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.
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.
Although much gratified with the success which I had achieved against such desperate obstacles, yet, when I came to reflect upon my situation, in connection with the expectations which I had entertained at setting out, I had little heart to feel triumphant. The thirty-one days occupied in crossing the Sound, the failure to get the boat, or even a foot party over, had disarranged my original plans; while the severity of the labor, and the serious and unexpected draft made upon my provisions by the extra feeding of the dogs, in order to keep up their strength, had so much reduced my resources that, for the present season, I could have little hope of making any extended exploration. Under ordinary conditions of traveling, much less than one half the amount of food which I gave to the animals daily would have amply sufficed for their sustenance. As it was, the eight hundred pounds of dog-food which I had when the foot party left me, was reduced by consumption and small depots for our return journey to about three hundred pounds,—in no case more than sufficient for twelve days. The most that I could now expect to do was to explore the route to the shores of the Polar Sea, asa basis for further exploration to follow the event of my reaching the west side of Smith Sound with my vessel late in the summer; in other words, to ascertain what chance there was of carrying into effect my original design, which the circumstance of being forced into a winter harbor on the Greenland coast, instead of the coast opposite, had disturbed.
SLOWNESS OF PROGRESS.
The extracts from my field diary, given in the last chapter, will have shown the reader the slowness of our progress; while a former chapter will have so far satisfied him concerning the track over which we had recently traveled as to make any review of it in this connection unnecessary. Although anticipating at the outset a grave obstacle in the hummocks, I was unprepared to encounter them in such formidable shape; and the failure of the foot party to make headway through them was a serious blow to my expectations. I had, however, prepared myself for every emergency, and looked forward to making up what I had lost by remaining in Smith's Sound another year.
The journey across the Sound from Cairn Point was unexampled in Arctic traveling. The distance from land to land, as the crow flies, did not exceed eighty miles; and yet, as hitherto observed, the journey consumed thirty-one days,—but little more than two miles daily. The track, however, which we were forced to choose, was often at least three times that of a straight line; and since almost every mile of that tortuous route was traveled over three and often five times, in bringing up the separate portions of our cargo, our actual distance did not probably average less than sixteen miles daily, or about five hundred miles in all, between Cairn Point and Cape Hawks. The last forty miles, made with dog-sledges alone,occupied fourteen days—a circumstance which will of itself exhibit the difficult nature of the undertaking, especially when it is borne in mind that forty miles to an ordinary team of dogs, over usually fair ice, is a trifling matter for five hours, and would not fatigue the team half so much as a single hour's pulling of the same load over such hummocks as confronted us throughout this entire journey.
In order to obtain the best result which the Esquimau dog is capable of yielding, it is essential that he shall be able to trot away with his load. To walk at a dead drag is as distressing to his spirits and energies as the hauling of a dray would be to a blooded horse; and he will much more readily run away with a hundred pounds over good ice than to pull one-fourth of that weight over a track which admits only of a slow pace.
WADING THROUGH DEEP SNOW.
We did not halt longer at Cape Hawks than was needful to rest the teams, when we commenced our journey up the coast. The first day's march carried us across the wide bay between Capes Hawks and Napoleon. We were rejoiced to find ourselves now, for the first time, able to carry our cargo all at one load; and yet the traveling was far from good. Owing to the conformation of the coast, the bay had been sheltered from the winds, and the snows of the winter, in consequence, lay loose upon the surface of the ice. We had, however, no alternative but to cross the bay, for to go outside was to plunge again into the hummocks. The snows had accumulated to the depth of more than two feet, through which the wading was very toilsome. The sledge cut in to the cross-ties, and the dogs sank to their bellies; and, to make the matter worse, Jensen's leg gave out so that itbecame necessary to transfer a part of his load to Knorr's sledge, in order that he might ride. Not wishing to be detained by this circumstance, I put a belt across McDonald's shoulders, took one myself, and gave one to Knorr, and we each pulled, I dare say, as much as the best dog in the team.
On the second day's march the ice was found to be jammed in a terrible manner upon Cape Napoleon, so that we were quite unable to reach the shore at that place, and were forced to hold out into the Sound and become once more entangled among the hummocks. A thick fog, completely veiling the land, coming upon us from the north, and a shower of snow following after, caused us so much bewilderment that we were obliged to camp and await better weather.
The land-ice was reached next morning, and during that day we made a brisk run to the north side of Cape Frazer—the first time that we had struck a trot since leaving Cairn Point. Our camp was made near the furthest point reached by me in 1854.
KENNEDY CHANNEL.
We were now within Kennedy Channel, which I had before barely entered. The ice in the entrance of the Channel was much like that of the Sound below; so that we were obliged to adhere to the land-ice, even while crossing Gould Bay,[8]which lies between Capes Leidy and Frazer, and which I once thought would furnish a good winter harbor. Indeed, this was the bay which it was my aim to reach with my vessel the previous autumn. The little flag-staff, which I had before planted at this place, was discovered, still standing erect among the rocks; but not a vestige of the flag remained. The winds had whipped it entirely away.
[8]So named in honor of Dr. B. A. Gould, of Cambridge.
[8]So named in honor of Dr. B. A. Gould, of Cambridge.
TRACES OF ESQUIMAUX.
While rounding the head of Gould Bay, I observed that, as at Port Foulke, Van Rensselaer Harbor, and indeed in almost every bay of the Greenland coast which I have visited above Cape York, the land rises with a gentle slope, broken into steppes of greater or less regularity,—a series of terraced beaches, the highest of which I estimated to be from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet above the sea. To these terraces I shall have occasion hereafter to refer, and will not now longer detain the reader than merely to observe that they indicate a consecutive elevation of the two coasts. I also found in that Bay the remains of an Esquimau camp. The marks were quite unmistakable in their character although of very ancient date. The discovery was the more gratifying, that it confirmed the native traditions which had been recited to me by Kalutunah. They were a single circle of heavy stones lying upon the shingly terrace. The circle was about twelve feet in diameter, and is such as may be seen in all places where Esquimaux have been in the summer time. The stones answer the purpose of securing the lower margin of their seal-skin tent; and, when they break up camp, the skins are drawn out, leaving the stones in the situation above described.
ROTTEN ICE.
The journey of the next day was the most satisfactory of any that had been made, yet it had its drawbacks. As we proceeded, we began to experience in even a greater degree than in Smith Sound the immense force of ice-pressure resulting from the southerly set of the current. Every point of land exposed to the northward was buried under ice of the most massive description. Many blocks from thirty to sixty feet thick, and of much greater breadth, werelying high and dry upon the beach, pushed up by the resistless pack even above the level of the highest tides. The first embarrassment to our progress occasioned by this cause occurred soon after setting out from our camp above Cape Frazer, and being wholly unable to pass it, we were obliged to take once more to the ice-fields. But this was a matter not easily accomplished. The tide was out, apparently at full ebb, and the land-ice formed a wall, down which we were obliged to scramble. By lashing the two sledges together we made a ladder, and thus secured our own descent; while the dogs were lowered by their traces, and the cargo piece by piece with a line. The field-ice was, however, found to be, in addition to its roughness, in many places very rotten and insecure, so that after one of the teams had broken through and was rescued not without difficulty, we found ourselves compelled to haul in shore and take once more to the land-ice. Being thenceforth under the necessity of following all the windings of the shore line, our distance was at least doubled, and when we hauled up for the night both ourselves and the dogs were very weary.
Although much exhausted with the day's journey, I availed myself of the time consumed by my companions in preparing the camp and supper to climb the hill-side for a view. The air was quite clear, and I commanded an uninterrupted horizon to the eastward. The ice was much less rough than that which we had crossed in Smith Sound, owing to the old floes having been less closely impacted while that part of the sea was freezing up during the last autumn or winter. Hence, there was much more new ice. It was evident that the sea had been open to a verylate period; and, indeed, like the water off Port Foulke, had not closed up completely until the spring. I was much surprised to see the ice so thin and washed away thus early in the season. Small patches of open water were visible at points where the conformation of the coast warranted the conclusion that an eddy of the current had operated upon the ice more rapidly than in other places.
I was struck with the circumstance that no land was visible to the eastward, as it would not have been difficult through such an atmosphere to distinguish land at the distance of fifty or sixty miles. It would appear, therefore, that Kennedy Channel is something wider than hitherto supposed. To the northeast the sky was dark and cloudy, and gave evidence of water; and Jensen, who watched the rapid advance of the season with solicitude, was not slow to direct my attention to the "water-sky."
MILDNESS OF TEMPERATURE.
The temperature of the air was strangely mild, and indeed distressingly so for traveling, although it possessed its conveniences in enabling us to sleep upon our sledges in the open air with comfort. The lowest temperature during the day was 20°; while, at one time, it rose to the freezing-point,—the sun blazing down upon us while we trudged on under our heavy load of furs. The day seemed really sultry. To discard our furs and travel in our shirt-sleeves was of course our first impulse; but to do so added to the load on the sledges, and it was of the first importance that the dogs should be spared every pound of unnecessary weight; so each one carried his own coat upon his back, and perspired after his own fashion.
APPEARANCE OF BIRDS.
This unseasonable warmth operated greatly to our disadvantage. The snow became slushy, and with sogreat a distance of ice between us and Port Foulke, Jensen, whose experience in the rapid dissolution of ice about Upernavik, at the same season of the year, had brought him into many serious difficulties, kept a sharp eye open upon our line of retreat. But danger from a general break-up I did not consider as likely to come for at least a month. Yet the spring (if such it might be called) was approaching rapidly, as was shown by the appearance of birds. As I stood upon the hill-side some little snow-buntings came chirping about me, and a burgomaster-gull flew over our heads wheeling his flight northward. He seemed to have caught the sound of tumbling seas, and was leading his mate, who came sailing along after him with modest mien, to a nuptial retreat on some wave-licked island; and he screamed as if he would inquire, were we too bound on the same errand. A raven, too, came and perched himself upon a cliff above our camp, and croaked a dismal welcome, or a warning. One of these birds had kept us company through the winter, and this one looked very much as if he was bent upon adhering to my fortunes; though, I suppose, in truth, he was only looking for crumbs. He stuck by us for several days, and always dropped down into our abandoned camp as soon as we were on our way.
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF COAST.
The coast along which we were now traveling possessed much interest. It presented a line of very lofty cliffs of Silurian rocks[9]—sandstone andlimestone—much broken down by the wasting influences of the winter frosts and summer thaws. Behind these cliffs the land rose into lofty peaks, such as I have before described. Upon the sides of these peaks the snow rested, clothing them with a uniform whiteness; but nowhere was there any evidence of mountain-ice. Along the entire coast of Grinnell Land no glacier appears, presenting thus a striking contrast to Greenland and the land on the south side of the Channel which I discovered while crossing Smith Sound—the Ellesmere Land of Captain Inglefield.
[9]At Capes Leidy, Frazer, and other points of the coast I subsequently obtained a considerable collection of fossils,—all of which were forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, soon after my return home. Unhappily, the finest of them were lost after having been sent from Philadelphia; but a sufficient number of specimens were found among the geological collections to enable Prof. F. B. Meek, to whom I intrusted them, to establish some interesting points of comparison. In a short paper published in Silliman's Journal, for July, 1865, Prof. Meek enumerates and describes twelve species. Some of the specimens were imperfect, and their specific character could not be determined. The list is as follows:—1.Zaphrentis Hayesii.2.Syringopora * * * *.3.Favosites * * * *.4.Strophomena Rhomboidalis.5.Strophodonta Headleyana.6.Strophodonta Beckii.7.Rhynchonella * * * *.8.Cœlospira concava.9.Spirifer * * * *.10.Loxonema Kanei.11.Orthoceras * * * *.12.Illænus * * * *.Prof. Meek makes this observation:—"From the foregoing list, it is believed that geologists will agree that the rocks at this highest locality at which fossils have ever been collected, belong to the Upper Silurian era. The most remarkable fact, however, is, that they are nearly all very closely allied to, and some of them apparently undistinguishable from species found in the Catskill shaly Limestone of the New York Lower Helderberg group."
[9]At Capes Leidy, Frazer, and other points of the coast I subsequently obtained a considerable collection of fossils,—all of which were forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, soon after my return home. Unhappily, the finest of them were lost after having been sent from Philadelphia; but a sufficient number of specimens were found among the geological collections to enable Prof. F. B. Meek, to whom I intrusted them, to establish some interesting points of comparison. In a short paper published in Silliman's Journal, for July, 1865, Prof. Meek enumerates and describes twelve species. Some of the specimens were imperfect, and their specific character could not be determined. The list is as follows:—
Prof. Meek makes this observation:—"From the foregoing list, it is believed that geologists will agree that the rocks at this highest locality at which fossils have ever been collected, belong to the Upper Silurian era. The most remarkable fact, however, is, that they are nearly all very closely allied to, and some of them apparently undistinguishable from species found in the Catskill shaly Limestone of the New York Lower Helderberg group."
During this day's journey I had discovered numerous traces of the former presence of Esquimaux. They were similar to those which I had before found in Gould Bay. I also picked up some fossils at Cape Frazer and other places, which clearly exhibited the character of the rock. There were but few traces of vegetation in those places where the land had been bared of snow by the winds. A willow stem (probably,Salix arctica), a single specimen of a dead saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia), and a tuft of dried grass (Festuca ovina), were all that I found.
ACCIDENT TO JENSEN.
If fortunate in point of distance accomplished, yet the day was not all that I had hoped. The land-ice was exceedingly rough, and it was not without much difficulty that we effected a passage around some of the points. In one of our most difficult encounters of this nature, Jensen slipped, and again injured his leg, and afterwards sprained his back while lifting his sledge. In consequence of these accidents our progress was much retarded during the following day, and involved me again in serious embarrassment. My diary thus sums up our situation:—
May 15th.
Jensen, my strongest man and the one upon whose physical endurance I have always relied most confidently, is not only fatigued but completely broken down. He lies on the sledge, moaning and groaning with pain from a sprained back and his injured leg; and what to do with him I do not see. He appears to be unable to go further, and the only question concerning him seems to be, how he is to be got home. With anything like a fair field, I ought to reach about lat. 83°, but the loss of Jensen's muscular strength is damaging to me. The track has been execrable to-day; and yet, all things considered, we have done very well. We have made, at the least, twenty miles. McDonald is pretty well used up, and Knorr is quite as bad, if he could be got to own it. Jensen's sufferings have naturally affected his spirits; and with these long hundreds of miles lying behind us, it is perhaps not surprising that his only present expectation will be realized, if his bones are left to bleach among these barren rocks. What I shall do to-morrow, the morrow must determine. Thanks to careful nursing, I have yet my dogs in fair condition; and that is the best part of the battle.