Chapter I: Preface

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

I know it is usually thought that a book of travels should be simply a diary of events and incidents; but this, of necessity, involves a ceaseless repetition, and it seemed to me that I would do better to drop from my diary all that did not appear as immediately relevant to the scene; and, indeed, where the occasion appeared to require concentration, to abandon the diary altogether, and use the more concise form of descriptive narrative.

The reader will observe that I have not attempted, in any sense, to write a work of Science. True, the purpose of the voyage was purely a scientific one,--its chief object and aim being to explore the boundaries of the Open Polar Sea; at least to determine if such a sea did exist, as had been so often asserted; but while I have given a general discussion of the conditions of the Polar waters and the Polar ice, and have recorded many new facts in various departments of physical and natural science, yet I have desired to treat the subject in a manner which, as it seemed to me, would be most acceptable to the general reader, rather than to the scientific student,--preferring to direct the latter to those more strictly scientific channels where my materials have been or are about being published.

Soon after returning from the North, my principal records were placed at the disposal of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington; and I have employed such leisure as I could command in their elaboration and discussion,--the principal labor, however, falling upon Mr. Charles A. Schott, Assistant, United States Coast Survey, who brought to the task the best faculties of a well-stored mind, and unusual powers of patient investigation; and papers, giving a full analysis of the _magnetic_, _meteorological_, _astronomical_, _geographical_, _pendulum_, and _tidal_ observations, were prepared, and were accepted for publication in the Smithsonian "Contributions to Knowledge." I regret to say that the publication of these papers has been much delayed. Deeming it desirable that some of the general conclusions to which we had arrived in our discussion of the observations should be given to the world without further postponement, I proposed to embody some leading facts in a short Appendix to this volume. Upon submitting the matter to the learned Secretary of the Institution, it was, however, claimed by him that, since I had intrusted the materials to his care, the Institution now possessed the exclusive right to whatever advantage was to be derived from their publication. To a proposition so eminently reasonable I readily assented, especially as I was informed that the papers were already in type and were to be published immediately; and, considering myself thus absolved from any further responsibility to the scientific world for the long delay, I accordingly abandoned the idea of the Appendix. The Chart exhibiting the track and discoveries of my voyage, and of my various sledge journeys, was claimed, in like manner, as the exclusive property of the Smithsonian Institution, and, like the papers, was to be published immediately. Hence it is that the small map which illustrates this volume is but a copy (reduced ten diameters) of my field chart, projected on the spot from my unrevised materials. It is perhaps needless for me to observe that entire accuracy was not attainable in the field, inasmuch as I had neither the leisure nor the facilities for reducing the magnetic variation, nor for obtaining the absolute time. I am happy to say, however, that no greater discrepancy exists than the one which places my highest latitude two minutes too far south on the field chart; but the reductions having been made, and a chart projected therefrom, I had confidently relied upon this source for the correct information which the Smithsonian Institution now alone possessed. This failing me, I was obliged to fall back upon my original resources, as the time was too short for a new reduction. I am glad to say, however, that the field chart is sufficiently accurate for every practical purpose, and differs chiefly from the one prepared, with greater carefulness, and of large size, for the Smithsonian "Contributions to Knowledge," in the unimportant feature of the names applied to newly discovered places, some of which were changed after my return. No list of these alterations having been preserved, and being unable to get the more accurate map again into my hands from the Secretary of the scientific institution in whose care it had been placed, as before observed, for publication, I have simply adopted the original nomenclature, and have used the names as they appear in my journal and on my field chart. This explanation is made in anticipation of the possible contingency of the Smithsonian Institution publishing the map, for some years past in its possession,--an event which I think unlikely to happen, and which will now be unnecessary, the more especially as I am at present engaged in a new reduction of my materials, and the projection of a new map, the publication of which, in sufficiently large form to give it topographical as well as geographical value, has been proposed by my distinguished and very kind friend, Dr. Augustus Petermann, Gotha, in his Geographical Journal.

Papers descriptive of the _botanical_ collection, prepared by Mr. Elias Durand; of the _algæ_, by Mr. Ashmead; of the _lichens_, by Professor James; of the _birds_, by Mr. John Cassin; of the _invertebrata_, by Dr. William Stimpson; of the _mammalia_, by Dr. J. H. Slack; of the _cetacea_, by Professor E. Cope; of the _infusoria_, by Dr. F. W. Lewis; of the _fishes_, by Dr. Theodore Gill; and of the _paleontology_, by Professor F. B. Meek, have appeared from time to time in the "Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," excepting the last, which was published in the American "Journal of Arts and Sciences." Dr. J. Atkin Meigs has in preparation a monograph on _ethnology_, based upon a collection of upward of one hundred and forty specimens, and I shall soon have completed a more elaborate discussion of the Greenland Glaciers and other collateral topics than has been allowed me by the limits and character of this work.

I should do great injustice to my own feelings, did I not here express the acknowledgment of my obligation to those societies, associations, and individuals who united themselves with me in effecting the organization of the Expedition, and who liberally shared with me its expenses. My wishes were always promptly met by them, to the extent of their ability; and the enterprise was sustained with a zeal and interest rarely accorded to a purely scientific purpose. That I have not before published an account of my voyage, or presented any detailed statement of my discoveries to those who had a natural right to expect it, has been entirely owing to the circumstance that my time has been wholly occupied in the public service, from the period of my return until late last year; and they will, I trust, accept as a sufficient excuse for my silence during that period, the fact that the command of an army hospital, with from three to five thousand inmates, which devolved upon me during the greater part of the recent war, allowed me little leisure for literary or scientific work. It will also be understood that the temporary abandonment of the exploration was due to the same general cause.

_October 23d, 1866._

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS

TO THE

EXPEDITION.[1]

[Footnote 1: The author has reason to suppose that there are several persons to whom the Expedition is indebted for support whose names, not having been furnished him, do not appear in this list. Desiring to make it entirely complete, he will feel personally obliged to any one whose name is omitted to notify him of the fact, through the agency by which the subscription was furnished.]

THROUGH A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL AND
STATISTICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK. EGBERT L. VIELE, _Chairman_;
HENRY GRINNELL, _Treasurer_.

Henry Grinnell. E. A. Stansbury.
A. D. Bache. W. T. Blodgett.
George Folsom. Dr. Samuel W. Francis.
Henry E. Pierrepont. Frank Moore.
Benjamin H. Field. H. M. Field.
M. de LeRoquette. Blakeman & Phinney.
The "American Journal of Arts Harpers Brothers.
and Sciences"--Profs. John Austin Stevens.
Silliman and Dana. George A. Woodward.
Egbert L. Viele. C. Detmold.
Cyrus W. Field. Z. T. Detmold.
J. L. Graham. Francis Lieber.
August Belmont. F. E. Church.
Horace B. Clafflin. Bayard Taylor.
George Opdyke. O. M. Mitchell.
Brown, Brothers & Co. Henrietta B. Haines.
F. S. Stalknecht. Mary W. Talman.
John Jay. Clarence A. Seward.
C. Godfrey Gunther. F. L. Hawks.
Peter Cooper. Robert B. Winthrop.
Wm. Remsen. G. P. Putnam.
J. Carson Brevoort. A. W. White.
Lewis Rutherford. A. H. Wood.
C. P. Daly. George L. Samson.
Hugh N. Camp. Henry A. Robbins.
W. A. White. Wm. H. Allen.
John D. Clute. Albert Clark.
Marshall Lefferts. Joseph W. Orvis.
Wolcott Gibbs. John D. Wing.
John D. Jones. Grinnell & Bibby.
Joseph Harsen. Simeon Holton, Jun.
Alexander H. Stevens. Sheldon, Blakeman & Co.
John C. Green. American Desiccating Co.
Samuel E. Barlow. Ruxton, Barker & Co.
A. H. Ward. G. Tagliabue.
James T. Hall. Messrs. Nequs.

THROUGH COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF TRADE AND ACADEMY OF NATURAL
SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. FRANCIS COPE, _Treasurer_.

Wm. Parker Foulke. Childs & Peterson.
Joseph Harrison, Jun. Samuel J. Reeves.
Henry Cope. Edward Trotter.
Alfred Cope. J. T. Alburger & Co.
Wm. Bucknell. M. J. Wickersham.
John Rice. Thomas Sparks.
North American Life E. J. Lewis.
Insurance Co. Joseph Leidy.
Delaware Mutual Ins. Co. R. E. Rogers.
Corn Exchange. Jacob P. Jones.
Cope Brothers. J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Isaac Lea. M. W. Baldwin.
R. Pearsall. Samuel E. Stokes.
C. Macalister. Dr. T. B. Wilson.
Henry C. Carey. James C. Hand.
John C. Cresson. Henry C. Townsend.
Wm. R. Lejeé. Richard Price.

M. L. Dawson. Aubrey H. Smith.
Samuel Coffin. C. Townsend.
W. Haye. E. C. Knight.
Lodge 51, A. Y. M. Buckman & Co.
John Thompson. E. Durar.
John P. Crozer. E. H. Butler.
Joseph Jeanes. Blair & Wyeth.
E. J. Levis. King & Baird.
Edward A. Souder. Sharp & Brother.
Geo. N. Tatham. Rowland & Irvin.
John A. Brown. Henry Winsor.
B. Marshall. David McConkey.
R. Marshall. Wilson, Childs & Co.
Thomas Richardson & Co. A. Whitney & Son.
D. Haddock, Jun. Townsend Sharpless.
J. B. Morris. David S. Brown.
Israel Morris. Chas. Ellis.
B. C. & R. A. Tilghman. Wm. M. Baird.
John W. Sexton. James H. Orne.
John Grigg. Joshua L. Bailey.
William Sellers & Co. James Addicks.
Tobias Wagner. Benj. Marsh.
Warren Fisher. Buzby & Co.
Wm. S. Vaux. Weaver, Fitler & Co.
Dr. James Bond. James Leslie & Co.
Chas. Henry Fisher. McAlister & Brother.
J. Edgar Thompson. Bible Society.
Charles E. Smith. John H. Cooper.
Frothingham, Wells & Co. S. Hazard.
Fairman Rogers. Isaac J. Williams.
John L. Leconte. Buckner & M'Connor.
J. C. Trautwine. Burley & Co.
Edward Hayes. Mrs. Dr. Bond.

THROUGH COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS, ALBANY, N. Y. D. V. N. RADCLIFFE,
_Treasurer_.

J. H. Armsby. W. Frothingham.
Thomas W. Olcott. G. J. H. Thatcher.
Eli Perry. Samuel Anable.
D. V. N. Radcliffe. S. H. Ransom.
Erastus Corning. R. H. Wakeman.
R. C. Davis. J. O. Souner.
Isaac W. Vosburg. James Kidd.
John T. Rathbone. A. A. Dunlap.
Alden Marsh. Alanson Sumner.
A. B. Banks. James W. Cook.
Charles L. Garfield. E. Owens.
David J. Boyd. John Tracy.
T. Rousell & Son. Cook & Palmer.

THROUGH THE CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND COMMITTEE OF THE ACADEMY OF
ARTS AND SCIENCES, BOSTON. RICHARD BAKER, Jun., _Treasurer_.

Richard Baker, Jun. James Lawrence.
Warren Sawyer. Jonathan Phillips.
John Stetson. Nathan Appleton.
J. D. W. Joy. Joseph Whitney.
O. W. Peabody. Abbott Lawrence.
S. A. Dix. George W. Lyman.
Theodore Lyman. Edward Wigglesworth.
Richard P. Pope. Francis Skinner.
David Sears. George B. Blake.
Thomas Lee. Naylor & Co.
Philip H. Sears. H. O. Houghton.
B. W. Taggard. Columbia Lodge.
Amos A. Lawrence. Woburn Lodge.
Jacob Bigelow, M. D. Mt. Lebanon Lodge.
James M. Beebe. Winslow Lewis Lodge.
A. W. Spencer. Merchants' Insurance Co.
S. H. Walley. (through Capt. Smith.)
Wm. Gray. Manufacturers' Ins. Co.
H. A. Whitney. J. Sawyer & Co.
Geo. R. Russell. Wm. H. Kennard.
L. Agassiz. E. Hammer (Danish Consul.)
B. A. Gould. D. N. Haskell.
C. C. Felton. Wm. Baker.
Prof. J. Lovering. Daniel Paine.
Prof. E. N. Horsford.
16
H. Howard. Middlesex Co.
Wm. M. Parker. Oak Hall.
Francis Kendall. Fenno & Co.
C. G. Kendall. F. A. Hawley & Co.
E. R. Mudge & Co. Andrew Pierce.
Wilkinson, Stetson & Co. Burnham & Scott.
Merrill & Co. March Brothers.
Allen, Whiting & Co. William R. Lovejoy & Co.
Huntington, Wadsworth & Whiting, Galloupe & Co.
Parks. Kelley & Levin.
Fitchburg Woolen Co. John A. Whipple.
Macullum, Williams & Parker. Stetson, Kendall & Minot.
Edward Everett. Isaac Fenno.
N. P. Banks. Charles E. Wiggin.
Frederick W. Lincoln. Joshua Blake.
John Cummings, Jun. Preston & Merrill.
John Clark. Wm. Read & Son.
James O. Safford. Richard Fay, Jun.
S. S. Arnold. Redding & Co.
Winslow Lewis, M. D. Hostetter & Smith,
Benj. French. (Pittsburg, Pa.)
Black & Bacheller. John Wilson.
Wm. B. Boyd. Henry W. Poole.
Wm. Furness, Jun. Otis Norcross.
John Paine. H. B. Walley.
James Sturgis. Richard F. Bond.
Thornton K. Lothrop. L. Audenried & Co.
Caleb Curtis. Noble, Hammott & Hall.
Chas. D. Homans, M. D. N. Sturtevant & Co.
George L. Pratt. Wm. F. Weld.
A. G. Smith. J. G. Bigelow.
Henry P. Kidder. Wm. D. Atkinson, Jun.
Henry Mulliken. Jos. W. Wightman.
A. W. Stetson. George H. Snelling.
Chas. J. Sprague. J. C. Hoadley.
N. I. Bowditch. A. Loring.
Stone, Wood & Baldwin. H. Poor & Son.
Messinger & Brothers.
Thomas Thompson. Mrs. Pratt.
Wm. Bond & Son. Mrs. E. Thompson.
Pierce & Co. W. Clafflin & Co.
Joshua Stetson. Day, Wilcox & Co.
Chas. W. Freeland & Co. J. J. Adams & Co.
Burrough, Bro. & Co. Alex. Williams & Co.
Frost & Kimball. E. Paige & Co.
Washington Mills. D. P. Ives & Co.
Hunt & Goodwin. Max, White & Bartlett.
Geo. W. Simmons. J. B. Kendall.
Nevin, Sawyer & Co. Sewall, Day & Co.
George Osgood. E. A. & W. Winchester.
Theodore H. Bell. Seth Adams.
Brown & Taggard. J. & J. F. Samson & Co.
Winsor & Whitney. Wilder & Eastbrook.
Richard Morris Hunt. Maynard & Noyes.
Edward J. Thomas. Winn, Eaton & Co.
Wm. B. Hayden. J. H. Poole.
E. H. Blake. Fogg, Houghton & Co.
Lewis R. Reynolds. Brown & Stanley.
Swann, Brewer & Tileston. J. Childs, Jun.
E. B. Moore. Doan & Skilton.
John E. Hayes. Parker, Gannett & Osgood.
Ballard & Prince. Denton & Wood.
Dana, Farrar & Hyde. Foster & Smith.
Solo. Piper. Wm. K. Lewis & Co.
Jacob Stanwood. Thomas W. Pierce.
E. P. Tileston. Joseph B. Glover.
Isaac Rich. Addison Gage.
Salem T. Lamb. I. N. Brown.
Daniel D. Kelley. New Bedford Cordage Co.
Wm. M. Jacobs & Son. C. B. Bryant.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

1. MAP OF THE POLAR REGIONS 1
Drawn by C. A. Schott. Engraved by J. Schedler.

2. MAP OF SMITH SOUND, SHOWING DR. HAYES' TRACK AND
DISCOVERIES 72
Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler.

3. MAP OF PORT FOULKE, THE WINTER QUARTERS OF THE
EXPEDITION 96
Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler.

4. AN ARCTIC TEAM 104
Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes.
Engraved by J. A. Bogert.

5. A BEAR-HUNT 174
Drawn by Darley, from Description.
Engraved by J. A. Bogert.

6. CROSSING THE HUMMOCKS 322
Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes.
Engraved by J. A. Bogert.

7. THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA 346
Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes.
Engraved by Fay & Cox.

8. A WALRUS-HUNT 408
Drawn by Darley, from Description.
Engraved by J. A. Bogert.

9. TYNDALL GLACIER, WHALE SOUND 438
Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Photograph by Dr. Hayes.
Engraved by Kingdon & Boyd.

EXPLANATION OF TAIL-PIECES.

_Drawn on wood by G. G. White from Photographs and Sketches by Dr. Hayes. Engraved mostly by J. A. Bogert._

PAGE

1. Anchor 15
2. Arched Iceberg 27
3. Greenlander in his Kayak 34
4. Upernavik 43
5. Snowflake (magnified three diameters) 56
6. Seal on Cake of Ice 67
7. Head of a Reindeer 91
8. Port Foulke 100
9. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 126
10. Chester Valley, showing Alida Lake and the Glacier 136
11. "My Brother John's Glacier," from First Camp 148
12. Group of Reindeer 164
13. Schooner in Winter Quarters 211
14. The Esquimau Hut at Etah 235
15. Head of Walrus 247
16. Portrait of Birdie, the Arctic Fox 250
17. Sonntag's Grave 276
18. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 296
19. Camping in a Snow-Bank 306
20. Polar Bear 314
21. Dog Sledge 321
22. Head of the Esquimau Dog Oosisoak 332
23. Cape Union 352
24. A Sketch 362
25. Observatory at Port Foulke 375
26. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 380
27. Kalutunah and his Family 395
28. Head of Arctic Hare 425
29. A Sketch 438
30. "End" 454

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

PAGE

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

1

CHAPTER I.

Leaving Boston.--At Anchor in Nantasket Roads.--At Sea

13

CHAPTER II.

Passage to the Greenland Coast.--Discipline.--The Decks at
Sea.--Our Quarters.--The First Iceberg.--Crossing the Arctic
Circle.--The Midnight Sun.--The Endless Day.--Making the
Land.--A Remarkable Scene among the Bergs.--At Anchor in Pröven
Harbor

16

CHAPTER III.

The Colony of Pröven.--The Kayak of the Greenlander.--Scarcity of
Dogs.--Liberality of the Chief Trader.--Arctic Flora

28

CHAPTER IV.

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

35

CHAPTER V.

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

44

CHAPTER VI.

Entering Melville Bay.--The Middle Ice.--The Great Polar
Current.--A Snow-Storm.--Encounter with an Iceberg.--Making
Cape York.--Rescue of Hans

57

CHAPTER VII.

Hans and his Family.--Petowak Glacier.--A Snow-Storm.--The
Ice-Pack.--Entering Smith Sound.--A Severe Gale.--Collision
with Icebergs.--Encounter with the Ice-Fields.--Retreat from
the Pack.--At Anchor in Hartstene Bay.--Entering Winter Quarters

68

CHAPTER VIII.

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

92

CHAPTER IX.

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

101

CHAPTER X.

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

127

CHAPTER XI.

Important Results of the recent Journey.--The Glacier System of
Greenland.--General Discussion of the Subject.--Illustrations
drawn from the Alpine Glaciers.--Glacier Movement.--Outline of
the Greenland _Mer de Glace_

137

CHAPTER XII.

My Cabin.--Surveying.--Castor and Pollux.--Concerning
Scurvy.--Dangers of eating Cold Snow.--Knorr and
Starr.--Frost-Bites.--Hans, Peter, and Jacob again.--Coal
Account.--The Fires.--Comfort of our Quarters.--The House on
Deck.--Mild Weather.--Jensen.--Mrs. Hans.--John Williams, the
Cook.--A Cheerful Evening

149

CHAPTER XIII.

Increasing Darkness.--Daily Routine.--The Journal.--Our
Home.--Sunday.--Return of Sonntag.--A Bear-Hunt.--The Open
Water.--Accident to Mr. Knorr.--A Thaw.--"The Port Foulke
Weekly News."--The Tide-Register.--The Fire-Hole.--Hunting
Foxes.--Peter

165

CHAPTER XIV.

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

192

CHAPTER XV.

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

200

CHAPTER XVI.

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

212

CHAPTER XVII.

The Arctic Night.

222

CHAPTER XVIII.

Prolonged Absence of Mr. Sonntag.--Preparing to look for
him.--Arrival of Esquimaux.--They report Sonntag dead.--Arrival
of Hans.--Condition of the Dogs.--Hans's Story of the Journey

227

CHAPTER XIX.

Sonntag.--Twilight increasing.--A Deer-Hunt.--The Arctic
Foxes.--The Polar Bear.--Adventures with Bears.--Our New
Esquimaux.--Esquimau Dress.--A Snow House.--Esquimau
Implements.--A Walrus Hunt

236

CHAPTER XX.

Looking for the Sun.--The Open Sea.--Birds

248

CHAPTER XXI.

Sunrise.

251

CHAPTER XXII.

Spring Twilight.--Arrival of Esquimaux.--Obtaining
Dogs.--Kalutunah, Tattarat, Myouk, Amalatok and his Son.--An
Arctic Hospital.--Esquimau Gratitude

255

CHAPTER XXIII.

Kalutunah returns.--An Esquimau Family.--The Family
Property.--The Family Wardrobe.--Myouk and his
Wife.--Peter's Dead Body found.--My New Teams.--The
Situation.--Hunting.--Subsistence of Arctic Animals.--Pursuit
of Science under Difficulties.--Kalutunah at Home.--An Esquimau
Feast.--Kalutunah in Service.--Recovering the Body of Mr.
Sonntag.--The Funeral.--The Tomb

265

CHAPTER XXIV.

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

277

CHAPTER XXV.

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

290

CHAPTER XXVI.

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

297

CHAPTER XXVII.

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

307

CHAPTER XXVIII.

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

315

CHAPTER XXIX.

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

322

CHAPTER XXX.

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

333

CHAPTER XXXI.

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

343

CHAPTER XXXII.

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

353

CHAPTER XXXIII.

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

363

CHAPTER XXXIV.

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

376

CHAPTER XXXV.

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

381

CHAPTER XXXVI.

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

396

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Leaving Port Foulke.--Effort to reach Cape Isabella.--Meet the Pack
and take Shelter at Littleton Island.--Hunting.--Abundance of
Birds and Walrus.--Visit to Cairn Point.--Reaching the West
Coast.--View from Cape Isabella.--Plans for the Future.--Our
Results.--Chances of reaching the Polar Sea discussed.--The
Glaciers of Ellesmere Land

416

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Leaving Smith Sound.--Crossing the North Water.--Meeting the
Pack.--The Sea and Air teeming with Life.--Remarkable
Refraction.--Reaching Whale Sound.--Surveying in a Boat.--The
Sound traced to its Termination.--Meeting Esquimaux at
Iteplik.--Habits of the Esquimaux.--Marriage Ceremony.--The
Decay of the Tribe.--View of Barden Bay.--Tyndall Glacier

426

CHAPTER XXXIX.

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

439