CHAPTER XI.

FLOE-BERG BEACH.

"The cold earth slept below, Above the cold sky shone, And all around With a chilling sound, From caves of ice and fields of snow The breath of night like death did flow Beneath the sinking moon."

SHELLEY.

In order more effectually to ensure the safety of the ship, the men were at once employed in removing a large quantity of loose ice, directly inside the line of friendly floe-bergs, so as to allow the vessel to be hauled farther in and thus obtain more complete protection from the encroachments of the pack. This was no easy work, for the wind had again sprung up and blew with terrific violence, whilst the temperature had fallen as much as ten degrees below the freezing point.

Before we had succeeded in completing our preparations a violent squall struck the ship, the lines by which she was temporarily held parted, and we were blown clean out from our harbour of refuge. Steam was instantly raised, and an anchor let go, which fortunately brought us up. During the succeeding hours the gale blew with increased fury, but being an off-shore wind, we were in a measure protected, whilst it had the effect of driving the pack off, so as to raise our hopes at the prospect of again proceeding northward.

Suddenly, without any warning, the wind shifted, and drove the whole body of the pack towards the land. Our danger now was imminent. To be caught between the fast closing ice and the grounded floe-bergs would be certain destruction, to escape to the southward before the pack impinged on Cape Union was quite out of the question, and to steam into the pack would be madness. Our only hope of safety was to endeavour to haul the ship inside the grounded floe-bergs, and again avail ourselves of their friendly protection. No time was to be lost; it was a case of almost life and death to us. The men, always to be depended upon in a crisis like the present, responded to the call with alacrity, and by dint of hard work we succeeded in hauling the ship into a safe position. We were not a moment too soon: it was a race between the ice and the ship, in which the latter was, fortunately for us, the victor. Scarcely had we reached our place of refuge when the pack came into contact with the bergs, scrunching and squeezing in a most unpleasant manner as it swept by, and serving to illustrate, in a very practical way, the dreadful fate to which we should have been subjected had we not been fortunate enough to escape in time.

It is difficult to imagine a more desolate position to pass a winter than the one in which we were placed. Our ship was on an exposed and, apparently, unsafe coast, without even the protection of a bay, within one hundred yards of a low undulating beach, on which, should any extraordinary pressure of the pack destroy our protecting bergs, we must inevitably be forced and wrecked, exposed to all the rigours of an Arctic winter; and yet, notwithstanding these unenviable drawbacks, the official announcement that this place had been decided upon as our winter quarters was received with a deep feeling of relief and thankfulness. This determination was not, however, arrived at for some days, when, from careful watching of the pack, it was decided that a farther advance was absolutely impossible.

Winter was advancing upon us with rapid strides, eager to seize us in its icy grasp; so quickly, indeed, that in two days we were able to _walk on shore_ on the new and rapidly forming ice. The now steadily falling temperature was another and a sure indication that the navigable season was at an end.

Without a harbour or projecting headland of any description to protect our good ship from the furious gusts that we must naturally expect, the "Alert" lay, apparently, in a vast frozen ocean, having land on one side, but bounded on the other by the chaotic and illimitable polar pack.

The land had already assumed a wintry aspect, and the ship, to be in unison with her surroundings, had also put on a garb of snow and ice, each spar and each rope being double its ordinary thickness from the accumulation of frost rime. Everything was white, solemn, and motionless around us; no voice of bird or beast was heard to disturb the silence. All was as still and silent as the tomb--a silence that until then had never been broken by the presence of man.

"No other noyse, nor people's troublous cries, As still are wont to annoy the walled towne, Might there be heard, but carelesse quiet lyes, Wrapt in eternal silence far from enemyes."

Night, to which we had long been strangers, gradually came upon us, the darkness increasing perceptibly as each day passed away. From the 3rd of September, on which day the sun set at midnight, the days decreased in length, and the stars were again seen to twinkle in the heavens.

From a neighbouring hill we obtained a clear and unobstructed view of our surroundings. The coast continued to the N.W. in a succession of large bays, terminating in an abrupt cape some forty miles distant. In order to assimilate the names of the various bays and headlands with those of the American chart, this extreme point was called Cape Joseph Henry. Beyond Cape Joseph Henry all was conjecture. It might be the southern extreme of a large bay or inlet, or it might be the northern termination of land. No land of any description could be seen to the northward--nothing but the rugged pack. So formidable and compact appeared this icy barrier that it seemed to stand out bold and resolute in its strength, effectually setting at defiance the puny efforts of man to penetrate its solidity, saying, as it were, "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." And, indeed, we had much cause to be thankful to Him who had hitherto watched over and protected us in many dangers, and who had allowed us to penetrate thus far into this remote and unknown portion of the globe.

A long range of high hills could be seen to the westward, whilst on the opposite side of the channel the distant land of Greenland was indistinctly observed, its most northern point bearing about N.E. (_true_).[1]

The positions of the northern extremes of land, on either side of the channel, were, for a time, a matter of some uncertainty, and it was really doubtful which was situated in the highest latitude. It was not until after the return of the autumn sledging parties that this important question was definitely decided, the land on the western side proving to be nearest the Pole.

It must not be imagined, because farther progress in the ship had ceased, that our labours had in any way diminished; on the contrary, we felt that our real work was about to commence: a work in which we should all share in a greater or less degree, and a work the achievement of which had been our sole engrossing thought since leaving England.

Before finally deciding upon the position of our winter quarters, Captain Nares was desirous of ascertaining whether a more protected spot could be found for the ship in the numerous bays to the N.W. than the exposed position she then occupied.

Accordingly, early on the 5th of September, Aldrich and myself started away with a couple of sledges, each drawn by a team of eight dogs, under the guidance of Frederic the Eskimo, and Petersen, the Danish dog-driver. Our route lay along the edge of the coast, where, at times, we were able to take advantage of the ice-foot on which to travel; but as a rule there was no continuity of this land-ice, and we were compelled to strike across an undulating country, deeply covered with snow, ascending hills frequently as high as two and three hundred feet above the level of the sea, whence we obtained good views of the surrounding country. The general direction in which we travelled was N.W., the coast line being a series of indentations in the land, some of such a size as to form fine harbours and bays; but, alas! they could not be utilized for our ship, for they were rendered unapproachable by a chain of high hummocks extending in every case across the entrances, whilst the water in the harbours appeared to be permanently frozen, and therefore inaccessible for a vessel.

It was a novel sensation to us to be thus dashing along on our light sledges, exploring a perfectly unknown country: a wild and barren tract of land, a snow-covered expanse, receding from our view in long undulations into the interior, until lost amongst the high conical-shaped hills of from one to two thousand feet in height, that invariably form the chief feature of Arctic scenery in these high latitudes. At noon we made a brief halt for luncheon, our appetites having been rendered doubly keen by the sharp cold air of a temperature some twenty degrees below freezing point; but which had, until the halt was called, been unheeded, the constant jumping on and off the sledge and assisting the dogs over difficulties having kept us in a perfect glow. Innocently pulling off our mitts, we commenced a vigorous onslaught upon the Australian beef with which we had supplied ourselves; but the first contact of our fingers with the handles of the knives proved the folly of such a proceeding, and compelled us again to resume our mitts. These, however, were now frozen so hard that they were with difficulty put on! Petersen using a tin cup to drink a little rum mixed with snow, and disregarding his mitts, burnt his hand rather severely, whilst we were all obliged to rub the edge of the cup well with our hands before putting it to our lips!

These little inconveniences were to us a source of great merriment; in fact, they must really be experienced before they can be properly and thoroughly appreciated!

The Eskimo dogs appear to me to be very differently constituted to their more civilized brethren. In England a halt for lunch whilst shooting is a signal for all the dogs to assemble and importune for fragments of the feast, which they greedily devour. My own dog "Nellie" would never be satisfied without obtaining a very large share of any impromptu meal. With the Eskimo dogs it is quite different. As soon as the sledges are halted they lie down and sleep, and rarely attempt to move until they are required to do so. Should a piece of meat be thrown to them they may condescend to swallow it; but they turn up their noses at a piece of biscuit, utterly despising it as an article of food. Yet these dogs are excessively voracious, and always hungry! Nothing in the shape of fresh meat, or even skin, is safe from their insatiable voracity; even the thongs that are used for lashing the different parts of a sledge together, unless they have been well rubbed over with tar, are unsafe, and will most assuredly be gnawed off. Notwithstanding this, they have little liking for cooked meat, positively refuse biscuit, and are not troublesome when they observe you eating.

We were _en route_ again directly our luncheon was consumed, the dogs starting off with renewed vigour and speed after their short rest, when we came suddenly upon a precipitous ravine, almost too late to stop our team in their headlong career. By springing out of the sledge and holding on with might and main, we just succeeded in stopping them in time, pulling up almost on the very brink of the precipice. Retracing our steps for a short distance, we left the hills, and continued our course along the coast line, until our farther progress was checked by water, a channel connecting two large bays, which from their shape afterwards went by the name of Dumb-bell Bay.

Swimming about in this little sheet of water was a small flock of eider-ducks, eleven in number, that appeared to be as much surprised at beholding us as we were at seeing them. They did not, however, seem disposed to fly away. The only weapon we had was a rifle with twelve rounds of ammunition. With this we commenced hostilities, rejoicing in the anticipation of a fresh-meat meal when we returned to the ship. So utterly unconcerned did they appear that we actually succeeded in shooting five before the remainder took flight; but to our great chagrin we were unable to possess ourselves of any of our victims, as they had unfortunately all fallen into the water _just_ out of our reach. This was very tantalizing, as neither of us felt inclined to risk being frozen for the sake even of roast duck by plunging in after them. We were reluctantly compelled to leave them. During the following week, however, they were recovered, having all been frozen together in the water. With the exception of these birds, no animal life was seen, although we observed numerous traces of ptarmigan and lemmings. Tufts of saxifrage and some grasses were seen, but so thickly was the land covered with snow that it was impossible to arrive at any conclusion regarding the vegetation of the country.

In consequence of the report that we brought back, Floe-berg Beach was decided upon as the position of the "Alert's" winter quarters, and preparations were immediately made for securing the ship, and for making as extensive an exploration of the land to the northward as the duration of light would admit.

The land in our immediate vicinity was also very naturally an object of special interest to us. Speculations were rife regarding its extent and formation. The possibility of obtaining game of any description was a matter of much importance to us who were doomed to pass so many months in these icy solitudes. Alas! any hopes that we had cherished in this respect were soon found to be fallacious. The land, for the succeeding eight months, proved to be as devoid of life as its appearance was sterile and desolate.

On the 9th of September Aldrich went away with the dog-sledges, accompanied by two or three of his messmates, for three days, for the purpose of more thoroughly exploring the country in the hopes of obtaining game.

On the 11th I left the ship with Parr and Egerton and eighteen men, with the object of advancing a couple of boats to the northward along the proposed route of exploration. It was thought that they might prove useful during the future sledging operations of the expedition. We came back in four days, having successfully accomplished our mission.

On our return journey we encountered a furious gale of wind, which broke up the ice along the coast line, and forced us to drag our sledges over the hills, the summits of which were almost bare, the force of the gale having blown the snow completely off. Any one who has ever attempted to drag a sledge over a rough stony road will know the severe toil and labour that is required to be exerted in order to make any progress. Crossing a bay we made a short halt for luncheon on the ice, under the lee of a high hummock, and narrowly escaped destruction from having selected such a spot for a halt. Without our observing it, the ice began breaking up, and it was only by strenuous exertions that we succeeded in reaching the shore in safety, whence we observed the ice on which we had recently been encamped drifting in small fragments to seaward. If this disruption had not been observed in time, nothing short of a miracle could have saved us.

The violence of the gale was so terrific that pebbles and shingle were blown along by its force, mercilessly striking our faces and causing acute pain. Still we had to struggle onwards, for there was no possible lee under which we could pitch our tents and obtain shelter. An attempt to do so was unsuccessful, and had to be abandoned.

One of the men, failing from sheer exhaustion, had to be carried on the sledge. This seriously added to our difficulties, for it increased the load which the wearied sledgers had to drag, whilst it diminished the power of the draggers. But the indomitable spirit and pluck of the British sailor overcame all obstacles, and after an arduous march of eighteen hours in the face of a furious hurricane, we arrived, to our no small relief, alongside the "Alert." Never was a goal attained with more pleasure and satisfaction than was our Arctic home reached that night by the fatigued and half-blinded sledge travellers. Untrained as they were, this forced march had seriously overtaxed their strength and entailed much suffering. Some few were, on their return, placed under the doctor's hands.

Meanwhile those remaining on board the ship, but few in number, spent an anxious and trying time.

The young ice, by which the ship was surrounded, had been completely broken up by the fury of the gale, and had disappeared; and had it not been for the protecting grounded floe-bergs, small mercy would have been shown to the good ship "Alert," by "ye thick-ribbed ice."

Small fragments of the pack, large enough, however, to be unpleasant and disagreeable neighbours, would occasionally find their way between the floe-bergs, and drift about in our immediate vicinity. These it was our object to secure as speedily as possible, otherwise their incessant movement backwards and forwards with the tide would break up the young ice, or even prevent it from forming. The ominous grinding noise of the pack, as it swayed to and fro in the channel, and the terrible war that appeared to be raging between the floes as they came into furious contact with each other, pulverizing their sides or rending huge fragments from their edges, was a sound and sight that struck us with wonder and awe.

The grandeur and solemnity of the scene gave rise to thoughts of our own weakness and insignificance amidst these wonders of the far north.

On the morning after our return on board, the wind having subsided considerably, and a large channel of water existing between the land and the pack, Captain Nares determined upon seeking more secure and sheltered winter quarters in one of the numerous bays immediately to the northward of our present position, in the hope that the gale would have broken up the ice and so afforded us an entrance.

Steam was quickly raised and the rudder shipped; but from some, at that time, unknown cause we were unable to lower the screw into its place, or rather to enter the shaft. Our chance therefore of getting away was lost, as before midnight the gale was blowing as furiously as ever. The following day, however, the weather again cleared up, and renewed attempts were made to ship the screw, but always without success. Whilst so engaged a shift of wind occurred, and we had the mortification of seeing the whole body of the pack close the channel of water and resume its place along the coast, where it remained during the entire winter, effectually sealing us up. We had good reason to be thankful to our screw for causing our detention, for a subsequent examination of the coast proved only too plainly that the ice had not been broken up and blown out of any of the harbours that we should have sought, and that we should not have found any better sheltered position than the one we then occupied. In all probability we should have been caught by the fast closing ice--an occurrence rather unpleasant even to speculate upon. We afterwards discovered the reason for the failure of our attempts to ship the screw. On lowering it into the water, the ice formed so quickly in the "boss" that it effectually prevented the shaft from entering!

The ship was now secured by lines to the floe-bergs, and by anchors and cables to the shore, until she should be permanently frozen in.

We also busily engaged ourselves in making the necessary preparations for the autumn sledging operations. Travelling garments were issued, tents thoroughly overhauled, and sledges prepared.

On the 22nd of September Aldrich was despatched with three men and two dog-sledges, provisioned for fourteen days, as a sort of pioneering expedition; his orders being to proceed, if possible, as far as Cape Joseph Henry, there to erect a cairn and deposit a record with full information regarding the practicability of travelling, that would be of use to the main party which would follow him in a few days.

By the 25th the ice had again formed around the ship, and was of sufficient thickness to bear heavy weights. This was the day selected for the departure of the sledging parties. The force consisted of three eight-men sledges, officered by Parr and May, the whole under my command. My sledge was named the "Marco Polo;" Parr's, the "Victoria;" and May's, the "Hercules." My orders were to advance as far to the northward, along the land, as possible, and at our extreme position to establish a large depôt of provisions in readiness for the use of the main exploring parties that would be despatched in that direction during the ensuing spring. Our provisions were all carefully weighed and packed; the maximum weight dragged by each man on leaving the ship was 201 lbs., decreasing at the rate of 3 lbs. per diem due to the consumption of provisions. The slight experience that we obtained during the previous few days' sledging stood us now in good stead; the men who had recently been so employed being regarded as veterans in sledge work by those who were for the first time being initiated into its mysteries. All started in the very best spirits, animated by the same desire to do their utmost, and to achieve, so far as in them lay, success and honour for the expedition.

The details connected with the sledging operations must have a chapter to themselves. I make no apology for not entering more fully into the journeys performed by Aldrich and others, as the description of one sledging expedition suffices for all, and I am, of course, best able to describe those in which I was myself personally engaged.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] All compass bearings referred to are _true_, unless stated to be _magnetic_.