New lands within the Arctic circle Narrative of the discoveries of the Austrian ship "Tegetthoff" in the years 1872-1874

1. There lay the open Ocean before us; never were its sparkling waves beheld with more sincere joy, than by the small band of men, who, escaping from the prison house of the ice...

1. Every Arctic expedition should be guided by the experience of its predecessors, both in its plan and its equipment; and hence we have often to deplore the negligence of almos...

1. The momentous day came at last—the 20th of May, the very day in 1855 on which Kane abandoned his ship;[53] and we hailed with joy the advent of the hour which was to terminat...

1. The first sledge journey enabled me to draw up a plan for a more extended expedition towards the north. It was not only a cherished scheme of my own, but it became also the d...

1. This done, our thoughts now turned to the ship, between which and ourselves lay 160 miles. But, the _Tegetthoff_—did she lie still where we had left her, or had she drifted a...

1. Immediately after reaching Cape Schrötter, the east end of Hohenlohe Island, we ascended the summit of this Dolerite rock, which was quite free from snow, and covered with a...

1. Unfavourable winds had hindered our progress for some days; we now encountered heavy seas. On July 23 a sudden fall of the temperature and dirty rainy weather told us that we...

1. Like a spectre in white, the ship stretches out her arms, as if in silent complaint, towards the heaven, and rests, in cruel mockery of her destiny, on a mountain, not of wat...

1. The Land had meantime been thickly enveloped in its pure white mantle, and wreaths of snow-drifts lay over the rocks scattered over its surface. The light became fainter. Som...

1. The equipment of a sledge expedition on a large scale demands an amount of circumspection and precision which experience alone can give, and its safety and success may be end...

1. The time crept away with indescribable monotony. The crew performed their heavy labours, but of events there were none. The only change in our position was the constant decay...

1. Though the sun did not return to our latitude (78° 15′, 71° 38′ E. long.) till the 19th of February, we were able to greet his beams three days previous to that date, owing t...

1. From the preceding remarks on the equipment of a sledge, the reader will, perhaps, have gained a pretty clear notion of the procedure by which we are enabled to travel for we...

1. Autumn was passing away, the days were getting shorter, and in our immediate neighbourhood no movement in the ice was perceptible, save that we had drifted continuously towar...

1. THE coldest day we had during this expedition was the 14th of March. By six o’clock on the morning of that day the Tyrolese and I stood on the summit of the precipitous face...

In now presenting a general view of those parts of Kaiser Franz-Josef Land which were explored by us, I must be allowed to anticipate the order of my narrative which describes t...

1. The ice-sheet spread over the Arctic region is the effect and sign of the low temperature which prevails within it. During nine or ten months of the year this congealing forc...

1. Although it be impossible to give any one, who has not with his own eyes seen the Arctic Sea, a perfectly clear conception of its character, the phenomena described in the pr...

1. In the beginning of November we were already environed by a deep twilight; but our dreary waste had become of magical beauty; the rigging, white with frost, stood out, spectr...

1. The Northern lights had shone for these two winters with incomparable splendour, not, indeed, with the quiet diverging beams, sometimes observed in our northern latitudes, an...

1. The Arctic Sea, in some of its features, forcibly impresses us with its resemblance to the glaciers of the Alps. In both cases, the ice presses from a region, colder and less...

1. The autumn was unusually mild, though stormy and gloomy. The thermometer up to the 20th of September fell daily some degrees below zero (C.), and occasionally we had rain. At...

1. At the end of August the temperature in the Frozen Ocean is generally at the freezing point of the Centigrade thermometer, but this year (1872) it was constantly six degrees...

1. The sledge is pre-eminently the means of geographical exploration in high latitudes, and as discovery now forms the main purpose of Polar expeditions, it may be important to...

1. Although the sun was mounting higher, there was no essential change in the gloom and darkness which surrounded us. In fact we were drifting during the whole of January toward...

1. The eagerness of human nature for gain and material prosperity is so great, that we are wont to estimate the value of all undertakings by the standard of utility; and too oft...

1. He who seeks to penetrate the recesses of the Polar world chooses a path beset with toils and dangers. The explorer of that region has to devote every energy of mind and body...

1. The weather during the last days of April was truly delightful; calms and bright sunshine made work and exercise in the open air exceedingly pleasant, and the temperature nev...

1. We Spent the latter half of August in seal-hunting, for it was only by the use of fresh meat that we were able to contend with, if not prevent, cases of scurvy. Day after day...

1. We could now return with honour. The observations and discoveries we had made could not be wrested from us, and our many anxieties on this ground were at an end, henceforth t...

1. Around the lonely apex of the Pole stand cairns of stone which serve to mark the points to which the restless spirit of human enterprise and discovery has penetrated. In its...

1. When compared with the tortures we endured from the thought that we were captives in the ice, little to us seemed the dangers which threatened our existence, though these ass...

1. The necessity of returning home admitted of no question; but the exploration of the Land of which we had seen hardly anything, beyond the cliffs that lay in our immediate nei...

1. An unbroken sleep for the whole winter would, undoubtedly, be a blessing to the Arctic navigator, and the most energetic among us resigned himself to slumber for a few hours...

1. Sight of the open sea.—2. Compelled to kill the dogs.—3. We take a last look at the ice.—4. Fifty miles from land.—5. We sight Novaya Zemlya.—6. We hold on our course.—7. Vai...

1. Past experience to be consulted.—2. The commander.—3. Selection of the crew.—4. Discipline and pay.—5. The best men to be obtained.—6. Special qualifications.—7. The medical...

1. The day for abandoning the ship comes.—2. We start.—3. The dogs.—4. We return to the ship to replenish the stores.—5. Shooting bears.—6. Reach Lamont Island.—7. Return to the...

1. The ice-sheet of the Arctic region.—2. “Leads” and “ice-holes” defined.—3. Pack-ice and drift-ice.—4, 5, 6. Various designations of ice-forms.—7. Estimate of the thickness of...

1. Plan of second expedition.—2. Danger of leaving the ship.—3. Visited by bears.—4. Our preparations finished.—5. The sledge party.—6. Our march.—7. Torossy wounded by a bear.—...

1. Preparatory study necessary for Polar navigators.—2. Choice of a favourable year necessary.—3. Navigation in coast-water recommended.—4. Failure often caused by leaving the c...

1. The sunrise.—2. Our first look at each other.—3. Visits from bears.—4. The carnival.—5. Continual fall of snow.—6. Return of birds.—7. Ill health of Dr. Kepes.—8. Bear shot.—...

1. Size of the country.—2. Surface of ice.—3. Map of the country.—4. Naming of discoveries.—5. Comparison of Arctic lands.—6. The existence of volcanic formations.—7, 8. Geology...

1. Material advantage from Arctic voyages.—2. The commercial value of the North-West and North-East Passages no longer thought of.—3. The Polar question a problem of science.—4....

1. The _Tegetthoff_ covered with snow.—2. The excessive condensation of moisture.—3. The destruction of the snow wall.—4. The removal of the tent roof.—5. The stove of Meidingen...

1. Our return journey.—2. Observations of temperature.—3. Snow-blindness.—4. A bear shot.—5. Reach Cape Hellwald.—6. Orel continues to march southwards.—7. Reach Cape Tyrol.—8....

1. The Arctic Sea compared to the glaciers of the Alps.—2, 3. Old fancies respecting an Inner Polar Sea.—4. Improbability of such a sea existing.—5. Influence of the Gulf Stream...

1. Surrounded by deep twilight.—2. Our preparations for winter.—3. The difficulty of sledge-travelling.—4. Sumbu mistaken for a fox—5. The rending of the ice.—6. Our short exped...

1. We ascend the summit of the Dolerite Rock.—2. Our expedition to the extreme north.—3. We divide the provisions.—4. The merits of our dogs.—5. Klotz has to return.—6. Zaninovi...

1. Within the frozen ocean.—2. The sea of Novaya Zemlya.—3. We continue our course by steam.—4. The decay of ice.—5. Effects of light.—6. We meet the _Isbjörn_.—8-10. The Barent...

1. Qualities of a leader.—2. Object of our first expedition.—3. My party.—4. We begin our journey.—5. Violent motion of the ice.—6. Conduct of the dogs.—7. Death of the bear.—8....

1. Decay of the walls of the ice.—2. The blaze of light on clear days.—3. Our constant digging.—4. Continual sinking of the ship.—5. Nothing but ice.—6. Short expeditions.—7. Fe...

1. The Sonklar glacier.—2. Effect of cold.—3. The frightful cold of North America.—4. Effect of low temperature on the human frame.—5. The voice in cold weather.—6. Hardness of...

1. The Pole.—2. Old fancy of reaching India through the ice.—3, 4, 5. The first Polar navigators.—6-10. The North-West and North-East Passages.—11. Strange tales of the old disc...

1. The equipment of a sledge.—2. Construction of our sledges.—3. The cooking apparatus.—4. Fuel.—5. Tents used at night.—6. The sleeping bag.—7. Arms and ammunition.—8. Chest fo...

1. Night begins to reign.—2. Leisure for study.—3. Complete darkness.—4. Continual fall of snow.—5. The middle of the second Polar night.—6. Ill temper of the dogs.—7. The dogs....

1. Autumn of 1873.—2. Resolve to abandon the vessel.—3. Daylight begins to fail.—4. Everything in readiness to leave the ship.—5. Wilczek Island.—6. Our joy at reaching land.—7....

1. The qualities requisite for a Polar navigator.—2. The crew of the _Tegetthoff_—3. The _Tegetthoff_ lifts her anchor.—4. The vessel.—5. Crossing the sea.—6. The languages spok...

1. The sledge the best means of exploration.—2. The coast line to be followed.—3. Best season for sledging.—4. State of the snow-road.—5. The formation of depôts.—6. Sledges dra...

1. Signs indicate the insecurity of our position.—2. A dreadful Sunday.—3. We make ready to abandon the ship.—4. The dogs.—5. We return to the ship.—6. We drift in the Frozen Se...

1. Winter begins.—2. The impossibility of reaching the coast of Siberia.—3. Unsuccessful efforts to get free.—4. The name-day of the Emperor Francis Joseph I.—5. Encounters with...

1. Our wish to explore Franz-Josef Land.—2. We leave the ship.—3. The dogs and the bears.—4. A bear killed.—5. Ascent of the pyramid-like Cape Brünn.—6. The extreme difficulty o...

1. “Plundering the ship.”—2. Appearance of the ship.—3. Short expeditions.—4. Rapid decrease of the cold.—5. The boats and their contents.—6. The dogs, Gillis and Semlja, shot.—...