The Open Polar Sea by Dr I I Hayes

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Title: The Open Polar Sea

A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"

Author: Isaac Israel Hayes

Release Date: August 14, 2021 [eBook #66063]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: Tim Lindell, Tom Cosmas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This

file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OPEN POLAR SEA ***

The Open Polar Sea, by Dr. I. I. Hayes

Dr. I. I. Hayes

THE OPEN POLAR SEA:

A

NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE,

IN THE

SCHOONER "UNITED STATES."

BY

DR. I. I. HAYES.

NEW YORK:

PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON,

1867.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by

I. I. Hayes,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

- i -

- ii -

RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE:

STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY
H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY.

I HAD INTENDED TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO

WILLIAM PARKER FOULKE,

Of Philadelphia,

To whom I am indebted

for all that a powerful intellect and

a generous friendship could do, to give practical

shape to my plans, and to insure success to an enterprise

in which I had embarked, with the simple advantage of an aim,

and with no better guide than the impulse of youth: but

since it is denied me to pay that tribute of my

admiration to one of the noblest of men,

I now inscribe it to his

MEMORY.

- iii -

- iv -

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

- v -

- vi -

- vii -

- viii -

- ix -

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.

- x -

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS

TO THE

EXPEDITION.[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.
A. D. Bache.
George Folsom.
Henry E. Pierrepont.
Benjamin H. Field.
M. de LeRoquette.
The "American Journal of Arts and
Sciences"—Profs. Silliman and Dana.
Egbert L. Viele.
Cyrus W. Field.
J. L. Graham.
August Belmont.
Horace B. Clafflin.
George Opdyke.
Brown, Brothers & Co.
F. S. Stalknecht.
John Jay.

C. Godfrey Gunther.
Peter Cooper.
Wm. Remsen.
J. Carson Brevoort.
Lewis Rutherford.
C. P. Daly.
Hugh N. Camp.
W. A. White.
John D. Clute.
Marshall Lefferts.
Wolcott Gibbs.
John D. Jones.
Joseph Harsen.
Alexander H. Stevens.
John C. Green.
Samuel E. Barlow.
A. H. Ward.
James T. Hall.

E. A. Stansbury.
W. T. Blodgett.
Dr. Samuel W. Francis.
Frank Moore.
H. M. Field.
Blakeman & Phinney.
Harpers Brothers.
John Austin Stevens.
George A. Woodward.
C. Detmold.
Z. T. Detmold.
Francis Lieber.
F. E. Church.
Bayard Taylor.
O. M. Mitchell.
Henrietta B. Haines.
Mary W. Talman.
Clarence A. Seward.

F. L. Hawks.
Robert B. Winthrop.
G. P. Putnam.
A. W. White.
A. H. Wood.
George L. Samson.
Henry A. Robbins.
Wm. H. Allen.
Albert Clark.
Joseph W. Orvis.
John D. Wing.
Grinnell & Bibby.
Simeon Holton, Jun.
Sheldon, Blakeman & Co.
American Desiccating Co.
Ruxton, Barker & Co.
G. Tagliabue.
Messrs. Nequs.

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

FRANCIS COPE, Treasurer.

- xi -

[1]

- xii -

Wm. Parker Foulke.
Joseph Harrison, Jun.
Henry Cope.
Alfred Cope.
Wm. Bucknell.
John Rice.
North American Life Insurance Co.
Delaware Mutual Ins. Co.
Corn Exchange.
Cope Brothers.
Isaac Lea.
R. Pearsall.
C. Macalister.
Henry C. Carey.
John C. Cresson.
Wm. R. Lejeé.

Childs & Peterson.
Samuel J. Reeves.
Edward Trotter.
J. T. Alburger & Co.
M. J. Wickersham.
Thomas Sparks.
E. J. Lewis.
Joseph Leidy.
R. E. Rogers.
Jacob P. Jones.
J. B. Lippincott & Co.
M. W. Baldwin.
Samuel E. Stokes.
Dr. T. B. Wilson.
James C. Hand.
Henry C. Townsend.
Richard Price.

M. L. Dawson.
Samuel Coffin.
W. Haye.
Lodge 51, A. Y. M.
John Thompson.
John P. Crozer.
Joseph Jeanes.
E. J. Levis.
Edward A. Souder.
Geo. N. Tatham.
John A. Brown.
B. Marshall.
R. Marshall.
Thomas Richardson & Co.
D. Haddock, Jun.
J. B. Morris.
Israel Morris.
B. C. & R. A. Tilghman.
John W. Sexton.
John Grigg.
William Sellers & Co.
Tobias Wagner.
Warren Fisher.
Wm. S. Vaux.
Dr. James Bond.
Chas. Henry Fisher.
J. Edgar Thompson.
Charles E. Smith.
Frothingham, Wells & Co.
Fairman Rogers.
John L. Leconte.
J. C. Trautwine.
Edward Hayes.

Aubrey H. Smith.
C. Townsend.
E. C. Knight.
Buckman & Co.
E. Durar.
E. H. Butler.
Blair & Wyeth.
King & Baird.
Sharp & Brother.
Rowland & Irvin.
Henry Winsor.
David McConkey.
Wilson, Childs & Co.
A. Whitney & Son.
Townsend Sharpless.
David S. Brown.
Chas. Ellis.
Wm. M. Baird.
James H. Orne.
Joshua L. Bailey.
James Addicks.
Benj. Marsh.
Buzby & Co.
Weaver, Fitler & Co.
James Leslie & Co.
McAlister & Brother.
Bible Society.
John H. Cooper.
S. Hazard.
Isaac J. Williams.
Buckner & M'Connor.
Burley & Co.
Mrs. Dr. Bond.

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

- xiii -

J. H. Armsby.
Thomas W. Olcott.
Eli Perry.
D. V. N. Radcliffe.
Erastus Corning.
R. C. Davis.
Isaac W. Vosburg.
John T. Rathbone.
Alden Marsh.
A. B. Banks.
Charles L. Garfield.
David J. Boyd.
T. Rousell & Son.

W. Frothingham.
G. J. H. Thatcher.
Samuel Anable.
S. H. Ransom.
R. H. Wakeman.
J. O. Souner.
James Kidd.
A. A. Dunlap.
Alanson Sumner.
James W. Cook.
E. Owens.
John Tracy.
Cook & Palmer.

THROUGH THE CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND COMMITTEE OF THE ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, BOSTON.

RICHARD BAKER, Jun., Treasurer.

Richard Baker, Jun.
Warren Sawyer.
John Stetson.
J. D. W. Joy.
O. W. Peabody.
S. A. Dix.
Theodore Lyman.
Richard P. Pope.
David Sears.
Thomas Lee.
Philip H. Sears.
B. W. Taggard.
Amos A. Lawrence.
Jacob Bigelow, M. D.
James M. Beebe.
A. W. Spencer.
S. H. Walley.
Wm. Gray.
H. A. Whitney.
Geo. R. Russell.
L. Agassiz.
B. A. Gould.
C. C. Felton.
Prof. J. Lovering.
Prof. E. N. Horsford.

James Lawrence.
Jonathan Phillips.
Nathan Appleton.
Joseph Whitney.
Abbott Lawrence.
George W. Lyman.
Edward Wigglesworth.
Francis Skinner.
George B. Blake.
Naylor & Co.
H. O. Houghton.
Columbia Lodge.
Woburn Lodge.
Mt. Lebanon Lodge.
Winslow Lewis Lodge.
Merchants' Insurance Co.
(through Capt. Smith.)
Manufacturers' Ins. Co.
J. Sawyer & Co.
Wm. H. Kennard.
E. Hammer (Danish Consul.)
D. N. Haskell.
Wm. Baker.
Daniel Paine.

- xiv -

H. Howard.
Wm. M. Parker.
Francis Kendall.
C. G. Kendall.
E. R. Mudge & Co.
Wilkinson, Stetson & Co.
Merrill & Co.
Allen, Whiting & Co.
Huntington, Wadsworth & Parks.
Fitchburg Woolen Co.
Macullum, Williams & Parker.
Edward Everett.
N. P. Banks.
Frederick W. Lincoln.
John Cummings, Jun.
John Clark.
James O. Safford.
S. S. Arnold.
Winslow Lewis, M. D.
Benj. French.
Black & Bacheller.
Wm. B. Boyd.
Wm. Furness, Jun.
John Paine.
James Sturgis.
Thornton K. Lothrop.
Caleb Curtis.
Chas. D. Homans, M. D.
George L. Pratt.
A. G. Smith.
Henry P. Kidder.
Henry Mulliken.
A. W. Stetson.
Chas. J. Sprague.
N. I. Bowditch.
Stone, Wood & Baldwin.

Messinger & Brothers.
Middlesex Co.
Oak Hall.
Fenno & Co.
F. A. Hawley & Co.
Andrew Pierce.
Burnham & Scott.
March Brothers.
William R. Lovejoy & Co.
Whiting, Galloupe & Co.
Kelley & Levin.
John A. Whipple.
Stetson, Kendall & Minot.
Isaac Fenno.
Charles E. Wiggin.
Joshua Blake.
Preston & Merrill.
Wm. Read & Son.
Richard Fay, Jun.
Redding & Co.
Hostetter & Smith, (Pittsburg, Pa.)
John Wilson.
Henry W. Poole.
Otis Norcross.
H. B. Walley.
Richard F. Bond.
L. Audenried & Co.
Noble, Hammott & Hall.
N. Sturtevant & Co.
Wm. F. Weld.
J. G. Bigelow.
Wm. D. Atkinson, Jun.
Jos. W. Wightman.
George H. Snelling.
J. C. Hoadley.
A. Loring.
H. Poor & Son.

- xv -

Thomas Thompson.
Wm. Bond & Son.
Pierce & Co.
Joshua Stetson.
Chas. W. Freeland & Co.
Burrough, Bro. & Co.
Frost & Kimball.
Washington Mills.
Hunt & Goodwin.
Geo. W. Simmons.
Nevin, Sawyer & Co.
George Osgood.
Theodore H. Bell.
Brown & Taggard.
Winsor & Whitney.
Richard Morris Hunt.
Edward J. Thomas.
Wm. B. Hayden.
E. H. Blake.
Lewis R. Reynolds.
Swann, Brewer & Tileston.
E. B. Moore.
John E. Hayes.
Ballard & Prince.
Dana, Farrar & Hyde.
Solo. Piper.
Jacob Stanwood.
E. P. Tileston.
Isaac Rich.
Salem T. Lamb.
Daniel D. Kelley.
Wm. M. Jacobs & Son.

Mrs. Pratt.
Mrs. E. Thompson.
W. Clafflin & Co.
Day, Wilcox & Co.
J. J. Adams & Co.
Alex. Williams & Co.
E. Paige & Co.
D. P. Ives & Co.
Max, White & Bartlett.
J. B. Kendall.
Sewall, Day & Co.
E. A. & W. Winchester.
Seth Adams.
J. & J. F. Samson & Co.
Wilder & Eastbrook.
Maynard & Noyes.
Winn, Eaton & Co.
J. H. Poole.
Fogg, Houghton & Co.
Brown & Stanley.
J. Childs, Jun.
Doan & Skilton.
Parker, Gannett & Osgood.
Denton & Wood.
Foster & Smith.
Wm. K. Lewis & Co.
Thomas W. Pierce.
Joseph B. Glover.
Addison Gage.
I. N. Brown.
New Bedford Cordage Co.
C. B. Bryant.

- xvi -

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.

- xvii -

- xviii -

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

- xix -

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

- xx -

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

- xxi -

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

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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

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