Part 3

And then, as Mr. Muller remarks, the journal of Barendsz, which gives fewer anecdotes but more courses, merits even more confidence than the indistinct statements of De Veer. The very accurate account kept of the courses, as well as of the observations, the total neglect of all that could give the journal an agreeable form, everything, in fact, concerning it, marks the extract as being a log, that is to say, a work not destined to be used as a pleasant history of the voyage. Moreover, Barendsz’s statements are much more correct. Barendsz gives continually, and with great accuracy, the courses which are often changed several times on the same day, whilst De Veer says repeatedly: “The courses were about northerly”, without giving any further indication. Barendsz gives what happened every day, whilst De Veer sometimes omits a few days. But the journal of De Veer especially loses in value when we come to compare his account with that of Barendsz. At once we perceive that he did not keep a strict daily account, but rather that he had written it at different intervals during the voyage; for whilst in the main points both accounts quite coincide, the chronology of De Veer is entirely incorrect. Combining all these arguments, we may come to the final conclusion:—that the extract given by Hessel Gerritsz is truly taken from Barendsz’s log, and as such merits more credit than the account of De Veer.

This granted, we see that Barendsz’s true track does not go north along the east coast, as Dr. Beke believes, but runs up along the west side of the land. Dr. Beke and Dr. Petermann have supposed Barendsz to have sailed up the east side, and to have circumnavigated the largest island in the group. This is not possible, for then Barendsz would have known it to be an island, and therefore could never have thought it to be a part of Greenland. The track as Dr. Petermann lays it down, has, up to the present day, never been followed by any known ship, although in the last ten years many attempts have been made.

One of the most successful of these voyages was that of Captain Nilsen, a Norwegian, who, in the remarkably favourable season of 1872, with his schooner De Freia, pushed as far as 79° 20′ N. latitude, the farthest point yet attained, on the east coast of Spitsbergen, coming from the south. Arriving at the very entrance of Hinlopen Strait, Captain Nilsen was prevented by impenetrable pack-ice from entering that strait, and had, after sighting Cape Torell, to retrace his steps.

The question whether Barendsz went north along the west or along the east coast of Spitsbergen, has been fully treated by Mr. P. A. Tiele, archivaris at Leyden, who has also demonstrated that the ship’s track, laid down in the chart of J. Hondius, “Tabula Geographica” of the year 1598, [8] has been printed after a drawing of William Barendsz himself.

With the extract from the log of Barendsz in our hand, and following the chart, we believe the true track of Barendsz’s third voyage to have been as follows:—

On the 18th of May, 1596, the two ships left the Netherlands, and arrived on the 10th of June at Bear Island; from whence they departed on the 13th, shaping their course in a north-westerly direction.

In the evening of the 14th, or in the morning of the 15th, they fancied they saw land. [9]

On the 15th they made more easting, till at the beginning of the first watch, when they began to steer again more north. On this course they made, till noon of the 16th, 84 nautical miles. The weather was foggy, and prevented their seeing any land towards the east. There they encountered ice, and sailed along the edge of it as much as the wind allowed, and late on the 17th they saw high land, entirely covered with snow.

Till noon of the 20th they continued, in latitude about 80°, to sail along that land, when they had the western point of the land S.S.W., only 20 miles. Continuing to sail S.S.W. and S.W. ¼ S., they passed two bays, which both stretched into the land towards the south. [10] In the evening of that day they made a fresh effort towards the N.W., but were again hindered by the ice from pushing further north, and had to return, anchoring on the evening of the 21st close under the land, in 18 fathoms, sandy bottom, surrounded by several rocks, of which one was split, “very good to recognise”. [11]

On the 22nd they inspected, with one of their boats, the north-westerly point of the land, which they found to be only islands with many good anchorages. [12]

The following day they went out of the bay, and, the weather being very clear, they saw the coast stretching in a southerly direction, and found at midnight the latitude to be 79° 34′. In the evening they again made a vain effort to push farther in a more westerly direction.

On the 25th they anchored in a bay, [13] about 10 miles north of a high point, which they afterwards christened Cape Bird. That bay ran rather far inland, and by sailing round its northern shore, it was possible on the south side of the bay to find shelter from all winds behind a low point.

Early in the morning of the 26th they weighed the anchor, made sail, and arrived at noon between the mountainous cape and the terra firma. [14] After sailing about 20 miles in a southerly direction, they saw much ice aground, and on sounding they found only 5 fathoms. These shallows [15] obliged them to return, but having to strive with foul winds, and being becalmed, they only, on the 28th, rounded the mountainous cape, which they called “Cape Bird”, “because there were so many birds upon it and in the neighbourhood.” This cape lay in 79° 5′ N. latitude. [16] Steering about 60 miles in a southerly course, they came close to a large bay, which ran into the land E.N.E. [17] Twenty miles farther they passed another large bay, [18] in which was “much ice under the land.” To keep clear of the ice the course now became more westerly, and at noon on the 29th, in latitude 76° 50′, they lost sight of the land. [19] Sailing S. and S.S.E. they, on the 1st of July, returned to Bear Island, where they agreed to separate.

Barendsz, as we know, went to Novaya Zemlya, and Rijp steered again towards the north.

In deciding whether Rijp steered along the west, or went north along the east coast, opinions are again at variance. Hessel Gerritsz, in the same work, “Histoire de Spitsbergen, etc.”, speaking on this question, says:—

“Rijp and Barendsz, anchoring at Bear Island on the first of July, differed much in their opinions. Rijp calculated that the spot where they were lay N.E. of the North Cape in Norway, whilst Barendsz, on the contrary, maintained that it was N.W. Whilst the calculations of Barendsz led him to believe that he was 1000 miles distant from the Ice Cape of Novaya Zemlya, Rijp pretended to be only 250 miles distant from the same point, and because Barendsz thought it better to extend his knowledge of a land already somewhat known, and thus render easier the passage to the Strait of Anian, they resolved to separate. They both agreed that Rijp should investigate towards the north-west and Barendsz towards the N.E. So that Rijp again set sail towards the north, and came, after marvellous accidents from ice and winds, to the spot where they had anchored for the first time in 80°. He had also been up again to Cape Bird, and he returned from thence with the intention of rejoining Barendsz.”

This statement of Hessel Gerritsz that Rijp proceeded to the same spot in 80°, where he had already been in company with Barendsz, agrees with the account of Pontanus in his work on Amsterdam, published in 1614; as well as with the information of Rijp himself, found in the old records by Mr. De Jonge.

Pontanus (p. 168), says: “That Rijp pretended they ought to retrace their steps till 80°.” Whilst Rijp himself says “that they returned to the same spot where they had first been” (et prévient au lieu où ils avoyent esté premièrement).

This granted, and with the experience of past navigators before us, to prove the almost impossibility of going north along the east coast of Spitsbergen, one would be inclined to conclude that Rijp must again have gone up along the west coast.

Dr. Beke’s opinion, “that nothing worthy of remark can have occurred to him, or otherwise it could not have failed to be recorded”, seems fully borne out by later research.

Sailing up to 80° N. latitude, Rijp found his further passage again intercepted by that ice-barrier which (as we are now aware) yearly obstructs the sea north of Spitsbergen. Not long after he sailed to Kola, and from thence returned home.

It is perfectly clear why Barendsz and Rijp should have followed the west coast in preference to the east. In his previous expeditions towards Novaya Zemlya, Barendsz had had to contend with masses of ice constantly driven towards the west, so that he had a perfect knowledge of the western current; and, consequently, he could not expect to penetrate along the east coast, against which the ice would be accumulating.

Not daunted in his heroic purpose by the remembrance of all the difficulties with which he had to grapple along the coast of Novaya Zemlya in penetrating through the pack ice, Barendsz decided upon again trying what could be done in that direction.

Subsequent research has added nothing to Dr. Beke’s Introduction, as far as the further voyage of Barendsz is concerned; but we are able to lay before our readers the results of several other Arctic expeditions made by the Dutch after the return on the 29th of October, 1597, of the survivors of Barendsz’s heroic companions.

The results of the three voyages made before that date had been, as far as their real object was concerned, insignificant, and could not be called an encouragement to make another attempt to find the north-east passage; and, besides this, the necessity to search for it no longer existed.

In the same year in which Heemskerck and his companions entered the Maas, Houtman returned to the Netherlands with the first Dutch fleet coming from the East Indies. He had found, without great difficulty, his way to the East Indies, around the Cape of Good Hope, and consequently there was no longer any necessity to find a new route through the Polar ice.

But when, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was established, and received, by its charter (to the detriment of all other Netherlands ship-owners), the exclusive permission to sail to the East Indies round the Cape of Good Hope or round Cape Horn, a new inducement was given to the interlopers to seek the northern passage. The East India Company saw the danger which threatened it on that side, and was compelled, in its own interests, if possible, to be the first to discover the north passage, hoping thus to obtain the monopoly of the northern, as it already possessed that of the southern route.

The origin of most of the subsequent expeditions can be traced back to the contest between monopoly and free trade.

Hudson, the celebrated English navigator, had just returned from his voyage in 1608, when the East India Company seized the opportunity, and invited him over to the Netherlands, desiring to retain him in their service. After long negotiations, an agreement was entered into, in which Hudson engaged to seek the north-east passage. Accordingly, on the 6th of April, 1609, Hudson started from the Texel in a small vessel called De Halve Maan (the Half Moon).

But among the interlopers was one Isaac le Maire, a clever merchant and an inveterate adversary of the Company, who, seeing the preparations made for the departure of Hudson, had not remained inactive. Thirty days later, by his zealous exertions, another ship was fitted out, in order, if possible, to out-do Hudson, and, consequently, the hated East India Company. This expedition was under the command of Melchior van Kerckhoven, who left the Dutch ports on the 5th of May, 1609.

Hudson had gone out with instructions to follow the example of Barendsz, in seeking for a passage north of Novaya Zemlya. On this occasion he was again unfortunate; for, as on his preceding voyage in 1608, he could not succeed in rounding Novaya Zemlya.

On the 5th of May he arrived at the North Cape of Norway; but before he had sighted Novaya Zemlya he was obliged by his mutinous crew to return.

On the 19th he again passed the North Cape, and from thence sailed towards the N.W. to make new discoveries in that direction. In this he was much more successful.

On the other hand, the expedition of Isaac le Maire came to no better result. Melchior van Kerckhoven penetrated some distance into Pet Strait, but finding it perfectly blocked by ice of extraordinary thickness, he was obliged to return without having effected his object.

Both these expeditions tended to confirm the opinion already entertained of the great difficulty of finding, in that direction, the passage to the Indies. The number of those who maintained the possibility of finding a way straight across the Pole daily increased. So early as 1527 an Englishman, Robert Thorne, who lived at Sevilla, had strongly recommended this direction for reaching the Indies. A warm defender of his doctrines was found in the Dutch cosmographer Plancius. Maintainer of the existence of an open Polar Sea, Plancius argued that the cold gradually augmented as far as 66° latitude, but that from thence to the Pole it again decreased.

Accordingly, when in 1610 a certain Helisarius Roslin, medical doctor at Buchsweiler and court physician to the Count of Hanau, presented to the States a small book, in which he attributed the ill-luck of the former expeditions only to taking the wrong direction, this coincided with the views of the supporters of the doctrines proclaimed by Plancius.

Consequently, in the year following, two Netherlanders, Ernst van de Wal and Pieter Aertsz de Jonge, requested the States-General and the Admiralty of Amsterdam to assist them in fitting out a new expedition. They positively believed they would find the northern passage, and jokingly remarked: “That the sun at the far north was rather a manufacturer of salt than of ice”. The plan, notwithstanding the disapprobation of many, found support, and in 1611 the Admiralty of Amsterdam decided on giving their sanction to the new expedition. Two ships, De Vos and De Craen, were fitted out for the voyage. As commander of the expedition, Jan Cornelisz May, surnamed “The Man-Eater”, was appointed. This experienced and skilful sailor had already been, in 1598, among the first Dutch navigators to round the Cape of Good Hope on his way to the Indies. On board of the ship De Vos Ernst van de Walle was appointed supercargo and Pieter Fransz mate. The ship De Craen, with Pieter Aertsz de Jonge as supercargo and Cornelis Jansz Mes as mate, was commanded by Symon Willemsz Cat.

On the 18th of March, 1611, the ships started; but, instead of going straight north, they again sailed towards Novaya Zemlya, visited Kostin Shar, but were prevented by the ice from penetrating into the Kara Sea. The ships were so damaged by their collisions with the ice, that they were obliged to return to Kildin to repair. From thence they sailed to North America, wintered there, and afterwards explored the coast-line between 47° and 42½′ N. latitude. In one of the attempts to land, Pieter Aertsz de Jonge was killed by the natives.

In the beginning of 1612 the De Craen returned to Holland, but Captain May, with his ship the De Vos, sailed again towards Novaya Zemlya, where he arrived on the 30th of June, 1612. Setting out from thence he sailed to the north, along the coast of the island; but, notwithstanding his great perseverance, he met with no better success. He was checked by a vast barrier of ice, which stretched itself from the land in a north-westerly direction. He followed the edge of it until the 14th of July, when he had attained the latitude of 77°, and then returned to the coast of Novaya Zemlya, where he arrived on the 20th.

Between the 29th of July and the 9th of August he renewed his endeavours, and came as far as 77° 45′ N. His attempt to sail straight to the Pole proved a complete failure.

On the 26th of August he resolved to give up his trials, and to return to Holland, where he safely anchored about the 15th of September. Yet all these misfortunes did not affect the courage of the enterprising Netherlands merchants.

The many ships which in the following years left the Dutch ports, bound on voyages of discovery, were, however, without one exception, sent towards the north-west, where Hudson, in the last years, had gathered such unfading laurels. All these trials to the north-west gave, however, no better results than those to the north-east, and after many fruitless expeditions in a north-western direction, we see, in the year 1624, a return to the old plans of the sixteenth century, which were all based on the principle of following a coast-line.

A ship called De Kat, with twenty-four hands on board, and provided with stores for two years and a half, was fitted out to renew the investigations towards the north-east. Cornelis Fennisz Bosman was appointed commander of the expedition, whilst Willem Joosten Glimmer accompanied him as supercargo.

As late as the 24th of June they left the Texel with the design to sail along the Russian coast through Pet Strait, in the direction of the Obi. From thence they intended to try to reach Cape Fabin, and seek through Strait Anian the way to Cathay. The highest expectations were entertained of this expedition, but the result did not bear them out.

On the 24th of July, passing the island of Kalgojew, they reached Novaya Zemlya on the 28th in 70° 55′ N.

On the 10th of August they entered Pet Strait, and only by great exertion did they succeed in pushing through it.

But on the 17th, when the sails were frozen as hard as a plank, so as to render all working of the ship impossible, the wind drove the ice-floes with such force against the ship, that it was driven back in the direction of Pet Strait. Anchoring in the strait, they had to contend with very heavy storms. The ship was parted from her anchors, and the strait getting choked with ice, they resolved to retreat.

Upon the return of Bosman to Holland in the beginning of September, without having effected his object, the public was greatly disappointed, and almost denied the strenuous efforts he had made to conquer all difficulties. It seems that after this bad success the Netherlands merchants gave up all trials towards the north-east.

The English and Russians who afterwards continued to seek for a passage in that direction did not meet with better success.

In the year 1676 an English expedition was sent towards the north-east; but the commander, Wood, only explored the edge of the ice between Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, without rounding this latter island.

Russian walrus-hunters and fishermen have also made many excursions in the seas around Novaya Zemlya. The greater part of the Russian expeditions were made with the object of reaching the Siberian rivers. Seldom did they go along the east coast northward of Matthew’s Strait. In the Archiv für Wissenschäftliche Kunde von Russland, these excursions are described more or less completely. Chronological order is adhered to, and this rather detailed account of the Russian expeditions extends from the year 1690 down to the voyages of Lütke, Bäer, and Krüsenstern.

One of the most remarkable recorded is that of the Russian navigator, Sawwä Löschkin, in 1760, of which it is written:—

“That in the year 1760 a certain Sawwä Löschkin from Olonoz, formed the bold design of exploring the east coast of Novaya Zemlya, because this coast, till then never visited by Russian hunters, would surpass all other places in abundance of fur-animals. From this account of the expedition, which in a nautical point of view has never been surpassed, we know that Löschkin sailed along the east coast from Burrough Strait, as far as the N.E. point of Novaya Zemlya in 76° 9′. During this unprecedented voyage he had to overcome so many obstacles, in consequence of the ice, that he was obliged to winter twice on the east coast, and to use three summers in sailing to the N.E. point.”

This information leads Mr. de Jonge to the conclusion that Löschkin must have wintered much more southwardly than Barendsz, else he would not have wanted three summers to reach the north-east point. For the rest, that the Russians seldom visited the north-east coast of Novaya Zemlya may be proved from the fact that, on a chart of the Northern Polar Sea of 1864, drawn after Russian data and published in the review of Erman, above alluded to, the north-east coast of Novaya Zemlya is laid down between 75° N. and 76° 59′, as being very uncertain and doubtful, and only with the three old Dutch names—“Ice Harbour, Cape Flessingue, and Cape of Desire”. [20]

The Russian admiral, Lütke, who was employed in surveying the coast of Novaya Zemlya from 1821 to 1824, made all his attempts along the west coast, without being able, however, to round Cape Nassau. All these trials, made towards the north-east, fully show us the great difficulties which Barendsz had to encounter, and the gallant perseverance which enabled him to penetrate thus far into the frozen seas. A greater proof of this exists in the fact that in 1872 we find that the steamer Tegethof, under the skilful command of Lieutenant Weyprecht, not only failed in rounding Novaya Zemlya, but was entirely closed in by the mighty ice-floes, and driven powerlessly towards the north-east. However, the sea north of Novaya Zemlya was not always found obstructed by the ice. During a favourable season ships could penetrate far to the north-east without the slightest difficulty. This was often proved by the old Dutch whalers or walrus-hunters, who, sailing north of Novaya Zemlya, even passed into the Kara Sea.

The journal of Gerrit de Veer sufficiently proves that the year 1596 was by no means a favourable season. The Dutch walrus-hunters, among others Theunis Ys, Cornelis Roule, and William de Vlamingh, [21] repeatedly frequented these seas north of Novaya Zemlya; but we find no mention made of their having discovered Barendsz’s winter quarters. Skipper William de Vlamingh seems to have passed nearest to it. Witsen, in his work, North and East Tartary, speaks of this skipper’s voyage thus:— [22]

“I was informed by skipper William de Vlamingh of Oost Vlielend, that when he sailed in the year 1664 to catch whales, he succeeded in passing along the northern shore of Novaya Zemlya, and rounded the N.E. point of the island in order to try and be more prosperous in his fishery than he had been towards the west. Steering S. and S.W. he came near or about the house in which Heemskerck had wintered in the year 1596. From the house he sailed E.S.E. till in about 74° latitude, where he saw nothing but open water. He afterwards sailed back in the same direction, and 16 days after having lost sight of Novaya Zemlya he again anchored in the Vlie.”

Combining all the information we find in the work of Witsen, there are reasons for believing that De Vlamingh went on shore on the west and on the north coasts of Novaya Zemlya, but not on the east coast.

Mr. de Jonge, speaking about this whaling cruise, remarks:—

“According to this account Vlamingh would have been near the house of Barendsz or thereabout, but Witsen does not say that Vlamingh went on shore there. This information leads us to conclude that Vlamingh did not see the wintering house at all, but simply presumed that he had been near to it or thereabout, or else surely he would not have failed to have mentioned it.”