Category: Biographies
The following is little more than a diary of a voyage made by me on the whaler _Aurora_ of Dundee in 1884. I cannot imagine its being read by many, as the subject can only interest a few who have themselves gone down to the sea in ships.
|The neighborhood of Cape Byam Martin was considered good whaling ground, so we spent the next few days cruising off it and the coast further down, but without seeing anything o...
16. CHAPTER XVI--WHALING IN LANCASTER SOUND_July 22nd. Tuesday._ During the night the rain changed into snow and in the morning it was blowing a gale. In fact, it was a wild, winter's day. We were amongst loose ice, with...
5. CHAPTER V--THE LABRADOR SEALING|The work of discharging our cargo began at once--first the sculps on deck, then those in the 'tween-decks and then those in the tanks. Thereafter the ship was given a rough cle...
11. CHAPTER XI--MELVILLE BAY_June 1st. Sunday_. Owing to a change of wind the ice had loosened and during the night we managed to push on to Berry Island. The _Bear_ and _Thetis_ appeared upon the scene du...
14. CHAPTER XIV--OUR FIRST WHALE_July 5th. Saturday_. A beautiful day. After breakfast I was in a bran boat on the starboard side of the ship and one hundred and fifty yards away, when I heard a commotion on b...
10. CHAPTER X--POLAR BEAR SHOOTING_May 20th. Tuesday._ We were quite close to Disco in the morning. However, the Captain decided not to go into the settlement, Godhaven, where many other ships lay, but to go wes...
4. CHAPTER IV--NEWFOUNDLAND SEALING_March 10th_. At five A. M. all was life on board the _Aurora_. On awaking, I had coffee, which was in the cabin, and, muffling up well, I went on deck, as it was bitterly cold....
15. CHAPTER XV--FLOE EDGE FISHING_July 10th. Thursday._ We moved from our neighbor, the _Esquimaux_, and dodged north under canvas, hooking on five or six miles away. The Sound was frozen completely across this...
3. CHAPTER III--NEWFOUNDLAND|Our first possession across the sea was Newfoundland, and I made the voyage to it 400 years after John Cabot, the discoverer. The _Mathew_ of Bristol first sighted Cape Bonavis...
2. CHAPTER II--VOYAGE TO NEWFOUNDLAND|Steaming down the river we landed quite a lot of stowaways at Broughty Perry about 4.30 P. M., just as it was becoming dark. Tea was served at five,--my first meal on board the...
7. CHAPTER VII--THE BOTTLENOSE FISHING|Newfoundland looked more attractive in April than it did when we left, doing about was pleasanter and we saw everything worth seeing in the neighborhood of St John's. On board,...
13. CHAPTER XIII--CAREY ISLANDS TO LANCASTER SOUND_June 22nd. Sunday_. It was blowing very hard from the south, and there was much ice, so we had a difficult time picking our way. The weather was also bitterly cold. Again birds...
8. CHAPTER VIII--THE CHIEFTAIN DISASTERThese made their way to Iceland. One, in charge of the captain, landed at Primness. A second, in charge of Alex. Bain, a harpooner, arrived at Tonsberg, having lost overboard he...
1. CHAPTER I--INTRODUCTIONThe following is little more than a diary of a voyage made by me on the whaler _Aurora_ of Dundee in 1884. I cannot imagine its being read by many, as the subject can only inter...
12. CHAPTER XII--CAPE YORK TO CAREY ISLANDS|I noticed a rather curious phenomenon while coming up the Greenland coast, but thinking that there was probably some simple explanation, made no note of it. One evening while i...
9. CHAPTER IX--A GREENLAND SETTLEMENT|We were now crossing Davis Straits and felt that the whaling voyage had fairly begun. Reference was seldom made to the places already visited, but those we expected to see were...
6. CHAPTER VI--SOMETHING ABOUT THE GREELY RELIEF EXPEDITION|One of the interesting things about our trip to the Arctic Seas was the possibility of seeing Greely or of possibly finding him or something about him. I shall here give a brie...