore, he ordered the continual activity at the Observatory, because the Americans ought, according to his perception, to effect much more than the haughty Britons, even when inferior in strength. He confounded the quiet energy and perserverance of the English, their courage to meet danger, and their firmness in misfortune with conceited heedlessness and blundering braggartism. T h e English had sent forth ice-expeditions in April. Therefore, it was proper that the Americans should do the same in March. T h e English had not found Capt. Franklin, naturally enough, because they had not searched for him in the manner which a free-born American had found out to be the only right one; and, on account of this, the glory to find Franklin ought only to be reserved for an American. Both Olsen and I often felt vexed at the boasting of

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Dr. Kane. We found his sarcastic remarks on the English both unjust and unseemly; for nobody will be able to deny that Capt. Penny had commanded his ships like a distinguished navigator, and every man of the craft who has been with him will most assuredly own that he is as brave a mariner as ever set his foot on a deck and that he was perfectly equal to the enterprise he had undertaken. Thus, I expressed myself in all politeness against Dr. Kane; but Olsen took up that affair in another manner. He never forgot to mention on such occasions that he had heard words about an American expedition which had suffered the mishap to be drifted out of the Wellington Channel all the way down to the Danish Colonies, 18 which accident, he said, although misfortune may happen to the best man, was not an affair for boasting and least of all when the discourse turned on a comparison between English and American seamanship. Dr. Kane wanted to outdo the English and ordered all preparations to be made for an expedition with sledges towards the North. It was to be undertaken in March; and, although Olsen and I objected to an enterprise so hazardous and almost impracticable at such a season, our objections were disregarded, and the expedition was undertaken; yet Olsen secured himself on this occasion by demanding a written order from Dr. Kane. 19 It was, as far as I remember, on the loth or 12th of March that we left the ship with one sledge: We moved slowly along, surmounting with difficulty the ice blocks that covered this region and ren18 Another reference to the first American Grinnell expedition of 1850-1851, of which Dr. Kane was the chief surgeon. See Note 11. 16 Dr. Kane, Arctic Explorations (I, 179-182; II, 305-307) makes no mention of the written order demanded by Olsen for this expedition by sledge. Henry Brooks was the nominal leader of the party. The expedition set forth from the brig "Advance" on March 19, 1854, and returned to the ship under conditions of great suffering on March 30.

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dered it uneven. T h e party consisted of Olsen; myself; Dr. Sonntag; Brooks; Wilson; the second steward [Thomas Hickey]; Jefferson [Temple Baker]; and [Pierre Schubert], the cook. We worked our way forward by small journeys, and the cold was so intense that we could not stop for an instant without having our undergarments covered with rime frost on account of the continual perspiration which the violent labor produced. Every evening we investigated one another in order to discover if any limb should have been attacked by frost; yet we escaped this misfortune until the evening of the 8th day. Already, on the 6th, the extreme cold had rendered necessary our return. Having that evening pitched our tent, we all declared ourselves to be well. After having slept for a few hours, we were awakened by a loud moaning. Upon inquiry, it was found that Brooks, Wilson, Jefferson [Baker], and the cook [Pierre Schubert] had become frost-bitten in the feet. If we had been able to obtain a large quantity of water at o.° cal. at hand, it might have been of advantage to our unhappy companions, particularly if the misfortune had been discovered somewhat earlier. But we had no water at all, and the sickness had progressed so far that gangrene already appeared. N o expedient was now left us except to return to the ship to ask for assistance. Olsen, Sonntag, and I resolved to go back for this purpose. We were then about 30 English miles distant from the vessel and we traversed this road in twenty-one hours. Dr. Sonntag felt so exhausted that it was only with our help that he could get along. 20 A t last we reached the ship in order to return 20 William Godfrey's Narrative of the Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition . . . (Philadelphia: J . T . Lloyd, 1857), p. 118., describes the return of Olsen, Sonntag, and Petersen from this disastrous sledge expedition to the north as follows: " T h e persons who had returned were Ohlsen, Sonntag, and Petersen. T h e i r faces were absolutely black. Ohlsen's toes were frozen; Sonntag was stupì-

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DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

without delay to our suffering companions. We got fresh men chosen, and both Olsen and I wanted to accompany them. It was, however, found sufficient that only one should go; and, after a short, friendly cavil about who of us was the least fatigued, Olsen was the person appointed to go, because he declared that he would go under all circumstances; and thus it was left to me to go or to stay. I knew that brave sea-man well enough to be confident that he was as good as his word, and that there was no necessity for both of us going. I remained on board. 21 T w o days later they came safely back. T h e cook got his foot amputated, Wilson and Brooks escaped with the loss of some toes, but Jefferson [Baker] died a few days later.22 Olsen was so exhausted after this tour that he became seriously ill, but recovered soon again. fied, a n d a p p e a r e d to b e unconscious of his s i t u a t i o n ; P e t e r s e n was i n a similar c o n d i t i o n ; a n d O h l s e n i n f o r m e d us that it was w i t h e x t r e m e difficulty that h e h a d b e e n a b l e to k e e p his t w o c o m p a n i o n s i n m o t i o n o n their way to the brig. T h e y s h o w e d a c o n s t a n t inclinat i o n to lie d o w n a n d sleep; a n d h a d , i n fact, b e e n i n a sort of s o m n a m b u l i s t i c state d u r i n g the last t e n miles of t h e i r j o u r n e y . " 2 1 G o d f r e y describes the c o m m e n c e m e n t o f t h e rescue of t h e m e n l e f t b e h i n d o n the ice thus: " T h e persons selected to g o to the relief of o u r distressed c o m r a d e s were, besides D r . K a n e , w h o t o o k t h e l e a d i n this business, M c G a r y , M o r t o n , R i l e y , B l a k e , B o n s a l l , a n d myself . . . S o n n t a g a n d Petersen w e r e totally u n f i t f o r this d u t y ; for, besides b e i n g too f e e b l e to u n d e r t a k e such a j o u r n e y , they h a d n o t r e c o v e r e d their senses. W e w e r e c o m p e l l e d , t h e r e f o r e , to m a k e use o f p o o r O h l s e n , w h o s e toes h a d all b e e n c u t off o n l y a f e w h o u r s previous, a n d w h o , as the r e a d e r m a y suppose, w a s n o t in v e r y g o o d t r a v e l i n g order. His m u t i l a t e d f e e t w e r e c a r e f u l l y b a n d a g e d , a n d h e was p l a c e d i n a s l e e p i n g b a g of buffalo-skin, o n the sledge; all care b e i n g t a k e n to m a k e h i m as c o m f o r t a b l e as h e c o u l d b e i n such c i r c u m s t a n c e s . " See G o d f r e y , Narrative, p p . 122-123. F o r f u r t h e r details c o n s u l t K a n e , Arctic Explorations (I, 187-199) a n d A . W . G r e e l e y ' s essay e n t i t l e d " K a n e ' s R e s c u e of his F r e e z i n g S h i p m a t e s " i n True Tales of Arctic Heroism ( N e w Y o r k : C . Scribner's Sons, 1 9 1 2 ) . 2 2 A c c o r d i n g to a m e d i c a l r e p o r t s u b m i t t e d to D r . K a n e b y Isaac Israel Hayes, the s u r g e o n of the b r i g " A d v a n c e " , J e f f e r s o n T e m p l e B a k e r d i e d f r o m e x p o s u r e i n the sick r o o m o f t h e " A d v a n c e " o n A p r i l 7, 1854, w h i l e Pierre Schubert, the c o o k , d i e d o n M a y 22. See K a n e , Arctic Explorations (I, 200-201; I I , 305-307, 354-356).

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Such was the termination of this expedition which had proved itself to be as foolish as Olsen and I had anticipated at the time when Dr. Kane gave us his order to undertake it. He now saw his mistake and resolved for the present not to send off other expeditions; but it was not long before he sent away another. In the beginning of April we discovered some Esquimaux who seemed anxious to approach the ship. Kane and I went out to meet them on the ice, and he hailed them. They came from the South. I too accosted them, and the foremost then called out to his fellow travellers that I had spoken to them in their own language. They now approached somewhat nearer, and I then recognized among them one of my former friends from Cape York whom I had known during the voyage of Capt. Penny. I asked them whither they were going and received the answer that they were hunting the bear. For this hunting they were armed only with their angeguja, which is a pole furnished with a spear-point without hooks. T h e shafts seemed in a poor condition. They consisted of the horns of unicorn attached to pieces of wood, while the spear-points looked as if they owed their origin to some iron-hoop. This is the only weapon they use when they hunt the bear, and with it they kill the walrus. In order to catch the latter, they place themselves in ambuscade and watch the animal when it falls asleep on the ice. T h e y then approach it stealthily and launch their harpoon furnished with a lazo, or catchingstrap. Having thus secured their prey, they rush upon it and kill it with the hunting spear or angeguja. T h e y likewise lie in wait for the walrus on the edge of the ice and kill it when it emerges to breathe the air. Yet without their dogs they would hardly succeed in overpowering the icebear. T h e dogs surround and detain the bear until the hunters come up; and, throwing their angegujas at him like javelins, they at last overwhelm and kill him.

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We invited the Esquimaux to come on board and placed before them several kinds of food, of which they tasted only some dried meat, while they drank a large quantity of water. One of them was persuaded to eat some bread; and, when we became better acquainted, we got them to eat bread with pork, but only when the pork had been wellsoaked. Kalutunah, my friend from Cape York, tasted, however, of all the things I gave him. After a nearer scrutiny, I likewise recognized Sip-su, the other Esquimau from Cape York among them. On the request of Dr. Kane, I asked them if they had been farther north, which they answered in the affirmative. They told us that directly north of the ship was found a sound which was supposed to lead to a more open water, in which a large island was said to be situated. This island they called Omimasuk, or isle of the musk-ox. I asked them whether animals of this kind were found on the island; but about this they could give no explanation; yet they related that large numbers of moose or walrus were found there. They left us after a stay of 24 hours, having sold us a couple of dogs, for which Dr. Kane paid them with some knives and pieces of wood. 23 At a later visit of the Esquimaux, he bought several [other] dogs and thus had finally seven drilled dogs, together with his two Newfoundlers. T h e Doctor sent off several expeditions with draughtsledges, but none of these arrived at any result, because they only advanced a small distance on the large glacier or ice-blink which is situated north of Cape Frederic VII. 2 3 Dr. K a n e , Arctic Explorations (I, 201-213) states that this party of Eskimos visited the b r i g " A d v a n c e " at V a n R e n s s e l a e r H a r b o r o n A p r i l 8, 1854. H e also states (II, 305) that several varieties of scurvy w e r e a c o n s t a n t m e n a c e to the h e a l t h of his c r e w . A particularly v i r u l e n t f o r m of this disease k i l l e d fifty-seven o f his dogs. D r . K a n e , therefore, was b a d l y in n e e d of dogs f o r his sledges w h e n h e w e l c o m e d his E s k i m o visitors a b o a r d the " A d v a n c e . "

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W h e r e a s D r . H a y e s a n d o n e of the m e n , W i l l i a m

[God-

frey], w i t h the dog-sledge, u n d e r t o o k a n e x p e d i t i o n northw a r d , a b o u t as f a r as 8 o ° a n d g o t w i t h g r e a t

difficulty

across to t h e w e s t side of S m i t h ' s S o u n d , a n d this w e s t e r n coast D r . H a y e s l a i d d o w n o n the m a p . T h i s

excursion

lasted a b o u t twelve days a n d was u n d e r t a k e n in the m o n t h of May.24 O n e of the draught-sledges was later sent off, a n d

Dr.

K a n e i n t e n d e d to a c c o m p a n y it; b u t t w o days afterwards, h e was b r o u g h t b a c k sick.26 O n his r e t u r n , t h e j o u r n e y b e g a n a n e w a n d was c o n t i n u e d o n the glacier n o r t h of C a p e Frederic V I I . J o h n (Hans) the Greenlander2® was sent after it w i t h the dog-sledge in order that the journey m i g h t

be

p r o s e c u t e d still f a r t h e r n o r t h w a r d . W h e n h e c a m e u p w i t h the draught-sledge, he a n d the steward [ W i l l i a m

Morton]

continued their journey. I had admonished them not

to

24 Dr. I. I. Hayes and William Godfrey explored the western coastline of the Kane Basin as far north as Cape J. F. Frazer (Latitude 79°42' 09") between May 20 and June 1, 1854. See Kane, Arctic Explorations (II, 365-373). 25 Dr. I. I. Hayes describes this sledge expedition in the following manner: " O n the 26th [April, 1854] Mr. McGary started with the leading sledge, and on the next day Dr. Kane followed with Godfrey and the dogs. T h i s was to have been the crowning expedition of the campaign; but the same causes again brought defeat. T h e heavy hummocks and deep drifts made the travelling so laborious, that one by one the men broke down, and symptoms of scurvy added to the complication of troubles. A t length the commander [Dr. Kane], an invalid at starting, was prostrated by the severity of his labors; he fell into frequent fainting fits, and finally became helpless. T h e party were compelled to put back; and by forced marches they brought him o n board. H e was carried u p the ship's side insensible. T h e old enemy, scurvy, had again seized upon him, and its attack was aggravated by typhoid symptoms and dropsical effusion . . . ." See Hayes, An Arctic Boat Journey, pp. 17-18. 26 Hans Christian Hendrick—not previously named in Petersen's narrative—was a skilled nineteen-year-old Eskimo hunter whom Dr. Kane had engaged as a member of his expedition in July, 1853, while the crew of the "Advance" was still in port at Fiskernaes, Greenland. See Kane, Arctic Explorations (I, 23-24).

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eat bear-liver, which is said to make the face flush, to cause a violent head-ache with fever, and peeling off of the skin. This had been told me, and I believed it; because I observed that none of the Greenlanders and Esquimaux would taste the bear-liver and gave the above reason; although I, of course, have never seen these effects myself. On the tour the Steward and Hans slew three bears, and the inviting appearance of the liver tempted their appetites. T h e y prepared it; and, after having eaten of it, the above-mentioned accident most accurately took place. On their return, the Steward particularly suffered much from the peeling of his skin, and both related that they had felt very ill after having eaten of the bear-liver.27 They succeeded in reaching the sound which the Esquimaux had indicated. It was open, probably cut up by the strong current which they observed there. It was, however, midsummer; and the sun may thus have assisted the current in removing the ice.28 This was the last expedition undertaken on such a scale. I have already related that we were surrounded by ice which only melted within a very short distance of the vessel. Doctor Kane seemed now to have come to the same conviction which Olsen and myself had harbored since last year—namely, that he had ventured too far northward 27 " T h e only food known to contain a toxic amount of this vitamin [Vitamin A] is polar-bear liver." See Adelle Davis, Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit (New York: Harcourt and Brace, 1954), p. 57. 28 Petersen refers here with a notable lack of warmth to the famous sledge expedition to Cape Constitution at the mouth of the Kennedy Channel (June 24, 1854) made by William Morton and Hans the Eskimo to the latitude of 81 0 22'. T h e arctic explorer Adolphus W . Greely comments thus upon Morton's achievement: "From an elevation of five hundred feet, he [William Morton] saw open water as far north as eye could reach, probably to Cape Lieber, 81 o 32' Ν . In other words, he found Kennedy Channel open, a condition which doubtless occurs nine years out of ten." See A . W . Greely, Three Years of Arctic Service (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1886), I, p. 7.

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and that there was no probability ever to get back with the ship. He resolved, therefore, to furnish a whaling boat with provisions and to attempt to reach Beechey-I sland in order to place himself in communication with the British expedition of Captain Belcher. 29 I am confident that this was a great mistake of Dr. Kane. How could he believe it possible to reach Beechey-I sland and to return again to the ship? But as one could not expect that Mr. Kane, on my word, would desist from his enterprise, I let him depart without expressing my opinion on this subject, and the more so, because he did not at all consult me about it.30 It was soon seen, however, that this journey was a vain attempt, undertaken without reflection; and a month after his departure from the ship, which in the meantime was commanded by Mr. Brooks, with Sonntag as sailing master, we had the satisfaction to see Dr. Kane return on board the ship again. He had been at the mouth of Smith's Sound and had touched at the island of Northumberland, whence he had followed the coast back to the ship. 31 During the absence of Dr. Kane, a hunting expedition was undertaken by Dr. Hayes, Bonsall, and myself. We went down to Littleton Island where we shot a number of 28 Captain Edward Belcher was in command of five arctic vessels which sailed towards Lancaster Sound in 1852 under orders of the British Admiralty to search for the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Eventually, Captain Belcher abandoned his ships on the ice—one was recovered—and led his men back to safety and civilization. He wrote an account of his expedition under the title The Last of the Arctic Voyages; being a narrative of the expedition in H.M.S. "Assistance", under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., in search of Sir John Franklin, during the years 1852-53-54 . .. (London: L. Reeve, 1855). 2 vols. 30 Dr. Kane explains the reasons which prompted him to attempt to reach Beechey Island in Arctic Explorations (I, 310). 81 T h e sledge party which Petersen mentions consisted of Dr. Kane, McGary, Morton, Riley, Hans the Eskimo, and Hickey. T h e party left the brig "Advance" on July 12, 1854 and returned to the ship on August 6th. See Kane, Arctic Explorations (I, 315-338; II, 310).

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eider-ducks and sea-gulls which we brought back with us to the vessel. Dr. Kane called together a ship-council a few days after his return. He imparted to us that since there appeared no hope of getting away and since we, moreover, were in want of fuel and provisions, he would permit every one of us, who might have the desire and courage, to abandon the ship and to save ourselves as best we could. As for himself, he intended to remain on board. He granted us a term of 24 hours for reflection; and, when it expired, he again called us together to hear what resolution we had taken. 32 When it became evident, however, that the 12 men out of the 18 that composed the crew demanded to leave the ship, it seems that Dr. Kane felt some hesitation. Because he read to us a paper which he demanded to be signed by Mr. Hayes, Bonsall, Sonntag, Olsen, Wilson, and Hans the Greenlander. T h e three former gentlemen signed it without remonstrance, but Dr. Kane contrived to keep the other three—Olsen, Wilson, and Hans—on board partly by persuasion and not without some menace, as it seems to me. 83 T h e company which thus resolved to leave the ship consisted then of g individuals, who unanimously chose me to be their leader and agreed in every respect to obey my commands. 34 I then proposed, though the season was far 82 These statements by Petersen concerning the abandonment of the ice-locked ship by a portion of its crew are confirmed by Dr. Kane in Arctic Explorations (I, 350-351). a3 D r . Kane (Arctic Explorations, I, 351) comments upon this situation as follows: " I n the result, eight out of the seventeen survivors of my party resolved to stand by the brig. It is just that I should record their names. They were Henry Brooks, James McGary, J . W. Wilson, Henry Goodfellow, William Morton, Christian Ohlsen, Thomas Hickey, Hans Christian." 84 T h e members of this withdrawal party consisted of the following individuals: J . Carl Petersen, Isaac Israel Hayes, August Sonntag, Amos Bonsall, George Stephenson, George Whipple, John Blake [i.e., William Hussey], William Godfrey, and George Riley.

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advanced, to attempt by travelling south, to reach the Danish Colonies of North Greenland. It was entrusted to Dr. Sonntag8® to carry on a journal relating our adventures on this wandering, and I shall therefore confine the account I here give of this expedition to a translation from this journal written in the German language, Dr. Sonntag being a native of Altona in Holstein. T h e ship, being nearly in want of provisions, it was evident that we could not be well provided. We prepared a draught-sledge and a small red-painted boat, which I had fitted out for this purpose, and a whaling boat. August 26 [1854]. We left the ship at 6 o'clock in the evening with two sledges, accompanied by Thomas [Hickey], Wilson, and Olsen (12 men in all) and brought the greater part of the lading to the second ravine situated eight English miles from the ship, where we arrived at 5 o'clock on the following morning. There we left the sledges. During the passage they had been reloaded thrice, in order to cross the first ravine and two small gullies that formed deep crevasses in the continental ice. They were now unloaded; and the objects of which we, for the present, were most in want were brought over the distance of some 1000 paces to the whale-boat, lying so far off. T h e rest we left near the ravine. We then went to sleep near the boat, after having taken a refreshment of chocolate. Some of us pulled off our upper garments, and we all slept a5 T h e diary m e n t i o n e d b y Petersen at this p o i n t of his narrative might have b e e n the genesis of the patently f r a u d u l e n t w o r k entitled Professor Sonntags Thrilling Narrative of the Grinnell Exploring Expedition (1857) described in o u r I n t r o d u c t i o n . D r . A u g u s t Sonntag d e n o u n c e d the Thrilling Narrative as a literary imposture after the b o o k a p p e a r e d in p r i n t . H e writes in a letter f r o m M e x i c o , published i n the Philadelphia Evening Journal o n M a y 19, 1857: " I did n o t write the b o o k ; it is a s h a m e f u l imposition."

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soundly and comfortably beneath the horse-covers, although we were not protected by any tent. T h e smaller sledge, which Olsen had built and strengthened by iron-hoops, was found very heavy for drawing, particularly on account of its having a beam not sufficiently fastened; and it therefore often went a-wry. T h e land-ice was far from being melted as much as the year before, and there were hardly any stones visible of those which had fallen last year; for the lately-fallen can be easily distinguished from the others, because they are not surrounded by any cavity filled with water during thawing weather. T h e ancient ice is likewise easily distinguished, even at a great distance, by the black perpendicular stripes which descend from the rocks, as if the land-ice is furrowed by rills of water, which is of some importance during an expedition with sledges. August 27. Daylight continues from 8 o'clock in the morning until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. We continued to transport the baggage from the sledge near the ravine to the boat; and, after a meal at 7 o'clock, we returned to the ship in quest of the remaining part of our charge; and arrived on board at 1 1 o'clock. Stephenson and William [Godfrey], who felt indisposed, had remained with the boat. After a frugal supper, we once more slept in our old hammocks. Wilson told Dr. Kane that William 3 6 had insulted him on the road, and the Doctor gave the order that William immediately should leave the ship. Not being on board, however, the command could not be executed. August 28. We left the ship at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. Olsen had already announced in the morning to Dr. Kane »«Dr. Kane characterizes William Godfrey as follows in Arctic Explorations (II, 89) : " T h e past conduct of Godfrey on board, and his mutinous desertion, make me aware that he is capable of daring wrong as well as deception." Dr. Kane also remarks on Page 84: "This wretched man [Godfrey] has been the very bane of the cruise."

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his resolution to join our party. But the Doctor declared that he would not grant him the permission and would consider it as a desertion if he left the ship; and thus he remained on board. We were accompanied by McGary, Hans, and Thomas [Hickey]; we carried the red boat with the rest of our baggage on the large sledge and arrived at 6 o'clock in the afternoon to the Whale boat. T h e dogs had followed us; and, as all exertions to drive them back were in vain, McGary ordered Hans to shoot at them. A dog was so severely hit in the neck that it was unable to keep up with the others, who still continued to follow our track. August 19. We slept without tent until 6 o'clock in the morning; and, an hour later, the party left the whale boat with the red bark and part of the cargo in order to bring it to the open water if possible. I remained alone with the boat to protect the remnant against the dogs which had followed so far. A t 2 o'clock a brisk breeze sprung up which, there on the coast running from East westward, was a west-wind; while, on the contrary, the clouds drove off from southeast towards N.W. T h e party returned at half past 1 1 o'clock in the forenoon. T h e y had brought the cargo nine miles farther to a spot where the flat-ice becomes very bad. Open water could nowhere be discovered except at an open place in the pack-ice; nor could we see the [Bessie] mountain from which the cottage of the Esquimau is visible. We drank our coffee; and McGary, Hans, and Thomas returned to the ship. They carried with them three poles and some instruments which had been left with the boat by the party of Dr. Kane. Bonsall handed them a letter for the Doctor in which he asked him to send the letter of safe conduct for the American Consul which had been forgotten on board, together with a request that we might be permitted to take with us the two barrels of

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biscuit from the iron-vessel.87 At ι o'clock in the afternoon we went with the second part of our cargo, containing nearly all our baggage. T h e sledge could easily be drawn, and we reached the red boat at three o'clock. A sharp wind with drifts of snow blew right in our face; the clouds moved from S.E. to N.W.; at 5 o'clock we returned to the old place. T h e large boat was now placed on the sledge. On this occasion we discovered that the boards in the cavity beneath the water-line had on both sides been knocked to pieces by stones fallen down from the rocks; yet, according to the opinion of Mr. Petersen, the boat might easily be made water-proof again. T h e rest of the baggage was now stowed in the boat, and at 6 o'clock we left forever our old resting places. T h e sledge with this increased load was very heavy to move, and it was therefore half past 9 o'clock before we reached the red boat. We there pitched our tent close beneath the rocks and at 1 1 o'clock were at rest. T h e wind continued to blow; the open water had widened; but we could not yet discover any open water toward the south. A t 10 o'clock the Barometer stood at 29°; the Thermometer at 30°. T h e land-ice was so precarious that it was only with the greatest exertion that we were able to advance a couple of English miles a day with so heavy a load as that we had along with us. August 30. After a comfortable night we all arose at 8 o'clock in the morning. T h e wind blew freshly; the Barometer had fallen considerably at 9 o'clock in the forenoon; it stood at 28.7; the Thermometer at 33 o . T h e loose ice was driving rapidly northward, but the large mass of ice was retained by all the ice-bergs which are grounded here. 37 As seen in Note 10, Dr. Kane had deposited a metallic boat with emergency provisions in a cairn at Littleton Island (Lat. 78 o 24' Ν.) in the event that his expedition should need them during a retreat southward from his winter harbor at V a n Rennselaer Bay (Lat. 78° 37'; Long. 70 o 40").

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Southward it was snowing. With the glass one could discover open water close to the shore of Bedeviled Ridge, but we were separated from it by a mass of broken pack-ice which, however, had become joined again by new ice. W e remained in our tent, hoping that the strong gale would force an opening in the water that might serve us for a passage. A t 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Barometer stood again at 29.52. T h e wind continued high, but it abated somewhat at 5 o'clock; and, after our dinner, Petersen repaired the boat while we, in two loads, brought the greater part of the baggage across the rather broken landice to a cape on a land-head which was situated at a distance of 2000 paces and which projects from the deep ravine on the north-side of Bedeviled Ridge. We made an attempt to break through the young ice with the red boat and to follow it with the larger one; but we did not succeed, as the ice closed again just as quickly as we had broken it. All was in vain; we therefore lay down, enveloped in our buffalo-skins, at 10 o'clock in order to await the high-water, being persuaded that we then might transport the boat down. T h e Barometer stood at 29.62 and the Thermometer at 30°. August Soon after 3 o'clock the approach of some Esquimaux brought us to our feet. They were two women, one of whom carried a small child and a boy of some sixteen years; they came from the South. They spoke with Petersen and complained of their want of fire, that they could not light any, and wanted to go to the ship to get fire. He gave them some matches, and they went apparently by the road they had come. T h e y had three dogs along with them. I [Sonntag] remained upon guard at the baggage, fearing that they might steal something, while the others brought the boat through the young ice. T h e n we took a sledge-load to a ravine which lay 1 i/¡¡ English miles

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distant and returned at noon to the boat, where we found Hans with the dogs. He pursued the Esquimaux who, in their approach to the ship, had stolen a buffalo-skin and his clothes-bag.88 He had traversed the distance between the ship and the boat in four hours, and he now hurried on in pursuit of the Esquimaux after having handed us the passport to the American consuls and a letter as an answer to the note of Bonsall, in which the Doctor permitted us to take one barrel of biscuits but no more. T h e boat, with the rest of the charge, was now drawn across the thin-ice, which was three inches in thickness and which impeded our progress to such a degree that we took out the cargo at a distance of 1000 paces from the place where the sledge stood. We then brought the sledge from the ravine; and, hitching it to two men and the dogs who had not followed with Hans, we brought it in two expeditions to the ravine. T h e boat was dragged over the land-ice on its right keel, and at 7 o'clock we pitched our camp near the ravine. It proved very difficult to get [to the] water. Our barrel of molasses had fallen overboard during the transportation, but happily Bonsall fished it up again at low-water. Sept. t. At 8 o'clock we awoke, and at 11 we were on our way again. T h e land-ice was too bad, and the boat was therefore hauled for a distance of some hundred paces across the thin-ice to an ice-field. Yet the sledge, which with the other half of the baggage was to be brought on the same route, fell through the thin-ice and nearly all our clothes became wet. This misfortune so much terrified Riley and William Hussey89 that they at once returned to 3 8 " . . . they [the Eskimos] h a d b e e n to the s h i p a n d c a r r i e d off, a m o n g o t h e r v a l u a b l e s , a small buffalo-skin a n d a w o l f - s k i n b a g w h i c h D r . K a n e h a d p r e s e n t e d to H a n s . " See H a y e s , An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 45. 8 8 1 . I. Hayes, w h o witnessed the s a m e i n c i d e n t w h i c h S o n n t a g describes, identifies the t w o i n d i v i d u a l s w h o h a d g i v e n w a y t o p a n i c

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the ship. We attempted, in the meantime, to dry our garments on the rocks; but the sun, which until then had been shining, was now obscured by a mist. T h e Thermometer at noon was 19°. W e loaded again and transported our luggage across the thin-ice in two trains to a convenient spot on the land-ice. T h e former had a thickness of about three inches. Here William Godfrey put a term to his indecision whether to return to the ship or to remain with us; he, at last, chose the latter.40 In the afternoon, at 6 o'clock, all our luggage was gathered on an ice-field; and we then pursued our course with two sledge-loads and one passage of the boat some 2,000 paces farther on in the direction of the southern promontory of the Bedeviled Ridge. At 11 o'clock we pitched our tent on the ice in the middle of the bay. Hans had returned about noon without finding the stolen things with the Esquimaux. He remained with us in order to bring the sledge on board, when we no longer were in want of it. He said that the water was open close under land near the Bedeviled Ridge, with the exception of a place near Godsend Island, where a small space had not yet broken up and that south of this place the ice was adrift. He related likewise that a walrus was lying at the Fog-Inlet which had been killed by the young Esquimau whom I mentioned above. A t midnight McGary and Goodfellow came to bring back Hans and the sledge. We expostulated with him that we could not yet do without the sledge and that it certainly could not be the opinion of Dr. Kane to deprive us of it in our present situation.

and fear on this occasion as George Riley and John Blake. See An Arctic Boat Journey (p. 49). Here, as well as elsewhere in his diary, Sonntag refers to John Blake by his correct name of "William Hussey". 40 Hayes remarks in his Arctic Boat Journey (p. 50) : "In the meantime Godfrey had been moping on the rocks. I gave to him peremtorily the option, to go back to the ship at once or to go to work. He chose the latter."

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B u t M c G a r y said that h e h a d i m p l i c i t o r d e r to b r i n g it b a c k a n d s h o w e d the f o l l o w i n g w r i t t e n O r d e r , o f w h i c h I took a c o p y a c c o r d i n g to the w i s h o f o u r p a r t y . Dr. Kane's letter, Sept. 1, 1854. Siri Hans, w h o was sent after the withdrawing party to obtain the sledge, retarded by them, has not returned. T h i s sledge is essential to our winter preparations, and I am therefore obliged to send you and Mr. Goodfellow to obtain it. Y o u are instructed mildly to insist upon the relinquishment, reading this letter, if necessary, to the party and assuring them, that any unauthorized detention of the property belonging to the expedition, will be severely noticed. If the sledge be not given up, you will seize it, and only relinquish it u p o n force being used, and then under protest against the act. B e careful and bring back the dogs and such other properties as may be needed. Secure carefully the red boat and take the same measures with regard to Hans, should he be attached to this party, as above stated with regard to the sledge. Respectfully, Mr. G . McGary E. K. Kane, Acting Executive Officer Brig Advance Sept. 1, 1854 T h e sledge was, of course, s u r r e n d e r e d to h i m , y e t n o t w i t h o u t some rather severe r e m a r k s o n the p a r t o f

Mr.

Petersen a n d his companions. 4 1 Sept. 2. O u r c o o k arose this m o r n i n g at 8 o ' c l o c k . Petersen adjusted the small sledge; a n d , u s i n g i t i n t h r e e transp o r t i n g parties, w e c o n v e y e d o u r b a g g a g e t o the o p e n w a t e r 41 An original manuscript in the handwriting of Dr. Kane, entitled Journal of Dr. Kane (MS of the Stanford Univ. Library in California) presents the following entry for Saturday, Sept. 2, 1854 on Page 84 of the MS: "At 6 a.m. McGeary returned [to the brig "Advance"]. Sure enough, they [the members of the withdrawal party] had taken the sledge and Hans. McGeary found them at Godsend Island. At first they would not give up the sledge, but upon reading my letter, they finally resigned her, Petersen only saying that he would winter ashore rather than return to the brig. A most insulting and ungrateful speech." I. I. Hayes remarks in An Arctic Boat Journey (p. 50) that Hans the Eskimo requested permission of the withdrawal party on this occasion (Sept. 1854) to join the ex* pedition southward but that Petersen vetoed the suggestion.

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at Bedeviled Ridge, which we found now covered with a thin-ice of one inch in thickness. W e then brought on the boat, after crossing the same road seven times! and at 3 in the afternoon, the whole baggage was embarked, and we began with immense fatigue and difficulty to break our way through the thin-ice with kayak oars and long poles that reached to the bottom. A t 5 in the afternoon we reached a point on the south side of Bedeviled Ridge and hauled the bark along the land-ice, quite close under it; but, unhappily, the thin-ice was soon found to be too thick, and we were thus obliged to seek a passage farther from shore. For this purpose we ascended a high land-mark some 80 or 100 feet in elevation, whence we discovered a big mound of ice, or, an ice-camp, as it it called. It was of old ice and could not be evaded; but beyond it was good ice, and, at a distance of 7 miles, the open sea—a broad channel disappearing behind the mountains towards the south of Esquimaux Point. In five transports we hauled baggage and sledge across the thin-ice for 100 paces to the ancient icemound, on the border of which the tent was pitched for the night: at 11 o'clock we were all fast asleep. During the reloading of the boat William Hussey had joined us again. The reception on board had not pleased him; he had therefore left again this morning to join us. He said that he feared we would not receive him or that he might miss us entirely; and that, under such circumstances, he would continue to live among the Esquimaux or support himself with the provisions of the iron vessel left at Littleton Island and spend his winter there.42 We received him again in our company, while announcing to him that Mr. Petersen was our commander, that we without any contradiction 42 W h a t William Hussey means is that he was intending to plunder for his own use the emergency food supply which Dr. Kane had stored away the year before (together with a metallic boat) in a cairn at Littleton Island. See Note 10.

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executed every order given by him. With this he declared himself perfectly content. Sept. A t 1 o'clock in the morning we were awakened by Morton who, together with Thomas [Hickey] and Riley had brought back the great sledge. A letter from Dr. Kane addressed to me [Sonntag], offered excuses for the deprivation of the sledge.48 Riley was to remain with us until he could take back the sledge in all earnest. Morton and Thomas were ordered to take the Esquimaux back as prisoners to the ship. Having no room in the tent, the three men lay down in the boat, covering themselves with the rest of our bed clothes after William Godfrey had given them some supper. A t 8 o'clock in the morning, Morton and Riley went to the hut of the Esquimaux. Thomas, feeling unwell, remained in the boat. Riley soon returned, wet to the skin. He had fallen into the water and had to put on other garments, for the most part borrowed from Morton. T h e cooks were awakened at 71^ and at 11 we proceeded with half the baggage divided between the two sledges towards Esquimaux Point on a road which Petersen indicated across the ancient ice-camp; and, indeed, after journeying some 1000 paces, we reached good ice from last year. T h e other half of the baggage was carried across in the same manner. T h e small sledge fell on the side of one of the beams, which gave way, and was brought back (after the loading of the large sledge) on the top of the latter (with its load) and was thus carried forward.

43 " I l e a r n t f r o m M c G e a r y t h a t g r e a t dissatisfaction p r e v a i l e d a m o n g t h e m [the m e m b e r s o f the w i t h d r a w a l p a r t y ! a n d t h a t they h a d re-elected P e t e r s e n to c o m m a n d t h e m o n t h e 31st A u g . as the o n l y m e a n s of a g r e e i n g . P o o r f e l l o w s l S u c h is the w a y of transgressors. O n e t h i n g , h o w e v e r , I d i d , u r g e d b y the w e a k n e s s of s y m p a t h y rather t h a n as a n act t o w h i c h they h a d a c l a i m . I s e n t t h e m b a c k my sledge, w i t h a m a n ( R i l e y ) t o t a k e care of h e r , a n d a l e t t e r of k i n d w a r n i n g , o n l y a l l u d i n g t o the f a u l t — a v e r y g r a v e o n e — o f u s i n g the p r o p e r t y o f the E x p e d i t i o n w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n . " See Journal of Dr. Kane (Sept. 2, 1 8 5 4 ) , op. cit., p p . 84-85.

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On our return we met Morton. Thomas had followed him with Riley at nine o'clock, and these two went with the Esquimaux overland to the ship. T h e boat was then dragged behind. Petersen supported the small sledge by means of wedges. T h e load was divided between the sledges and the boat; and, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, five men went with the large sledge and three with the small in the direction of Esquimaux Point until both parties, at a distance of two English miles, were stopped by a crevasse in the ice. T h e boat was then safely transported over the fissure at a place where it was covered with thin ice. It broke through, but was easily hauled up again and placed on the ice. T h e sledges we likewise got safely over; and we then continued our route, loaded as before, and reached the open water at a distance of two English miles, about 1000 paces west of Esquimaux Point. Riley had overtaken us at 6 o'clock; he had not gone on board with Morton and Thomas. He gave assistance in dragging the small sledge, but it proved to be so heavy that we abandoned it temporarily half-way. T h e boat was then carried along; and, while four men were loading it with the baggage of the larger sledge, five men dragged the empty sledge to the smaller one left behind and placed the latter one, with its burden, upon it. A t 9I/2 o'clock all things were embarked, and four men—Petersen, William Godfrey, William Hussey, and George Whipple—rowed the bark to the Esquimaux hut where, after the notice given to us by Riley, it was supposed that we should find meat and blubber of the walrus, while the others went thither on land. Here I beheld, from an elevated point 300 feet in height, an open channel four English miles in breadth which extended along the coast as far as the eye could reach." "Riley returned at 5 a.m., bringing with him my much-needed sledge. T h e party had retained it until they reached the open water, which they did at s a.m. of yesterday. T h e y expect to find, Riley says, open water to their destination. My own judgment is directly

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T h e thin-ice near the cape on which stands the hut was so thick that the boat could not be brought on shore. Hence, we pitched the tent on an ancient knoll of ice near the land. From the hut we brought about six pounds of walrus meat and some blubber, which afforded us an excellent supper. A t 3 o'clock in the morning all of us were bedded and asleep. Sept. 4. W e awoke at 1 1 o'clock in the forenoon; and Petersen, who had gone on shore, returned with the news that the ice, driven by the N . N . East wind, was pressing rapidly towards land and was being stopped only by some ice-bergs. Hence we embarked our baggage as quickly as possible; took leave of Riley, who had remained with us during the night; and started at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. T h e sea-ice had become pressed between the land and the stranded ice-bergs, and there was only a narrow passage open to us between the ice-bergs and the pack-ice rapidly drifting southward. We were thus obliged, first, to work our way through the thin-ice. W e then came to the open passage in which our heavy over-loaded boat 4 5 made a course for the wind at f o u r knots. B u t the pack-ice sat in with such velocity that it had closed the passage at 3 o'clock, and we were forced to bring o u r baggage onto the opposite of this . . . They sent by Riley neither written advice to my letter nor thanks, nor goodbyes nor words of any sort. So they go. From my very heart I can say a blessing go with them. Neither their ingratitude nor their selfishness, shown in clear repulsiveness only after their departure, can make me feel unkindly to these men." Journal of Dr. Kane (Sept. 5, 1854), op. cit., pp. 87-88. 4e In his Arctic Boat Journey (p. 59), I. I. Hayes describes the craft in which the withdrawal party was sailing as "an ordinary New London whale-boat, twenty-four feet in length, two and a half in depth, and with five and a half feet beam." Hayes also writes in regard to the boat: "She had been rigged by Mr. McGary for Dr. Kane's southern journey in July, with a foresail and a mainsail,— the first with twelve, and the last with fourteen feet, lift; and a jib. Eight men, with their baggage, brought her gunwale down within four inches of the water."

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an ancient mound of ice—or ice-camp—five miles southwest of Esquimaux Point. Petersen went into the bark with William Hussey and William Godfrey with the intention of shooting wild ducks in the environs. George Whipple and Stephenson went overland to Fog Inlet to look out for the ice, and, if possible, to bring the rest of the walrus meat which, according to the report of Hans, the Esquimaux had caught there a short time ago; but, after an absence of five hours, they came back extremely fatigued. The secondary glacier on the coast had caused them great trouble and evident danger. Nor had they found any trace of the walrus meat. O u r sportsmen, however, brought in eleven young ducks; and we had to haul up the bark on the ice in all haste, as all the water in the neighborhood was soon covered with the loosely drifting pack-ice. T h e wind blew sharply from N.N.E. It was bitter cold and the Thermometer stood at 15°. T h e eight eider-ducks gave us an excellent supper, and we slept very comfortably in the tent. September At 9 o'clock in the morning the wind still blew freshly from N.N.E., but the ice again stood off from land. Petersen had gone on shore and returned with the joyful news that a broad open channel earned southward. Hence we packed up as quickly as possible and set sail at 11 o'clock with a soft breeze from N.N.E. and beautiful, clear weather. It had been the same during the last two days. We ran at five knots with the heavily laden boat and doubled Cape Hatherton at 1 o'clock. This promontory is not very high but gloomy and strongly prominent. It consists, like the surrounding country, of Granite and primary formation. Between this point and Littleton Island a deep bay is situated, with a flatland in the foreground. Behind this lie hills, or rather a high table-land, the summit of which consists of horizontal layers. In the north-eastern

ιοο

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LANDS

part of this bay several small islets lie close under the land. Some low necks of land project f r o m the coast and form small coves. I n the southernmost of these lies our ironboat. 46 T h e bay was filled with loose pack-ice near the land; and, as the sea was riding so high, the bark began to take water. A s it was impossible to get near the iron-boat o n account of the ice, w e were obliged at 2 o'clock to haul u p our bark on an ice-field two English miles N . E .

from

Littleton Island. F o u r persons—Dr. Hayes, Bonsall, W i l liam Godfrey, and W i l l i a m Hussey—went ashore over the pack-ice in order to bring u p the iron-boat. 4 7 D u r i n g their absence, w e went adrift with the small ice-field on which we had hoisted the bark and pitched the tent; and went with the current and w i n d through the pack-ice. T h e sea went so high that several waves broke over the ice-field and drenched our tent and baggage. A t 9 o'clock in the evening the T h e r m o m e t e r stood at 2 2 . 5 o . W e drifted in a southwestern direction toward the islet lying before Littleton Island. W i t h some anxiety w e awaited the party with the 4β "They [the members of the withdrawal party] had permission to take the metallic life boat from Life Boat Cove [on Littleton Island] with its equipment but none of the provisions which were to remain as a standby for the Expedition in case of disaster. These latter they were enjoined carefully to replace in the cache." See Page 12 of the unpublished and undated typescript entitled The Facts Relating to the Separation of the Ship's Company of the Brig "Advance" in the Fall of 1854. Written out by Henry Goodfellow By Command of Miss Bessie Kane (No. 300 of the Greely Collection of MSS., preserved in the Library of the National Geographic Society: Location of the original MS. not indicated). 47 "Before the final start [of the withdrawal party] on the twentyeighth, Dr. Kane had a final interview with the officers of the party, in which he obtained a promise from them that neither John Huzy nor William Godfrey should visit the cache at Littleton Island, as he was apprehensive, both of their committing depradations upon the goods there and of their becoming crazed with the can of alcohol left in the cache. It is the best charity towards the officers of that party to suppose they were wanting in moral strength to enforce their promise, since it was broken." See Page 14 of the Goodfellow typescript cited above in Note 46.

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iron-boat. Petersen remained on guard until midnight; then I [Sonntag] took my turn. Sept. 6. A t 2 o'clock in the morning William Hussey joined us from across the pack-ice. T h e rest of the party were with the iron-boat on the south of Littleton Island, where they waited for us; but we were too much burdened with the ice, and the Sea went still so high that we could not sail with our heavy cargo. I remained on guard while the other four persons lay down to repose. A t 6 o'clock the ice had begun to open to such an extent that we were able to launch the boat. T h e ice had taken a sea-ward direction, and the pack-ice extended from Littleton Island westward as far as the eye could reach. Yet we discovered an open passage between Littleton Island and the mainland; and, sailing along with the N.N.E. wind which had abated to a fresh breeze, we at length reached our three companions with the iron-boat near the island. A l l felt greatly disabled by thirst; we had not got any fresh water since yesterday morning. T h i s we found here, but there was no place where we could secure the great boat. T h e iron-boat had been drawn up on the rocks. Part of the baggage was now transported into the iron-boat. A warp was slung to it, and we towed it along, taking our course towards a low cape south of Littleton Island. T h e iron-boat had been carried yesterday by the four men a mile across the pack-ice before they could launch it in open water. T h e y had taken the following objects from the provisions in the boat: a barrel of biscuits, ten pounds of sugar, a hatchet, some rice, an iron-anchor, and an ice-pole. Yesterday and today we saw many walruses in the environs of Littleton Island. It seemed to me last night as if the land on the west side suddenly breaks off in the direction of North to West—as if a new strip of land begins beyond, leaving an open interval. It is probable that Capt. Inglefield beheld the

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same phenomenon and supposed the isolated part to be the island of Lewis Napolean. 48 T h e low neck of land, already mentioned, towards which we steered our course is the northern cape of a deep bay, the axis of which runs in a western direction. In the innermost part of it is seen a glacier. On the north side of the glacier is found a lowly situated primary formation. On its south side are mountains. Their summit consists of horizontal layers (strata); the low part of débris, for the present covered with snow. They form a steep promontory, behind which is seen a similar ridge of mountains, the southernmost point of which runs into Cape Alexander. Soon after 11 o'clock we had reached a small bay, south of the low neck of land. At 11 it was high-water at 20 feet. T h e boats were hauled on shore and completely unloaded. Petersen then made the necessary preparation for a mast, intended for the iron-boat; and removed the foremast of the large boat about three feet aft, while others of the party prepared an excellent breakfast of four eider-ducks that still remained from the day before yesterday and a borgomeister49 (the Danish name for the bird) which George Whipple had shot this morning on the road from LittletonIsland. T h e sun shone bright; it was very warm. T h e Thermometer was 28° in the shade, and it was almost a perfect calm. We dried our bed-clothing and divided the buffalo-skins, which we sewed together into two equal parts, one for each boat. 48 W i l l i a m E l d e r states o n Pages i68-i6g o f his Biograpky 0/ Elisha Kent Kane that it was in N o v e m b e r of 1852 t h a t " h e [Dr. K a n e ] received the intelligence of C a p t a i n Inglefield's r e p o r t e d discoveries in Smith's S o u n d — t h e track of his o w n p r o p o s e d search. I n A u g u s t that officer h a d e n t e r e d the S o u n d a n d seen a g r e a t o p e n sea, cumbered more o r less w i t h loose ice, a n d p i c t u r e s q u e l y f u r n i s h e d w i t h a n island i n the distance, to w h i c h h e g a v e t h e n a m e o f L o u i s Napolean . . . ." « A burgomaster g u l l (Larus glaucus), d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y its bluishgrey color.

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log

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon both the boats were loaded, and we set sail with a mild breeze from N.N.E. T h e ironboat contained the heaviest part of the baggage, but it lay high on the water and ran a course one-tenth more quickly than our bark. It had the larger sail (our former main sail), while we kept the foresail in our boat. Soon a broad glacier appeared in sight. It lies on the northern or, rather, north-eastern termination of the ridge whose south-western point is Cape Alexander and the middle promontory which I mentioned above. This Glacier forms the background of a second bay within the larger. Behind it other mountains are seen, part of which are covered with ice. T h e sea went rather high; and, as the iron-boat was obliged to lay to in order to reef, it was sailed a considerable distance aft. We reefed our foresail at ηι/% and doubled Cape Alexander at 8 o'clock 30 min. under reefed sails, a fresh breeze, and a high broken sea. T h e base of the cliffs at this promontory is much weather-beaten and dissolved by the air. Some walls of sand-stone emerge above the water and present the appearance of the decayed ruins of some ancient castle. T h e upper part of the rocks is covered with moss. Here we heard the barking of a fox; at 7 o'clock in the afternoon we beheld the phenomenon of a mock sun. i0 Close beneath the cliffs a perfect calm prevailed; and the bark lay to in order to await the iron-boat, of which we had lost sight. 5 1 Petersen shot some young eider-ducks but failed in getting possesB0 Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 77) also took note of a mock sun in the sky on September 6th. He writes: "Although closely watching the sheet, while J o h n [Blake] steered and Bonsall and Godfrey slept, I was yet at leisure to enjoy the magnificent scene which spread itself before me as we approached the cape. A parhelion stood in the sky on my right hand, presenting a perfect image of the sun above, and a faint point of light on either side." 61 Hayes remarks in his Arctic Boat Journey (pp. 75-76) that Petersen, Sonntag, Stephenson, and Whipple occupied the whale boat in these perilous seas, while Hayes, Bonsall, Blake (William Hussey), and Godfrey sailed in the metallic life boat.

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sion of them. Soon after, the iron-boat arrived with the news that it had become half-filled with water. After the crew had reefed the sails, a heavy sea had swept across and filled it. Most unhappily, a sack which contained 120 pounds of biscuits had been soaked. We took our course towards Southerland-Island to spend the night in a very commodious harbor according to the description of Dr. Kane; but we could not reach it with the large boat on account of the very unsettled weather which, from a calm, changed to diverse irregular winds blowing from all points, accompanied by showers of rain; and the flood drove us so far north that we were unable to row up against it. T h e iron-boat, however, which was more easily rowed, reached the island; but it could find no harbor, nor even a place where it could be hauled up on shore. On account of this, we returned again and soon found a place where the boats could lie, situated on the coast from East to West between Cape Alexander and the southern Glacier. T h e water is here full of shoals, and one of us was obliged to remain on guard, while the other three companions slept very uncomfortably in the boat. T h e iron-boat was drawn up on land and emptied; its crew pitched their tent somewhat higher up on land and slept in it during the night. We had arrived at the island shortly before midnight. Sept. 7. After midnight the wind lulled entirely but rose again at 5 o'clock in the morning, first only with a strong gale but which soon increased to a northern storm. T h e weather was clear, and the sea soon rose so high that we would not have been able to sail with the great boat without soaking all the baggage. T h e boat was therefore likewise hauled high up on the strand, and all became engaged in drying the clothing in the sun, which had got wet at the northern promontory of Bedeviled Ridge. T h e

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tempest continued all the day long, but the weather remained clear, and the Thermometer showed 30o in the shade. While we lay in the tent in the afternoon, a gray-fox came to the tent-aperture. Petersen shot at it and wounded it in the head and breast. It fell; but, springing up again, it contrived to escape. Towards evening the wind began to abate somewhat, yet it still blew too hard; and the waves were still too high for our vessels to hold the sea. We therefore resolved to spend the night where we were. Bonsall and I attempted to reach the glacier, but the violent storm hindered us in getting quite close to it. This glacier forms, towards the sea, a rampart 50 or 70 feet in height and ascends farther northward with an elevation of from 10 to 15 degrees. It has the greatest height in the middle and slopes off on both sides. Besides its fissures, or crevasses, which are turned towards the sea in a convex form, the moraines52 were distinctly visible—nay, these went right through the perpendicular part to the surface of the sea. Southerland-Island lies directly south of us. T h e north and south ends are very precipitous; the south and west ends do not sink down so steeply. No vegetation can be discovered on the island, which consists of a ruddy stone, forming a projecting chimney on its highest point. Sept. 8. A t half past twelve o'clock we set sail with a light northern wind, which was so low during the first three hours of our navigation that we were obliged to pull the oars. It rose, however; and the boat then ran three knots before the wind. T h e sea was dotted with ice-bergs of a moderate size. W e sailed through some slight ice-currents which became more condensed towards midnight. From that time henceforth we alternately sailed through these 52 moraine: A mass of rocks, gravel, and other débris, carried or deposited by a glacier.

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DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO T H E POLAR LANDS

ice-currents united with thin-ice or through clear water. At 6 o'clock in the forenoon we reached a small cove on the north side of Hakluyt-Island. T h e coast between Cape Alexander and Cape Robertson is full of glaciers, some of which show a broad front towards the sea. Cape Saumarez presents, when seen from a point between Southerland-Island and the mainland, a somewhat high and projecting head-land; but seen from afar on the ice, it does not form a very remarkable point. Between the islands and Cape Robertson, the land of Whale Sound on the south-west side can be seen at a great distance. T h e weather was rather warm, and the sun shone through a heavy vapour. It went down blood-red; and, towards evening, the western coast of Baffin Bay arose, visible at a great distance, but the reflection considerably misled the eye. Sept. p. We prepared our breakfast off Hakluyt-Island and set sail again at 9 o'clock in the forenoon. Having passed a small ice-current, we reached, with open water, the axis of the channel that separates NorthumberlandIsland from Hakluyt-Island. This sound was full of packice which, according to appearances, seemed to be from the preceding year. It extended towards the south and south-west as far as the eye could reach and was detained by a large number of ice-bergs scattered everywhere. This pack-ice went close under the south western coast of Northumberland-Island; and we were consequently obliged to steer in a more western direction right into Baffin Bay, although our course lay toward Cape Parry in south-east. But even here the open water became more rare as we advanced. We were forced to pierce through numerous ice-currents and to look out anxiously for new channels [of open water]. At several places thin-ice had already formed. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon our boats were so

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closely surrounded by the ice that it appeared perilous to penetrate farther into the mass lest we might be entirely hemmed in. W e attempted again to approach the shore and held the course into the only channel still open, which led towards Northumberland-Island. But this channel was mostly covered with thin-ice, through which we could hardly sail with the rather low wind. In this situation we ascended an ice-berg some 100 feet high, from which we saw nothing but close-packed ice in a southerly and south-western direction. Towards the south-east a line of ice-mounds appeared; but, between them and the land, an open channel was visible which extended without interruption from Cape Parry to Herbert-Island. On account of this, we took our former direction, hoping to find open water close to the coast of Northumberland-Island which, perhaps, might lead on to this channel and thence to the mainland. T h e wind fell off more and more; and the thin-ice became more compact. It was only with the greatest exertions and by dint of the oars that we succeeded in bringing the boat through. A huge seal emerged several times quite close to the boat. Petersen shot at it in vain. A t 6 o'clock in the evening we reached Northumberland-Island, but close to land lay loose pack-ice which rendered the landing very difficult and stopped our progress for today. T h e iron-boat had remained two miles behind. We had here a disagreeable disturbance which was caused by some uncivil expressions used against Mr. Petersen by George Whipple, but the former gave him so palpable an admonition that George wept like a child. T h e ice was packed so closely together at this place that there was no possibility of getting through. T h e tent was pitched and the boat charged, while Petersen started in quest of game for our supper.

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T h e north coast of Hakluyt-Island is bare and inhospitable in the extreme. It consists mainly o£ horizontal strata of a red-colored stone; and it is full of creeks too small, however, to offer any secure harbor, even for boats. Farther back the land rises suddenly; its highest summit presents the aspect of a chimney. Entirely different is the character of the southern coast. T h e lower part of it is covered with green grass or moss, and the débris on the slope of the mountains farther land-ward are overgrown with high grass. On each side of the mountains appears a peak in the shape of a chimney. T h e north side of NorthumberlandIsland is formed of precipitous mountains, interspersed with numerous glaciers descending to the sea. T h e summit of the mountains is covered with snow. T h e south side is more lovely. Here too several glaciers descend to the sea, but the offsets of the mountains are covered with tall green grass, Scorbut-shrub (or Cochlearia)68 and sorrel. T h e vegetation is more luxurious here than at any place which we have visited since Proven or Uperaavik. There is no port, but the coast is low and covered with stones (the Danish has roll-stones).M T h e boats, therefore, can 63 T h e cochlearia a n d sorrel p l a n t s h a v e t h e p r o p e r t y o f p r e v e n t i n g o r c u r i n g scurvy. H a y e s (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 93) w r i t e s i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h o n e of the swards of grass f o u n d o n N o r t h u m b e r l a n d I s l a n d : " I f the s i g h t of this g r e e n s p o t g a v e j o y t o o u r spirits, it h e l d , too, treasures f o r o u r s c u r v y - r i d d l e d m e n . K n o w i n g w h a t w a s t o b e e x p e c t e d , i n such a l o c a l i t y , I t o o k M r . B o n s a l l w i t h m e ; a n d w e h a d n o t searched l o n g b e f o r e w e w e r e r e w a r d e d b y t h e d i s c o v e r y of some patches o f c o c h l e a r i a a n d sorrel, i n sufficient q u a n t i t y t o satisfy the w a n t s of a h u n d r e d m e n . T h e p l a n t s w e r e o n l y s l i g h t l y w i l t e d by the frost; a n d t h e i r j u i c y stalks, w h i c h g r e w i n s o m e p l a c e s three o r f o u r inches i n l e n g t h , w e r e p l u c k e d a n d e a t e n b y o u r p e o p l e w i t h a r a v e n o u s zeal t h a t t o l d h o w b a d l y w e s t o o d i n n e e d of s o m e t h i n g fresh a n d g r e e n . " 6 4 T h i s c o m m e n t b y the t r a n s l a t o r s h o w s t h a t D r . S o n n t a g ' s d i a r y (which was written in G e r m a n originally) h a d been translated into D a n i s h b y P e t e r s e n a n d t h e n translated f r o m D a n i s h i n t o E n g l i s h t o f o r m the present t e x t .

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easily be h a u l e d u p after having been unloaded. T h e ironboat arrived an h o u r later. It had been detained b y the pack-ice and was forced to seek another passage 500 paces to the east. O n this side of the island a great n u m b e r of foxes are found. Petersen shot three of them, only two of which he was able to bring home. T h e third, although wounded, had crept so far beneath a stone that he could not get hold of it. Bonsall brought another gray f o x which he shot near the iron-boat. T h e y were all very fat, and two of them gave us an excellent supper, which we enjoyed at 11 o'clock at night in the open air in brilliant moonlight. T h e sun had shone all day long, and the air was very warm. Even at n i g h t the T h e r m o m e t e r showed 30 0 . T h e tent was pitched at a height of about 30 feet in the soft grass, and we reposed comfortably. Sept. 10. A f t e r a refreshing sleep, we awoke at 11 o'clock in the forenoon and breakfasted on the third f o x and a young raven, w h i c h afforded all of us a pleasant and plentiful meal. T h e w i n d was northerly, and the sea had opened a short time ago towards C a p e Parry, with he exception of the pack-ice lying close to the land. T h i s had not yet got adrift and w o u l d have prevented us from launching the boats. T h e sea was again covered with ice, which was rapidly d r i f t i n g o u t of Whale-Sound from N . East towards S.W. A l l this pack-ice seemed to consist of ice f r o m the preceding year. B u t it was entirely fresh according to the account given b y Mr. Petersen, and this extraordinary phenomenon makes it probable that it descends f r o m the more remote part of Whale-Sound. It is somewhat more than two feet in thickness. T h e weather was unusually mild, and the thermometer stood at 36 o in the shade at noon. A t 4 o'clock in the afternoon it stood at 35°. T h e sun shone dimly through a thin mist and was surrounded b y a circle. W e had spread out

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all o u r bed-clothes o n the grass t o dry. T h e s o a k e d b r e a d was placed o n o u r sail, a n d w e d r i e d l i k e w i s e o u r coffeebeans o n a n oil-cloth in the iron-boat. A t 7 o ' c l o c k in t h e a f t e r n o o n the t h e r m o m e t e r stood a t 26.7°. A layer o f thinice f o r m e d itself o n the o p e n spots in the pack-ice. H e a v y breakers dashed all day l o n g against the coast a n d the icebergs a n d h e l d the sea o p e n there. W e c o u l d see o p e n w a t e r at a distance of a f e w miles in a s o u t h e r n a n d south-western direction, d i v i d e d b y several ice-currents; b u t the pack-ice b e t w e e n us a n d the w a t e r was i m p e n e t r a b l e , a n d the packice o n all sides was in such a state of a g i t a t i o n that the w a t e r was in danger, at a n y m o m e n t , of b e i n g c o v e r e d w i t h ice. Bonsall a n d D r . H a y e s w e n t a - h u n t i n g . T h e y saw three foxes b u t d i d n o t shoot any. M a n y f o x e s m a d e t h e i r appearance today. A t a short distance f r o m us a small

rivulet

of sweet w a t e r r a n d o w n f r o m the m o u n t a i n s . T h i s spared us f r o m the necessity o f u s i n g f u e l , b e c a u s e w e h a d b e e n o b l i g e d f o r the past f e w days to m e l t s n o w a n d i c e t o g e t water. I n the a f t e r n o o n w e f o u n d a l a r g e q u a n t i t y

of

cochlearia a n d p r e p a r e d a n e x c e l l e n t salad f o r supper.™ Sept. il.

A t 6 o'clock in the m o r n i n g P e t e r s e n h a d dis-

covered o p e n w a t e r a c o u p l e of miles east of us towards C a p e Parry, b u t it was soon c o v e r e d a g a i n w i t h ice. T h e day was clear, a n d a light b r e e z e b l e w f r o m N . W .

The

T h e r m o m e t e r stood at 33° in the sun at 1 o ' c l o c k i n the afternoon. I n the a f t e r n o o n the ice l e f t the shore f o r a short space a n d b e g a n to m o v e r a p i d l y towards S.E., b u t east o f us 68 H a y e s (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 107) n o t e s t h e f o l l o w i n g a b o u t the physical c o n d i t i o n of h i m s e l f a n d h i s c o m p a n i o n s o n Sept e m b e r 13th: " A l t h o u g h the m e n s u f f e r m o r a l l y , t h e y i m p r o v e physically. T h e c o c h l e a r i a has d r i v e n f r o m t h e i r systems e v e r y trace of scurvy; a n d the f e w g o o d m e a l s of f r e s h a n i m a l f o o d w h i c h w e h a v e e a t e n h a v e b u i l t u p a l l of us a n d filled o u t o u r c a d a v e r o u s cheeks."

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there was no d i m i n u t i o n close to the shore; yet farther on, towards the sea, several channels were open in a southern and western direction b u t none in the direction of the mainland. F r o m the mountains, at a height of 300 feet, we could see open water close to shore towards the S.E. W i l l i a m [Godfrey] shot a f o x and told us that he had seen a great n u m b e r of them on the height of the mountains. Petersen shot a bird, and these afforded us a capital supper. A t 9 o'clock in the evening the T h e r m o m e t e r showed 25.8 o . T h e w i n d had fallen; the sky was covered with a thin mist. Sept. 12. T h e sea is covered in all directions with loose pack-ice. T h e weather is clear and warm. A t 11 in the forenoon the T h e r m o m e t e r stands in the shade at 32 o ; at noon, in the sun, at 7 1 o ; and in the shade at 35 o . Shortly before noon one of o u r m e n called out to us from the iron-boat that an Esquimau had arrived, and we then met there an old acquaintance w h o had been on board the ship this winter and w h o had sold us two dogs. H e was a very quiet, discreet man. H e had not the wild manners of the rest of his countrymen w h o had come o n board. H e had a clean face and wore a new doublet of bird's skins, with the feather-side turned inward. H e brought a long rope and two small birds called auks, of w h i c h he devoured the one in its raw condition and seasoned his meat with a bladder f u l l of whale oil!!! H e made us a present of the other bird and of the rope. W e , in return, gave h i m four needles;5® b u t he said that he wished to have a wooden stake. H e told us that his brother, somewhat more east o n 58 " D r . K a n e , w h e n w e w e r e a b o u t to separate ourselves f r o m his company, h a d s u p p l i e d us w i t h some beads, needles, and other trifling articles, suitable f o r t r a d i n g w i t h the natives; and this was supposed to be o u r m a i n resource for s u p p l y i n g ourselves w i t h provisions." See G o d f r e y , Narrative of the Last Grinnell Arctic Exploring Expedition, p. 160.

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the island, had caught a walrus, and Petersen went to that part of the island with the intention of getting some of the fat and meat. William [Godfrey] went with him. But a couple of hours later they both returned, accompanied by the wife of the Esquimau and a youngster 16 years of age, the nephew of our Esquimau, as Petersen understood it. These looked rather unclean and did not behave so decently as the man. T h e woman had been on board last winter and is ugly past description.07 T h e woman and the boy wore doublets of seal-skin. A l l three wore very short trousers of worn-out bear-skin. They would not go with Petersen nor give us any blubber before they had seen the Esquimau who had remained with the iron-boat. But the way to the hut was so long that he could not have gone thither the same day, because we had met the two Esquimaux midway. They left us at seven o'clock in the afternoon; and, no doubt, tarried so long in order that they more easily [might] get home by low-water. A t 3 o'clock in the afternoon the ice started [to move] away from land yet only for a short time. T h e breakers were heavy all day and would have given us trouble in launching and loading the boats. Still, we resolved to attempt it in order to seek a more eastern point of the island if we could possibly do so by the next morning when, at ebb-tide, the ice would recede from the shore. Petersen kept watch until midnight, and we all retired early to the tent. A t midnight the sea broke with a heavier swell; and, at 1 o'clock, I made the rounds to see if all was well. T h e night was mild, and the moon shone brilliantly from the S.E.; two twinkling stars 67 T h e a c c o u n t g i v e n t o us b y H a y e s o f this visit o f the E s k i m o s agrees w i t h that recorded i n S o n n t a g ' s d i a r y . H a y e s r e m a r k s i n his Arctic Boat Journey (p. 106) : " P e t e r s e n , a c c o m p a n i e d b y G o d f r e y , set o u t i m m e d i a t e l y i n search o f the s e t t l e m e n t . . . P e t e r s e n c a m e b a c k i n a c o u p l e of h o u r s , a c c o m p a n i e d b y a w o m a n a n d a b o y . T h e w o m a n w a s the w i f e o f A m a l a t o k , w h o still remained w i t h us. She a p p e a r e d to b e t w i c e h i s age, a n d w a s u g l y b e y o n d d e s c r i p t i o n . " N o t e the s i m i l a r i t y of t h e p h r a s i n g i n these t w o passages.

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stood beneath her at a b o u t 4 o r 5 degrees. Other stars were visible, and a slight m o r n i n g d a w n appeared in the East. T h e E s q u i m a u x had reported that the water was open everywhere towards the east. Sept. 13. T h e ice has not separated sufficiently to permit us to launch the boats; we slept quietly until 9 in the forenoon. Petersen shot a f o x near the tent and a burgomaster bird w h i c h he missed [retrieving], as it fell into the water. W e watched it for a long while, b u t it drove off seaward. For breakfast we have had fried fish of late, which was tastefully prepared with corn-meal and pepper. T h e weather was again clear and the sun was warm. T h e sea still broke heavily. T h e weather has been more beautiful for the past f o u r days that it had ever been d u r i n g our sojourn i n winter quarters last August. T o w a r d s evening the breakers abated, and the ice became more loose. Sept. 14. T h e greater part of the ice had drifted off, but much thin-ice covered the water. T o w a r d s the continent we saw several ice-currents. T h e sky continued [to be] covered. Petersen and Bonsall w e n t a-hunting and shot a fox. T h e y likewise brought along the other f o x w h i c h Petersen had shot on the day of o u r arrival and which was now brought forward f r o m beneath the rocks by Bonsall after a great deal of fatigue. T h e y returned with their booty b y o'clock in the afternoon. A t 1 o'clock D r . Hayes, J o h n [Blake], and I ascended the mountain and beheld open water almost all the way. O n the opposite coast some ice-currents appeared, through which it seemed that the passage w o u l d not b e difficult. Soon afterwards it began to snow. O n the return of Petersen and Bonsall, we loaded the boats and left the island at o'clock in the afternoon after a sojourn of five days. T h e weather was cloudy and so thick that we could not see the opposite shore. It snowed very fast and the air was so calm that we were obliged to row. In the b e g i n n i n g we took o u r course

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towards S.S.W. according to the compass which, however, was hardly of any use.68 A t first we passed through some loose-ice. T h e n we got into open water until 7 o'clock in the afternoon, when we met with pack-ice that obliged us to steer S.E. This course must needs bring us right away into Whale Sound. On the border o£ the pack-ice we found a thick, doughy sludge, through which we rowed with great fatigue. It darkened very much at half past eight o'clock. All day long a mist prevailed, so thick that it did not permit us to discern any object at the distance of an English mile, and the snow-weather still continued with increased violence. For that reason we moored the boats near a small knoll of ice which was adrift half a mile from the pack-ice and pitched our tent on it. T h e Thermometer at noon showed 26 o . T h e mountains on Northumberland-Island consist of a fine-grained gray granite which lies in strata with an inclination of 7 e against S.E. During our stay on this island we consumed a large quantity of scorbut-shrub or cochlearia, and this economized our provisions. I likewise saw plenty of sorrel, but it had lost its taste through the frost. Our night was chilly and uncomfortable.5® We could not 88 D r . I. I. H a y e s (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 108) also t o o k note of the eccentric b e h a v i o r of Dr. Sonntag's m a g n e t i c compass d u r i n g the snow storm at sea. H a y e s writes i n his d i a r y o n S e p t e m b e r 14: " H a v i n g n o l a n d m a r k s by w h i c h to steer, M r . S o n n t a g b r o u g h t o u t the compass, w h i c h h i t h e r t o w e h a d n o occasion to use; b u t to o u r k e e n d i s a p p o i n t m e n t , it was f o u n d to be so sluggish as to b e utterly unreliable. T h e n e e d l e stood w h e r e v e r p l a c e d , w i t h i n a r a n g e of eight points." 69 Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 1x0) m e n t i o n s t h e m o v i n g ice-floe u p o n w h i c h the w i t h d r a w a l p a r t y h a d p i t c h e d its tent o n the night of S e p t e m b e r 14. H e writes: " A strange m i x t u r e o f m e n crowded the tent o n that little f r o z e n r a f t , i n t h a t d a r k stormy night of the A r c t i c Seal T h e r e w e r e a G e r m a n a s t r o n o m e r [Sonntag], a B a l t i m o r e seaman [Blake], a P e n n s y l v a n i a f a r m e r [Bonsall], a G r e e n l a n d c o o p e r [Petersen], a H u l l sailor [ W h i p p l e ] , a n East R i v e r boatm a n [Godfrey], a n Irish patriot [Stephenson], a n d a P h i l a d e l p h i a student of m e d i c i n e [Hayes]."

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get at o u r buffalo-skins o n account of the snow-storm and had to content ourselves w i t h the horse-coverings, yet we were in good spirits and laughed heartily at a merry negrosong w i t h w h i c h W i l l i a m [Godfrey] amused us. eo T h e ice on w h i c h we had placed the boat was so brittle that a piece broke off near the end of the tent, and one of the tent-pegs thus came to stand almost in the water. Sept. 15. T h e weather began to clear u p somewhat at 6 o'clock in the morning. W e discovered land quite near; and, on the other side, land also appeared, although at a greater distance. T h e latter we supposed to be Northumberland-Island. W e steered for the nearest shore; and, working hard through the pack-ice, we soon reached it, passing by q u i t e a n u m b e r of ice-bergs. T h e mountains were steep at o u r l a n d i n g place, b u t not very high. T h e foreground was a low-land covered with snow and lofty grass. T h e strand was of a b r o w n mire strewn with pebbles and very flat. W e therefore easily hauled u p the boats. It still continued to snow violently. Petersen shot two burgomaster-birds. 61 T h e y dropped into the water b u t were picked u p b y the iron-boat before it had been drawn on shore. W e covered the baggage with a sail, and the two sails of the vessels were placed in such a position before the tent60 H a y e s singles o u t W i l l i a m G o d f r e y in particular as a m e m b e r of the w i t h d r a w a l p a r t y w h o d i d n o t lack courage in f a c i n g the hardships a n d perils of the e x p e d i t i o n to the south. H a y e s writes in his d i a r y o n S e p t e m b e r 14: "Stories, such as sailors a l o n e c a n tell, f o l l o w e d the coffee, a n d i n t e r r u p t e d the m o n o t o n o u s c h a t t e r i n g of teeth a n d G o d f r e y , w h o h a d a p e n c h a n t f o r n e g r o melodies, b r o k e out f r o m time to t i m e w i t h scraps f r o m ' U n c l e N e d , ' in all its variations, a ' S u s a n n a h / a n d ' I ' m off to C h a r l e s t o n , a little w h i l e to stay . . . . " ' See H a y e s , An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 110. 61 Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 1 1 1 ) describes the a b o v e incident thus: " T w o burgomaster-gulls flew o v e r h e a d w h i l e we w e r e b r e a k i n g t h r o u g h t h e y o u n g ice a l o n g the shore; a n d they w e r e brought d o w n by t h e u n e r r i n g g u n o f Petersen. T h e s e s u p p l i e d us w i t h f o o d , of w h i c h w e stood greatly i n n e e d . "

Il6

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

d o o r that t h e y themselves f o r m e d a n o t h e r tent, b e n e a t h w h i c h w e all c h a n g e d o u r w e t g a r m e n t s a n d b u i l t u p o u r k i t c h e n . W e b o i l e d the t w o f o x e s f o r breakfast, a n d the f o o d was so p l e n t i f u l t h a t w e c o u l d scarcely c o n s u m e it. T h i s was o u r o n l y m e a l today. A t 31^ o ' c l o c k w e a l l lay d o w n f o r rest. It h a d b e e n c a l m i n t h e m o r n i n g . A t n o o n a b r i s k b r e e z e s p r u n g u p f r o m the S . W . , a n d t h e s n o w c o n t i n u e d t o f a l l all d a y long. 6 2 A t s o m e h u n d r e d paces w e s t w a r d l a y several h u t s of E s q u i m a u x , o n e of w h i c h was q u i t e r e g u l a r l y b u i l t w i t h flat-stones a n d was w e l l - k e p t . Sept. 16. T h e sky is c o v e r e d , t h e m a i n l a n d w i t h i n sight. C a p e P a r r y lies almost S. t o W . T h e west-end of N o r t h u m b e r l a n d - I s l a n d is S . W . to W . W e o c c u p y H e r b e r t Island. A t 4 o ' c l o c k i n the a f t e r n o o n P e t e r s e n shot n i n e b u r g o master-birds n e a r the boat. H e h a d l e f t the t e n t i n a h u r r y i n his d r a w e r s a n d h a d n o t t a k e n t i m e to dress. 68 T h e ice was so steeped t o g e t h e r i n all d i r e c t i o n s that w e c o u l d n o t g e t off f r o m the island. A t first a c a l m prev a i l e d , b u t at 5 o ' c l o c k i n the a f t e r n o o n it b e g a n to b l o w s h a r p l y w i t h h e a v y s q u a l l s f r o m S . W . T h r e e b i r d s served f o r each m e a l , b r e a k f a s t a n d s u p p e r , a n d w h i c h , w i t h some e2 The snow storm which assailed the party on Herbert Island is described as follows in the diary maintained by Hayes: "It was still snowing hard; the wind had increased to a gale, and as it went moaning above the plain, it carried up into the air great white clouds, and pelted mercilessly the side of our tent with sleet and hail. I put my head out of the door; I could not see fifty yards. The boats were nearly covered by a great drift, and our cargo was almost buried out of sight. It was not due to ourselves that we were not at sea in that fearful storm. We knew not even where we were. We came by no will of our own. There was a Providence in it." See Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 113). 63 Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 115) describes this same incident thus: "Petersen had had better fortune. He was sleeping soundly in the tent, after dinner, when he was aroused by one of the men calling to him that a flock of "burgomasters" were floating in a pool a little way up the beach. Running hastily out, without stopping to dress, he killed and secured nine out of eleven."

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

bread, afforded us excellent food. T h e

117

evening at 8-9

o'clock was very dark. I f o u n d sufficient water to fill o u r kettles. T h e T h e r m o m e t e r at forenoon stood at 26.5 o . Sept. ¿7. T h e m o r n i n g sky was cloudy, with a light breeze from N . N . W . A t 1 o'clock in the afternoon the T h e r m o m e t e r stood at 33.5.° A t 2 o'clock the sun broke through. T h e ice became looser. O n l y a current of pack-ice, half a mile i n breadth, separated us f r o m the open water between us and the mainland. T h i s current we might have traversed, b u t we w o u l d have been overtaken by the night. W e resolved, therefore, to postpone o u r departure until the next day. W e were now, according to the m a p of Inglefield, 84 eight miles distant f r o m the promontory on the north side of Barder-Bay. A l l the mountains on the Mainland are topped w i t h snow. T h e strata have an inclination of about 15° against S.W., and they seem to consist of a dark-yellow slate like this island. W e can discover from here a glacier o n the northern-most point of Northumberland-Island descending to the sea. T h e snow has again been b l o w n off the mountains. T h e y look very bare and cannot be compared to those of NorthumberlandIsland. O n this island we saw only one f o x and the traces of a hare. W i l l i a m [Godfrey] shot today one burgomaster and Petersen four. W e have hitherto shot 7 foxes, 1 raven, 12 eider-ducks, and 18 burgomasters. W e have, besides, a supper of the walrus meat w e f o u n d in the Esquimaux hut at Smith's Sound. Sept. 18. W e set sail at ioi/£ o'clock; and, forcing our passage through the ice current, w e reached the open water at M/2 in the afternoon. W e then rowed for two hours, S4 Sonntag's r e m a r k h e r e furnishes additional proof that the n e w map of Smith's S o u n d w h i c h C a p t . Inglefield published in 1853 was well k n o w n to the officers of the second G r i n n e l l arctic expedition.

Il8

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

then set sail with a light E.N.E. breeze and steered S.E. to S. toward what seemed a bay with a lofty, snow-decked mountain in the background. When we came nearer, we saw with the glass, that there were no Esquimaux. We ran along the coast in the direction of S.S.E. which here forms small promontories of a yellow stone in parallel strata, inclining 15° toward S.S.E. and rising into a sharp point with a low head-land. We made, during the last two hours, a course of five knots and reached the cape at 7 o'clock in the afternoon. We there saw an Esquimau and a bay which must be Barder-Bay and hauled the vessels on shore. T h e mountains are steep, with precipitous cliffs 20' in height. We found here three Esquimaux huts and some twenty-five inhabitants, consisting of six families." 5 T w o of the men had been on board the ship during last winter." We bartered with them and got a barrel and a half of seal blubber for some needles and a couple of knives. T h e bay was filled with light ice. At midnight we reposed in the tent. In the morning, Mr. Petersen had shot a burgomasterbird and at night Mr. Bonsall shot another. T w o men were placed as guards, and they were relieved every second hour. T h e Esquimaux had no fresh meat, and they could give us nothing more. They were of a kind disposition; but disturbed our sleep during the night by their presence. They made some attempts to steal some insignificant objects; but we kept an eye on them and soon discovered it. Their chieftain, a pleasant old man, gave the assurance that they would not steal. Some of our party paid a visit to their huts and received water and dried walrus-meat.

68 T h e E s k i m o s e t t l e m e n t m e n t i o n e d h e r e b y S o n n t a g m u s t be the o n e d e s i g n a t e d b y the n a m e " N e t l i k " ( L a t . 7 7 o Ν . ; L o n g . 7 2 ° W . ) i n D r . H a y e s ' m a p of the r o u t e f o l l o w e d b y the w i t h d r a w a l p a r t y of 1854. See An Arctic Boat Journey, p . x x v i . 88 D r . H a y e s (p. 118) identifies o n e o f these t w o E s k i m o s as " K a l u t u n a h , the A n g e k o k o f his tribe, a n d o n e of o u r f r i e n d s of last winter."

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O

IHK P O L A R LANDS

II9

Sept. ι T h e cooks were awakened at 5 o'clock this morning. We had low-water at 4 o'clock 40 minutes. W e departed at ioi/£ and rowed mostly through thin-ice until 6 in the afternoon, when we landed on the south side o£ Cape Parry. T h e breakers were heavy all along the coast, and when we approached the Cape, we discovered a farextending pack-ice towards W. and S. near the land. Petersen shot a burgomaster and three eider-ducks, and Bonsall an eider-duck. Our men got some pairs of boots from the Esquimaux by barter. I [Sonntag] visited the interior of a hut. It was very clean and hung with skins. A single lamp warmed it quite comfortably. We gave them some needles; they returned our compliment with blubber and moss for fuel. Of this latter we got a considerable quantity. Sept. 20. Starting from here at 111,4 o'clock, we rowed through light currents of thin-ice and got into open water as far as Hoppner Point, which we reached at n/¡, o'clock. There the thin-ice from land joined the pack-ice, and it proved too compact to be broken. We had a long search on the rocky coast until, at last, by four o'clock, found a place where the boats could land and a level spot for the tent. Petersen shot a sea-gull, called a Kittiwake and William [Godfrey] a diver or plungeon,m We saw several eider-ducks and King-Ducks (Anas Regia). Sept. 21. Peterson shot a. ptarmigan.™ We continued our voyage at 10 in the forenoon; and, with the larger embarkation a head, we forced our way through the thin-ice, which was very difficult to break through. At 1 o'clock, we found open water along the coast and rowed with a light southern breeze till 2 o'clock, when we were stopped by a thin-ice eT Plungeon: a species of loon which, like the grebe, sea duck, auk, and penguin, is adept at diving in water for its prey. ββ Ptarmigan: a kind of grouse (L. lagopus) whose summer plumage is generally grey, brown, or black and whose winter plumage is completely white.

ISO

DR. K A N E ' S V O Y A G E T O T H E P O L A R LANDS

of a particularly obnoxious quality. W e were thus obliged to anchor and landed on Blackwood-Point. We could not haul the boats ashore before high-water. T h e land is low and rises in the form of terraces. On the shore lies a narrow ledge of land-ice. It is covered with deep snow. William [Godfrey] shot a King-Auk. We saw several flocks of birds on the water and likewise some seals. T w o of them emerged quite near the boats, but our rifle flashed in the pan. T h e breakers were very heavy, and the sea broke furiously on a row of cliffs some thirty paces from the land. Sept. 22. T h e weather is clear, with a strong wind from the south. T h e Thermometer in the shade stands at sz°, at io" forenoon. T h e thin-ice is in many places as bad as yesterday. T h e pack-ice out in the sea had not changed its direction, as far as we could judge from shore. T h e wind was too violent to bear up against it. Besides, we would have been stopped by the thin-ice. Thus, we took the resolution to remain here today and dry the buffalo-skins in the sun and wind. Sept. 2We left our quarters at l i . i o and rowed through the thin-ice. A t 12.20 we had reached the open water, but were soon again most disagreeably retarded by heavy thin-ice. T h e low-water now set in, and we sought land as quickly as possible, so that we might not be shut up entirely. T h e wind, first southerly, changed towards the north shortly after noon; and, at 8 afternoon, it blew half a storm which continued through the night. Sept. 24. Clear weather and a violent southern wind. W e remained stationary here today, the ice being closed. T h e sky overcast with a south wind and snow. A l l the water covered with thin-ice. N o movement of the ice. On the north it is thinner and of a dark colour. On the south, all is covered with snow. 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Therm. 20°. T h e snow-storm ceases; it is calm. Petersen shot five ptarmigans, and the sixth, when fallen, he could

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE T O T H E POLAR LANDS

181

n o t find. W e see t w o w a l r u s a p p e a r i n g i n the w a k e o f the ice n e a r an i c e b e r g , o n l y 1000 steps f r o m us. Sept.

[It f e l l c a l m d u r i n g the n i g h t . T h e ice t i g h t l y

hugs the shore, a n d is g r i n d i n g

tumultously with

the

heavy swell, w h i c h abates s l o w l y as the day advances. T h e r e are n o signs o f a l e a d o p e n i n g off o u r c a m p , a n d m a n y floes h a v e d r i f t e d i n t o the o p e n w a t e r b e l o w us. O u r boats c o u l d n o t l i v e a m o n g t h e ice, a n d w e r e m a i n ashore. T h e hunters h a v e b e e n o u t s c o u r i n g the p l a i n , b u t they saw nothing.] Sept. 26. [ N o c h a n g e e x c e p t f o r the worse. T h e swell has subsided; the a i r is c a l m ; the t e m p e r a t u r e sinks r a p i d l y ; a n d it is f r e e z i n g h a r d . A g r e a t q u a n t i t y of trash-ice, b r o k e n u p i n t o s m a l l f r a g m e n t s b y the late swell, h u g s the shore. —Every a t t e m p t to b o r e t h r o u g h it is fruitless, a n d the n e w ice w i l l n o t b e a r . — W e are f o r c e d t o retire a g a i n to o u r c a m p i n g - g r o u n d of yesterday, as the n i g h t comes o n , a n d trust t o a short-breeze, o r a c h a n g e of tide, to loosen the pack. T h e n i g h t is dark.] 6 9 Sept. 27. C l e a r sky a n d s u n s h i n e . T h e r m . i o ° at 6 o ' c l o c k in the f o r e n o o n a n d 15° a t 8 o ' c l o c k . N o c h a n g e w i t h regard t o the ice. W e c h a n g e d t h e l o a d of the boats, h a u l e d them o n shore, a n d c l e a n e d t h e m of the ice. T h e T h e r m , at 1 o ' c l o c k i n the a f t e r n o o n 20°. T h e same i n the e v e n i n g at 6 o ' c l o c k . Sept. 28. T h e sky overcast. W e b e g i n t o b u i l d the hut.™ T h e T h e r m o m e t e r stood a t 22° at n o o n . ββ Sonntag's entries for September 25th and 26th have been omitted from the Petersen MS. of 1856 found in the Glassboro State College library. The notations cited above for these days have been extracted from Dr. Hayes' diary. See An Arctic Boat Journey, pp. 135136. 70 "We travelled southward on the ice some three hundred and fifty miles [from the brig "Advance"], when the severity of the weather compelled us to go on shore and build ourselves a hut. This habitation was made of stones, in the Esquimaux style of architecture. We covered it, according to our best ability, with oars and sails;

122

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

Sept. ay. Continued building [the hut] all day and finished the two side-walls. T h e n we drank the last roasted coffee, ate our last dry bread, and consumed the rest of our molasses. October i. We gathered flat stones. Petersen fabricated the door for our hut. 71 Oct. 2. We collected moss and thatched the hut. 72 A t 6 o'clock in the afternoon a strong wind sprung up from the south; and, during the night, it blew a storm. Oct. T h e storm raged throughout the day, accompanied by heavy showers of snow. A t night-fall the gale turned westward. We could not leave the tent. T h e hut had been blown full of snow. Oct. 4. T h e storm and drift of snow continued unabated. T h e snow whirled round and round and filled the air. We were tightly laid up. Oct. 5. It blew continually with great vehemence from S.W. and snowed all morning. We remained in the tent. Petersen went a-hunting. He saw a hare but shot nothing. Oct. 6. T h e weather fine and clear. We finished the south side of the roof and dried our bed-clothes. A t 2 o'clock in the afternoon a violent north wind sprung up with snow drifts which covered our bed-clothes with snow before we could get them in. Petersen and William [Godfrey] were active but found nothing worth shooting. After their renevertheless, it was a rather airy place of residence." See Godfrey, Narrative, p. 158. 11 Hayes (An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 145) comments upon the labors of the withdrawal party in constructing their hut as follows: " O f our labors, I have only recorded a part; f o r the building [of the hut] was performed chiefly by one half of the company,—the other half being necessarily occupied in roaming about in search of game." 72 " T h e reader will more readily appreciate this when he recalls the dimensions of the . . . [hut] in which were crowded eight men. Its average length (for the walls are not quite parallel) is fourteen feet, its breadth is eight feet, and its mean height is five feet." See Hayes, An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 175.

DR. KANE'S VOYAGE TO THE POLAR LANDS

123

turn, Petersen shot four ptarmigans quite close to the tent. T h e storm lasted all night. Oct. 7. Clear sky with N.E. storm and whirling snow. We remained laid up. Petersen prepared an oven or hearth made of tinned iron-plate. T h e thermometer at 8 o'clock in the evening stood at 8°. Today we consumed the last seal-blubber. Oct. 8. A l l day within the tent on account of the violent northern gale and the whirling snow; the weather was clear. T h e Thermometer at 3 o'clock in the afternoon stood at —4 0 . Oct. Clear and cold. T h e Thermometer at 7 forenoon — 10°; at 10 o'clock —5°; at noon —4°. We got the southside of the hut ready, brought the bed-clothes inside, and slept for the first time in the hut. Petersen shot to-day first 5 ptarmigans, which served for supper, and then afterwards three more. We used up to-day the remnant of the bread which had become salt-soaked in sea water. Oct. 10. Strong southern gale. We could not leave the hut on account of the whirling snow. 73 At 6 in the afternoon we heard voices, and soon afterwards two Esquimaux from Barder-Bay came in sledges. T h e y were going a-hunting and intended to visit the Esquimaux of Amenak. They stayed overnight with u s . " 73 " I t [the hut] is a cold, damp, cheerless place. T h e temperature is not below zero at the floor, nor above 40 o in the centre. T h e temperature outside ranges from zero to 20 o below it. It is early winter yet, and the cold has not fully set in." See Hayes, An Arctic Boat Journey, p. 175. 74 William Godfrey refers to a visit made by certain Eskimos from the colony of Netlik in the middle of October to the hut in which the withdrawal party was living: " W h e n we had been about a week in . . . [the hut], we were visited by a party of Esquimaux, who were migrating to Cape York, having been starved out of their former place of residence, about fifty miles further to the North. Although we ourselves were rather " h a r d u p " f o r something to eat, we gave these poor wanderers a morsel of food, without any expectation that they would ever have it in their power to reciprocate our kindness." See Godfrey, Narrative, p. 159.

124

DU. KANE'S VOYAGE T O THE POLAR LANDS

Oct. Ii. Violent southern storm. T h e Esquimaux remained all day with us. A t 7 in the afternoon, it became calm as suddenly as if a roaring water-fall had stopped at once. Dr. Hayes was this morning attacked by the dogs, being alone and with the Esquimaux. He had a narrow escape from being torn to pieces. They had two sledges, one with five and another with six dogs. Oct. 12. T h e sky was darkened by snow. A light northern breeze. At 9 o'clock forenoon, the Esquimaux departed. We had to clear the snow away from the entry of our hut, as it had entirely been covered up. Petersen built a covered entry. Oct. 13. Snow storm. W e divided the bread. Everyone received 46 biscuits and 1i/i> und Ocean in den Jahren 1855 zur Aufsuchung des Sir John Franklin unter dem Commando des Dr. Elisha Kent Kane von der Ver. Staaten Navy. Philadelphia: Hoffmann and Morwitz, 1857. 111 pp. Milwaukee Public Library: Class Mark, 919.8-K.163. . Kane, der Nordpolfahrer, Arktische Fahrten und Entdeckungen der zweiten Grinnell-Expedition zur Aufsuchung Sir John Franklin's in den Jahren 1853, 1854, und 1855. [Nach dem Englishchen von F. Kiesewetter]. Leipzig: Otto Spamer, 1858. 288 pp. Milwaukee Public Library. Class Mark: gi9.8-Ki6K. . The Far North: Explorations of the Arctic Regions. By Elisha Kent Kane . . . Edinburgh: William Nimmo, i860. 228 pp. British Museum: No. 10460. a.17. . The Love-Life of Dr. Kane. Containing the correspondence, and a history of the acquaintance, engage· ment, and secret marriage between Elisha K. Kane and Margaret Fox. With facsimiles of letters and her portrait. New York: Carleton [1865]. 288 pp. Copy in the Philadelphia Public Library. Class Mark: Β K1311. . "Report to the Secretary of the United States Navy, at Washington, of the expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, during the years 1853-4-5, with a chart showing the discoveries made in the Arctic regions," Royal

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Geographical Society Journal 1-18.

(London, 1856),

303

XXVI:

. The U.S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin. A Personal Narrative. By Elisha Kent Kane ... New York: Harper and Brothers, 1853. 552 pp. . Zwei Nord-Polar-Reisen zur Aufsuchung Sir John Franklin's. [Aus dem Englishchen]. Deutsch bearbeitet von Julius Seybt. Leipzig: Karl B. Lorck, 1857. Kephart, Horace. Adrift in the Arctic Ice Pack: from the History of the first U.S. Grinnell expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. New York: Outing Publishing Co., 1915. 402 pp. Kerr, W. M. "Elisha Kent Kane (1820-1857)," Annals of Medical History (March, 1924), VI: 71-125. Kersting, Rudolf (ed.). The White World (New York, 1902). Contains a chapter relating to the second Grinnell arctic expedition written by Amos Bonsall, its last survivor, entitled "After Fifty Years." Mirsky, Jeanette. Elisha Kent Kane and the Seafaring Frontier. Edited by Oscar Handlin. Boston: Little, Brown, 1954. 201 pp. [Morton, William]. Dr. Kane's Arctic Voyage; explanatory of a Pictorial Illustration of the second Grinnell expedition. New York: Barton & Son, 1857. 32 pp. National Geographic Magazine (October, 1953), CIV, No. 4: 474. Presents an aerial photograph of the crimson walls of the 1,385-foot Troedsson cliffs fronting Cape John C. Calhoun, directly on the route pursued by William Morton and Hans the Eskimo in June, 1854, on their historic sledge expedition to Cape Constitution (Lat. 81° 22' N.).

204

BIBLIOGRAPHY

National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans from Original Paintings by A lonzo Chappel, with Biographies by Evart A. Duyckinck. New York: Johnson, Fry, and Company, 1873. T h e portrait and biography of E. K. Kane is found in Vol. II, 284-297. New York Daily Times (1852-1856): "Kane on an Open Polar Sea," Vol. I, No. 388 (December 17, 1852); "Dr. Kane Home Again," Vol. I l l , No. 1269 (October 12, 1854); "Correspondence between W. Crampton and Dr. Kane," Vol. I l l , No. 1331 (December 25, 1855); "English Opinion of Dr. Kane's Discoveries," Vol. V, No. 1368 (January 31, 1856); "British Testimonials to Grinnell, Kane, etc.", Vol. V, No. 1451 (May 11, 1856). Nourse, Joseph E. American Explorations in the Ice Zones. The Expeditions of De Haven, Kane, Rodgers, Hall, Schwatha, and De Long, etc. . . . Prepared chiefly from official sources. Boston: D. Lothrop and Company, 1884. Petersen, Johan Carl Christian (1813-1880). Erindringer fra Polarlandene optegnede af Carl Petersen, Tolk ved Pennys og Kanes Nordexpeditioner 18¡0-18};. Udgivene af Lauritz B. Deichmann, Lieutenant. Med Traesnit og Kort over en Deel af Baffinsbay og Smiths-Sund. Copenhagen: P. G. Philipsen, 1857. 162 pp. Copy in the Library of Congress. Class Mark: 665 1853 K52. Putnam, George (1807-1878). Sermon on the Death of Dr. Kane. By Rev. Dr. Putnam, of Roxbury. Delivered Sunday, March 8, i8;y. 8 pp. "Reported verbatim for the Traveller." New York Public Library. Rich, Edwin Gilè. Hans the Eskimo; his story of Arctic Adventure with Kane, Hayes, and Hall. With illustrations by Rockwell Kent. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1934·

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rink, H. Johannes. " O n

the supposed discovery by

Dr.

E . K . K a n e , U S N , of t h e n o r t h c o a s t of G r e e n l a n d , a n d of a n o p e n P o l a r sea, etc., a s d e s c r i b e d i n " A r c t i c E x p l o r a t i o n s i n t h e Y e a r s 1853, 1854, 1855," Royal graphical

Society

of London

XXVIII:

272-287.

and Discoveries

being

Detailed

the North Franklin,

Accounts

M'Clure,

of the Several

and others. Including

. The

Life

of their

of Dr.

researches

esting portions

Back,

the first

Grin-

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into the Polar Basin. By Commander E. A. Inglefield, R.N. . . . with a New Chart of the Arctic Sea. L o n d o n : T h o m a s Harrison, 1853. 232 pp. Kennedy, W i l l i a m . " R e p o r t on the return of Lady Franklin's vessel, the 'Prince Albert', from the Arctic Regions," Royal Geographical Society of London Journal. L o n d o n , 1853. Vol. X X I I I : 122-129. K i n g , R . Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Ocean. L o n d o n : G . Routledge, 1847. 2 vols.

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Lanoye, Ferdinand de. La Mer polaire, voyage de "l'Erèbe" et de "la Terreur," et expéditions à la recherche de Franklin. Paris: L . Hachette, 1864. 309 pp.

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the British publiCj by Augustus Petermann .. . L o n d o n : L o n g m a n , B r o w n , G r e e n , a n d L o n g m a n s , 1852. 24 p p . . " S i r J o h n F r a n k l i n , t h e sea of S p i t z b e r g e n , a n d W h a l e - f i s h e r i e s i n t h e A r c t i c R e g i o n s , " Royal Geographical Society of London Journal ( L o n d o n , 1853). V o l . X X I I I : 129-136. P e t e r s e n , C a r l (1813-1880). Den sidste Franklin-Expedition med "Fox", Capt. M'Clintock. C o p e n h a g e n , i860. P i m , B e d f o r d C l a p p e r t o n T r e v e l y a n , L i e u t . R . N . An earnest appeal to the British public on behalf of the missing Arctic expedition. L o n d o n : H u r s t Sc B l a c k e t t , 1857. 3 2 pp. R a e , J o h n (1813-1893). " A r c t i c E x p l o r a t i o n , w i t h I n f o r m a t i o n respecting Sir J o h n F r a n k l i n ' s missing party," Royal Geographical Society of London Journal (Lond o n , 1855). V o l . X X V : 246-256. . " J o u r n e y f r o m Great Bear Lake to Wallaston L a n d , " Royal Geographical Society of London Journal (Lond o n , 1852). V o l . X X I I : 73-96. . Narrative of an Expedition to the shores Arctic Sea in 1846 and 1847. L o n d o n , 1850.

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R a s m u s s e n , K n u d J o h a n V i c t o r (1879-1934). Eskimo FolkTales, collected by Knud Rasmussen. Edited and rendered into English by W. Worster . . . L o n d o n : G y l d e n d a l , 1921. 156 p p . R i c h a r d s o n , J . M . D . Arctic Searching Expedition, a Journal of a boat voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea in search of the discovery ships under command of Sir John Franklin, with an appendix on the physical geography of North America. L o n d o n , 1851. 2 vols.

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Rink, Hinrich Johannes. Danish Greenland: Its People and Its Products. Translated from the Danish by the Author. Edited by R. Brown. London, 1877. Ross, Sir J o h n (1777-1856). A Voyage of Discovery, made under the orders of the Admiralty, in His Majesty's ships "Isabella" and "Alexander" for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay and enquiring into the probability of a North-West Passage. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1819. 2 vols. Scoresby, William (1789-1857). The Franklin Expedition; or, Considerations on measures for the Discovery and Relief of our Absent Adventurers in the Arctic Regions. By the Rev. W. Scoresby. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850. 99 pp. The Search for Sir John Franklin (from the private journal of an officer of the "Fox"), n.t.p. [London, i860]. Excerpt from the Cornhill Magazine, I: 96-121. Snow, William Parker. Voyage of the "Prince Albert" in search of Sir John Franklin: A Narrative of everyday life in the Arctic Seas. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851. 416 pp. Sorensen, Janus (ed.). Det Gr0nlandske Selskab NYT Nordisk Forlag: Arnold Busck, 1941·

Aarsskrift,

Sutherland, Peter C. Journal of a Voyage in Baffin's Bay and Barrow's Straits, 1850-1851 [under the command of Capt. William Penny] in Search of the Missing Crews of the ships "Erebus" and "Terror". With maps and plates. 2 vols. London, 1852. Tyson, G. E. Arctic Experiences . . . A History of the "Polaris" Expedition . . . ίο which is added a general

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W h e i l d o n , W i l l i a m W i l l d e r (1805-1892). The Arctic Regions. Atmospheric Theory of the open Polar Sea and an ameliorated climate. Third Paper . . . Concord, Mass.: [Salem Press] 1874. W r a n g e l l , Ferdinand Petrovich, baron (1796-1870). Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea in the years 1820, 1821, 1822, & 1823. Commanded by Lieutenant, now Admiral, Ferdinand von Wrangell, of the Russian Imperial Navy. Edited by Major Edward Sabine . . . Translated by Lady Sabine . . . L o n d o n : J. M a d d e n and Co., 1840. 413 pp. W r i g h t , Rear-Admiral Noel. Quest for Franklin. H e i n e m a n n , 1959.

London:

Index

Advance (U.S. arctic brig), 15, 18, 19, 2i, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 51, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 63, 64, 78, 80. 82, 83, 85, 94, 121, 134, 148, 152, 157, 158, 160, 161, 162, 166, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173. »74» 175. 176, >77. 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 188, 192 Agassiz, Louis, 33 Altona (Germany), 58, 87, 167 Ammundsen, Captain, 155 Baffin Bay, 21, 48, 50, 63, 66, 106, 191. 194 Baker, Jefferson Temple, 59, 79, 80, 19* Barder Bay, 117, 118, 123, 130, 154 Bedeviled Ridge (Dyvels-Ridge), 63, 91. 93. 95. 104. '52 Beechey Island, 39, 40, 41, 85 Belcher, Captain Edward, R.N., 85 Blackwood Point, 120 Blake, John (real name William Hussey), 27, 35, 36, 59, 80, 86, 92» 93. 95. 97. 99. 100 » 103> " 3 114, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133, 134, »35. 139. »4». »42. 143. »44. 145, 148, 163, 174 Bonsall, Amos, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 36, 43. 59· 80, 85, 86. 89, 92, 100, 103, 105, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114,

118, 119, 125, 127, 130, 131, 139, 140, 143, 146, 147, 149. X57, 160, 163, 165, 168, 170, 172, 189, 191 Booth Sound, 125, 138 Boothia Peninsula, 38, 40, 180 Brewster, Sir David, 47, 51 Brooks, Henry, 19, 29, 30, 35, 36, 59. 6». 78. 79. 80, 85, 86, 148, 162, 163, 164, 168, 171, 178, 189 Bryant, William Cullen, 33 Buchanan, President James, 17, 33 Cape Alexander, 52, 58, 62, 68, 69, 102, 103, 104, 106, 142, 180, 193 Cape Columbia, 159 Cape Constitution, 42, 84, 179 Cape Douglas, 49, 64 Cape Frederic VII, 82, 83, 156 Cape Hatherton, 99, 188 Cape Lieber, 84 Cape Parry, 106, 107, 109, 110, n 6 , 119, 128, 129, 133 Cape Robertson, 106 Cape Saumarez, 106 Cape Sheridan, 159 Cape York, 62, 69, 70, 81, 82, 123, »33- »39. »44. »53. 154. »93 Cass, General Lewis, USA, 33 Childs, George W., 29, 33, 43, 181 De Haven, Lieutenant Edwin J., USN, 40, 41, 47, 63 217

2i8

INDEX

Devil's T h u m b Bay, 60, 154 Disco Island (Godhaven), 67, 68, 72, 155, 180, 181, 193 Dobbin, Hon. J.C. (Secretary of the Navy), 194 Dove, H.W., 47, 51 Dreer, Ferd. J., 29 Elder, William, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 43, 102, 157, 173, 182, 183, 186 Ellesmere Island, 159 Esquimaux Point, 96, 97, 99 Eskimo Colonies: Akbat (Saunder's Island), 130, 133, »34. »35. 137. '4°. »43' »44. 146 Amenak, 123 Anoatok, 69, 177 Etah, 69, 150, 152, 153, 158, 177 Idak, 69, 70, 153 Netlik, 118, 123, 128, 129, 132, >33. »34. ·35. »36. 137. «39. »46 Peteravik, 69 Eskimo Tales, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 Eskimos (in general), 38, 39, 40, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76. 77, 81, 82, 84, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 111, 112, 113, 116, 118, 119, 123, I24, 126, 128, 129, 130, 132, »33. »34. »35. >36. »37. 138, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153, 177, 178, 179, 180, 191, 192, 193 Eskimos (natives friendly to the expedition): Kalutunah, 82, 118, 126, 129, 132, '33. >34- 135. »37 Kingiktok, 139 Metek, 153 Nessark, 153 Sip-su, 82, 134 Tattarat, 139. 140 Everett, Edward, 33 Franklin, Sir John, R.N., 15, 17, 37, 38. 39. 40. 4». 42. 46, 48, 50. 5». 5 s · 53. 57. 58, 63, 69, 77, 85, 158, 180, 181, 182, 187, 191, 194 Frobisher, Sir Martin, 37

Giesecke, Sir Charles L., 47, 51 Godfrey, William C., 17, 24, 27, 34, 35. 36. 59· 79' 80, 83, 86, 88, 93' 96. 97. 99' »00' »03. ' " . 112, 114, 115, 117, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, »32 133. »34. »35. »36' >37. «39- »4»' »43- »46· »47. »48. 151, 152, 153, 160, 163, 172, 174 Godsend Island, 63, 93, 171 Goodfellow, Henry, 19, 30, 31, 59, 86, 93, 94, 100, 149, 162, 163, 168, 170, 171, 172, 173, 178 Greely, Adolphus W., 45, 80, 100, 158, »59. »7° Greenland, 16, 21, 23, 24, 28, 39, 41, 43- 44. 49' 55. 57. 63. 65, 67, 68, 83, 87, 127, 177, 180, 187, 189, '93 Grinnell, Henry, 36, 40, 42, 191 Grinnell (First Expedition, 1850· 1851), 40, 41, 42, 47, 63, 78 Grinnell (Second Expedition, 1853· 1855), 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 35, 43, 46. 48, 54, 69, 117, 157, 158, 160. 173, '74. '77· »79. »81. 182, 187, 194 Hakluyt Island, 106, 108, 154, 191 Hall Basin, 159 Hall, Captain Charles F., USN, 179 Hartstein (Hartstene), Lientenant H.J., USN, 155, 180, 181, 193, '94 Hayes, Isaac Israel, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 54, 55, 58, 59» 76' 80, 83, 85, 86, 92, 93, 94, 98, 100, 103, 108, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 121, 122, 123, 124, 127, 129, 130, 131, 133, »34' '35' »36, 1 3 9 . 142. »44. 146, 147, 148, 149. 152, 157, 160, 163, 165, 168, 169, 173, 175, 179, 183, 186, 189 Heindrick (Hendrick), Hans Christian (Hans the Eskimo), 20, 26, 27, 42, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 92, 93.94. 99. »49. »50. »53. 163. »7». »72. »79- »90

INDEX Herbert Island, 107, 116 Hickey, Thomas, 27, 59, 79, 85, 86, 87, 89, 96, 97, 148, 163, 168, 169, 172 Hoppner Point, 119 Hudson's Bay Company, 39 Humboldt Glacier, 64, 179, 189, 190 Illustrated London News, 33, 181 Inglefield, Captain Edward Augustus, R.N., 49, 51, 52, 53, 57, 64, 101, 102, 117 Irving, Washington, 33 Island of Louis Napolean, 49, 53, 102, 156 Jones Sound, 191, 194 Kane, Bessie, 100 Kane, Elisha Kent, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. SO. 51. 3«. 33' 34- 35» 36. 37. 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49. 50. 5 ' . 52. 53. 54. 55» 57. 58· 59. 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 111, 124, «25, 133, 138, 142, 147. 148. »49. 150. >5»' >52. «53- »54. 155. 157. 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173. »74. »75. »76, 177. »78, 179. 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, »9». >94 Kane Basin, 49, 64, 83, 15g Kennedy Channel, 41, 84, 150, 156, >59 Kennedy, Hon. John Pendleton (Secretary of the Navy), 15, 41, 42. 46 King William Island, 37, 38, 40, 50 Lancaster Sound, 39,66, 85, 191, 194 Lincoln Sea, 159 Littleton Island, 62, 85, 90, 95, 99, loo, 101, 102, 152, 172, 179, 188 M'Clintock, Captain Francis Leopold, R.N., 37, 38, 50, 125

219

McGary (McGeary), James, 27, 36, 59, 80, 83, 85, 86, 89, 93, 94, 96, 98, 148, 161, 163, 164, 168, 171, 189 Melville, Herman, 66 Melville Bay, 60, 66, 154, 187, 193 Morton, William, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 41, 59, 80, 83, 84, 85, 86, 96, 97' '49. 1 5 1 · !52. »59. ^ o , 163, 168, 169, 172, 179, 161, 18g, 190 Mount Edward Parry, 20 Nares, Sir George S., R.N., 179 Northumberland Island, 85, 106, 107, 108, 114, 115, 117, 136, 139, 142, 145, 154 Northwest Passage, 37, 51, 53 Olsen (Ohlsen), Christian, 26, 27, 36, 48, 58, 59, 62, 63, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84, 86, 87, 88, 149, 152, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 178, 192 Ommanney, Captain Erasmus, R.N., 39 Open Polar Sea, 20, 21, 22, 23, 46, 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54» 55. 149, 152, 159, 190 Parry, Sir William Edward, R.N., 51, 66, 149 Peabody Bay, 190 Peary, Commander Edwin E., USN, 159 Penny, Captain William, R.N., 18, 31, 39, 40, 41, 54, 57, 58, 59, 62, 65. 77. 78, 81, 149 Perry, Commodore Matthew Calbraith, 33 Petersen, Johan Carl Christian, 16, 18, 24, 26, 27, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 49, 53, 54, 57, 63, 64, 65, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96. 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 103, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, »3®. »39. >40. >4». M», 143. 144,

220

INDEX

145, 146. 147, 149, 150, 151, 153, 156. »57' »δ8- ι6ο, 163, 165, 167, 168, 171, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 180, 182 Philadelphia, 15, 17, 19, 24, 25, 29, 32. 33. 34. 35- 87 Poe, Edgar Allan, 22 Point Victory, 37, 50 Prescott, W i l l i a m H., 33 Proven, 41, 55, 108 Rae, Dr. John, 39, 40, 180, 191 Richardson, Sir John, 39 Riley (Reilly), George, 27, 59, 80, 85, 86, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 148, 163, 169, 172 Rhodes, C.C., 19 R i n k , Henry, 21, 22, 179 Robeson Channel, 159 Schubert, Pierre, 59, 79, 80, 192 Scoresby, William, 47, 51, 149 Scott, Sir Walter, 131 Ships (other than the U.S. brig "Advance"): Alert, 179 Arctic, 155, 180, 193 Assistance, 39 Erebus, 37, 39 Fox, 37, 38 Isabel, 52, 57 L a d y Franklin, 39, 40, 58, 65 Mariane, 155, 180, 193 Polaris, 179 Release, 155, 180, 193 Rescue, 63 Roosevelt, 159 Terror, 37, 39 United States, 179 Smith's Sound, 37, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55- 57. 58. 64, 66, 83, 85, ios, 117. »58' »59. »87, 189, 190, 193, »94 Smithsonian Institution, 42, 44, 65 Smucker, Samuel M., so, 42, 43

Sonntag, August, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27, 44' δ 8 . 59, 61, 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 96, 101, 103, 108, u s , 113, 114, 117, 119, 121, 130, 131, 133. »34. »46, 148» 149' »57. »61, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, >75. 176, 179 Southerland Island, 104, 105, 106 Stafford Head, 63, 64 Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 136 Stephenson, George, 19, 27, 59, 86, 88, 99, 103, 114, 124, 125, 129, 131, 139, 140, 141, 142, 144, 146, 148, 160, 163, 175, 178 Sumner, Charles, 33 Upernavik, 28, 36, 39, 44, 52, 54, 55. 57, 66, 68, 70, 72, 73, 108, 154, 155. 167, 174, 176, 180, 187, 193 U.S. Coast Survey, 178 U.S. Department of the Navy, 15, 23, 30, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49> 62. >55. »59. >73. »78. 180, 181, 182, 187, 190, 194 V a n Rensselaer Harbor, 28, 45, 48, 50, 82, 90, 132, 152, 177, 180 Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of India, 182 Washington Land, 190 Wellington Channel, 41, 48, 50, 54, 63, 66, 78, 149 W h a l e Sound, 106, 109, 114, 179, »91 W h i p p l e , George, 27, 59, 86, 97, 99, 102, 103, 107, 114, 143, 163, 178 Wilson, John Wall, 26, 27, 36, 58, 59. 79. 80, 86, 88, 148, 163, 164, 178 Winthrop, Robert C., 33 Wool, General John E., USA, 33 Wrangell, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich (Russian Imperial Navy), 47. 51. 149 W r i g h t , Rear-Admiral Noel, 38