GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE LAST GRINNELL IN SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, 18S3— 4— 5. WITH A BIOGRAPHY OF DR. ELISHA K. KANE, FROM THE OEADLB TO THE GEAVE. BY WM. c. Godfrey. ONE OF THE SURVIYOKS OF THE EXPEDITION. SUPERBLY ILLUSTRATED L4/i\jL^y PHILADELPHIA: ^V J. T. L L O Y D & C O^ 185t. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by E. LLOYD, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PHILADELPHIA : STEREOTYPED BT GEORGE CHARLE3. PBI2«TLD BY KIXG & BAIRD. PREFACE ■^ ♦ • » ►■ It has been a cause of deep regret with the author and publisher of this JN'arrative, that the circumstances referred to in the last chapter of the book, have delayed the publi- cation. As some passages in this volume are very much at variance with the common accounts we have of the temper and character of Dr. Kane, and likewise reflect somewhat on his conduct as a Naval Commander, it would have been more satisfactory if these charges had appeared during the Doctor's lifetime. But the explanations given by Godfrey himself show that the earlier publication of his book was impossible ; however anxiously he might desire to vindicate himself, and to remove the stains affixed to his character by the unfavorable mention made of him in Dr. Kane's book. It may be remarked that, if Dr. Kane were now living, he could not repel Godfrey's charges without a negation of his own statements. He has fully admitted, in his journal, the most material facts connected with that extraordinary affair — the attempt to take God- frey's life. He has not only related those facts distinctly, and with very little difference from Godfrey's own account ; but he has related them in a manner which seems to call for public approbation. This last-mentioned circumstance 1 * (5) 6 PREFACE. satisfies us that Dr. Kane thought that he was doing his duty on that occasion. Perhaps very few persons who read his book attentively will come to the same conclusion. The circumstances to be considered in connection with this matter are : 1. That Godfrey had formerly been dismissed by his Commander, with permission to return to the United States. Did this permission release him from his compact to serve for a certain term on board of the Advance f 2. When, under the pressure of starvation, he returned with his companions, to solicit relief from Dr. Kane, did this return renew his original obligations and restore him to his former position on board of the vessel ? 3. Could he rea- sonably be suspected of an intention to desert in such a country as Northern Greenland and in the midst of an Arctic winter ? If he did desert, in such circumstances, would his example be likely to be followed by others of the brig's company ? 4. Was his return to the vessel with a load of provisions such an act as might be expected from a de- serter ? 5. Was the Commander justified in shooting a man for a mere refusal to come on board ? 6. It appears that, according to the contract made with the seamen before their departure from New York, the strict regulations of the Naval service were to be dispensed with on this Expe- dition ; the discipline of the brig could not, therefore, justify the Commander in resorting to such an extreme measure as shooting a man to enforce an order. But, as the time has past when Dr. Kane could be held responsible for this act, we are disposed to consider it as an error of the judgment ; and it may be easier to excuse him on that score than to overlook the deliberate wrong which he has done to William C. Godfrey by making vague charges of delinquency against this man, who appears, even PREFACE. 7 from the Doctor's own statements, to nave oeen the constant friend and benefactor of the whole brig's company. It is a remarkable fact that Godfrey appears, in the Doctor's narrative, only as a half-pardoned criminal, even when accounts are given of signal services performed by him at the imminent hazard of his own life ! And yet we have found scarcely any specification of a fault of sufficient magnitude to call for a private reprimand ; nevertheless, this unfortunate person has been rebuked by his command- ing officer before the whole world, and he may even be handed down to posterity as an object of distrust and abhorrence. The death of Dr. Kane does not make it less incumbent on our author to clear himself from undeserved censure. If any of the Doctor's fellow-voyagers, who profess so much love and reverence for the Doctor's memory, can show how Godfrey merited the harsh treatment he has received, they can do so as easily as Dr. Kane himself could, if he were now alive. Although the two parties to this singular controversy occupied very different positions on board of the exploring brig Advance, at the bar of the American public there is no recognizable distinction between Elisha K. Kane and William C. Godfrey. We feel confident that the decision of the public in this case will be in accordance with the dictates of '^even-handed justice." The merits of this work, as a complete and circumstantial history of the last Arctic Exploring Expedition, will be acknowledged, we think, by every candid and intelligent reader. Fhiladelphia, May 30, 1857. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. A common sailor's motives for going on a Polar Expedition — The Author^s particular inducement — No hope of glory or pecuniary profit — His anticipations of perils and suffer- ings — His reliance on his physical energies — The fate of the Arctic voyagers — Dr. Kane^s unhappy destiny — His funeral honors — Reports concerning them — The Author's vindication — His reasons for writing a book, 17 CHAPTER II. Object of the Expedition — Where the exploration was to be carried on — Greenland — A frightful country — Land travel- ing in the Polar regions — Dog sledges — Navigation of the icy seas — Dangerous sailing — The Author's views respect- ing the fate of Sir John Franklin and his party — Tribute to Lady Franklin — The absurdities of Arctic explorations — Queer fancy of a great explorer — The Author's plebeian notions, 23 CHAPTER IIL The voyage begun — Public demonstrations — The Author's emotions — He alludes to an affair of the heart — Catalogue of the ofl&cers and crew — The exploring brig, Advance^ proceeds to St. John's, Newfoundland — The officers and orew lionized — The voyage continued — Arrival at Fisker- naes — Hospitable reception — The Esquimaux — Their comical appearance — Their peculiarities of character — Hans Christian, the commander's pet, 31 (9) 10 CONTENTS. CHAPTER lY. Fiskernaes — The Author's hard service— Visit to a Moravian mission hous*^ — Two queer old missionaries — Sucertoppen — Its magnificent peaks — Arrival at Proven — Grand fancy ball — The American sailors dance for the honor of their country — The Author invited to open a dancing school — His qualificatioiiS — We proceed to Upernavick — The town and its inhabitants — Mr. Petersen, 41 CHAPTER V. We leave Upernavick and bid adieu to the habitable world — The DeviPs Nip — Icebergs — Their magnificence and sub- limity — Rocks imbedded in their sides — This phenomenon accounted for — The Author's moonlight musings — A strange fancy — Our brig in danger — Miraculous escape — Towed by an iceberg — Arrival at Hakluyt Island — Dr. Kane and the Author catch a cold duck, 48 CHAPTER YI. Mr. William Morton's famous discovery — The Author's mis- givings on the subject — Yisionary mistakes and hallucina- tions of Arctic travelers — Blood-stained snow — No ac- counting for the phenomenon — We enter Smith's Sound and meet with great obstacles — The Author's peculiar hardships — His unpopularity among the officers — Hints for American seamen, 58 CHAPTER YII. We visit a desolate island- — Melancholy signs of former in- habitants — We are frozen up — Extricate ourselves by hard labor — Anchor under God-send ledge — Terrific storm — Desperate situation of the Advance — A bold expedient — We are again towed by an iceberg — Our miraculous de- liverance — Probable fate of Sir John Franklin, 64 CHAPTER YIII. Abatement of the storm — Repairing damages — Dr. Kane and several other persons get adrift — The Author goes to their assistance — A golden opportunity lost — The commander's projects — A consultation of the whole brig's company — CONTENTS. 11 The Author makes a speech which astonishes and dis- pleases the officers — He is suspected of a mutinous dispo- sition, 72 CHAPTER IX. The Advance proceeds further northward — Hard work for the sailors — The Author and several others of the crew start on a sledge journey — They break through the ice — Severe sufferings — Hydropathy — Sleeping in ice— Trouble- some cooking — Ascent of an iceberg — A singular fox-hunt — A prize secured — Great rejoicings — Account of the blue fox — Its valuable fur, etc., 81 CHAPTER X. What our sledge party discovered — No open Polar sea — Alarming condition of the travelers — An audacious fox — The Author's power of endurance — Several of his com- panions in despair — They are in danger of freezing to death — Their inclination to go to sleep — Suffering makes them insane — Provisions exhausted — Miraculous preserva- tion, 92 CHAPTER XI. Our sledge party return to the brig — We find the Advance in her winter harbor — Preparations for the dark season — Strange fancy of the dogs — Their troublesome behavior — Why they like human society — The Author's objections to dogs as draught animals — Another sledge journey — Hor- rors of the Arctic winter — Dr. Kane's warlike demonstra- tion against the rats, 101 CHAPTER XII. Termination of the dark season — Grand jubilee — An ex- ploring party — Inauspicious beginning of the journey — Our traveling costume — Gloomy anticipations of the tra- velers — The Author's pet fox — His great achievements among the rats — -A suggestion for sporting gentlemen — Singular rat trap — Sad intelligence from the exploring party, 112 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. Dr. Kane and several men go to the relief of the persons supposed to be dying — Slow and troublesome traveling — Ohlsen's noble conduct — He walks twenty miles without any toes — Dr. Kane's sufferings — His life in danger — We reach the tent where our sick companions are lying — Their miraculous preservation from death — Dr. Kane's prayer,.. 120 CHAPTER XIV. A terrible journey over the ice — Suicidal drowsiness of our people — They become desperately somnolent — Dr. Kane and the Author travel by themselves — The Doctor's vision of a bear — The Author's troublesome duties — He carries the doctor on his shoulder — The Doctor mistakes him for a bear — The Author shaves the Doctor with a jack-knive — Strange fact respecting spirituous liquors, 129 CHAPTER XV. Return of the rescue party — Our great danger and providen- tial deliverance — The whole company become delirious — Strange phases of insanity — The Author's feelings of des- peration — Terrible sufferings of his half-frozen companions — Arrival at the brig — Death and burial of Schubert and Baker — We are visited by savage Esquimaux — Hans Chris- tian's romantic love affair, 139 CHAPTER XVI. Dr. Hayes and the Author cross Smith's Sound — Troubles and disasters — Successful explorations — Horrors of star- vation — The Author's boots and breeches used for feeding dogs — Hard fare — The grand excursion of the season — Sickness prevails — Dangerous illness of Dr. Kane — Bears steal our provisions — Our desperate condition — We are obliged to turn back — Various afflictions, 147 CHAPTER XVII. Several traveling parties sent out — Their ill success — Morton and Hans Christian travel northward — Their famous dis- coveries — A separation of our company — The Author, with seven companions, permitted to leave the brig — They tra- CONTENTS. 13 vel southward — Are overtaken by the winter — Their un- paralleled sufferings from cold and famine — The Author visits an Esquimaux settlement — The generosity and be- nevolence of these " barbarians^' — Their houses, modes of living, etc., 155 CHAPTER XVIII. The Author and his party endure all the horrors of famine — They resolve to return to the brig — The Author^s reluct- ance to go back — He complies with the wishes of the ma- jority: — Another troublesome journey — The Esquimaux try to out-yankee the Yankees — They miss their figure — Virtues of " Godfrey's Cordial'' — The Author's success- ful stratagem, 166 CHAPTER XIX. The wanderers return to the brig — Some of them are taken sick — Dr. Hayes has his toes cut off — Starvation on ship- board — Prevalence of the scurvy — The men dying for want of fresh provisions — Several parties sent out to procure food — The cold drives them back — The Author's solitary journey of ninety -five miles — His daring enterprise suc- ceeds — He obtains a supply of fresh meat — More of Hans Christian's love affair, 177 CHAPTER XX. The Author returns to the brig with a load of fresh meat — His warm reception — He becomes a target for pistol and rifle practice — Refuses to come on board — Dr. Kane and Bonsall try to compel him — He treats the doctor disrespect- fully and retires under a galling fire — His desperate jour- ney back to Etah — He is overpowered by the cold, and sinks down in a snow-drift — His providential escape, 185 CHAPTER XXI. Hans Christian proves that fear can make a man sick as well as love — Godfrey continues to supply the brig's company with provisions — Dr. Kane sends another order for him to come on board — He disobeys — The Doctor comes after him— An exciting dialogue between Kane and Godfrey — 2 14 CONTENTS. When threats fail, Godfrey yields to persuasion — He re- turns to the brig, and meets with a cordial reception from his comrades, 192 CHAPTER XXII. Dr. Kane's unfavorable notice of Godfrey — Charge of deser- tion and mutiny — Godfrey's defense — Comments of the North British Review — That periodical condemns Dr. Kane and exculpates Godfrey — Godfrey submits his case to the arbitration of public opinion — A warning to oppressors,. . 202 CHAPTER XXIII. The Author goes on another provision-hunting expedition — He chases a bear — Mutiny among his dogs — He shoots a seal and satisfies the demands of the canine mutineers — Scarcity of provisions at Etah — The Author extends his journey to another settlement — Meets with the men who took " Godfrey's Cordial^' — Their appreciation of the joke — A bear fight — Various adventures — Godfrey returns 4o he brig with a load of fresh meat, 209 CHAPTER XXIV. Final abandonment of the brig Advance — Her probable fate — Commencement of a sledge and boat journey — Hercu- lean labors and slow progress — Elopement of Hans Chris- tian — Fatal accident — Death and burial of Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter — Scarcity of provisions — Robbery of duck nests — Slaughter of sea-fowl — "We meet a Danish boat — Arrival at Upernavick — Our reception — Embarkation for the United States— Arrival at New York, 219 CHAPTER XXV. Concluding observations — The Author's unfortunate posi- tion — Results of the Grinnell expedition — What was dis- covered — Explorations of the coast — Important additions to geographical science — Meteorological observations- — The open Polar sea — Suggestions by the Author — He expresses his willingness to join another expedition, 227 Biographical Sketch of Dr. Elisha K. Kane, 235 WM. C. GOI>rilEY. GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE GEINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION, < ♦ • » ^ CHAPTER I. A COMMON sailor's MOTIVES FOR GOING ON A POLAR EXPEDITION — THE AUTHOR'S PARTICULAR INDUCE- MENT — NO HOPE OF GLORY OR PECUNIARY PROFIT — HIS ANTICIPATIONS OF PERILS AND SUFFERINGS — HIS RELIANCE ON HIS PHYSICAL ENERGIES — THE FATE OF THE ARCTIC VOYAGERS — DR. KANE'S UNHAPPY DES- TINY — HIS FUNERAL HONORS — REPORTS CONCERNING THEM — THE AUTHOR'S VINDICATION — HIS REASONS FOR WRITING A BOOK. It is not very easy for people in general to under- stand the motives which impel some men to undertake toilsome and dangerous enterprises, without much rea- sonable expectation of fame or profit. In exploring expeditions, as well as in warfare, the commander and (17) 18 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE his principal officers obtain nearly all the credit ; and, if there are any emoluments or spoils, they commonly have the ^'lion's share" of these also. I have nothing to say against the propriety and justice of this arrange- ment ; but while the honors and rewards due to great undertakings are distributed in the manner just speci- fied, it may be difficult for some people to conceive why any man should consent to play a subordinate part in those undertakings — assuming a full share of the dangers and inconveniences thereof — without any prospect of celebrity or pecuniary recompense. In the last arctic voyage of Dr. E. K. Kane and his company, I served on board of the exploring brig, "Advance^'' in the humble situation of a sailor '^before the mast." Or, to speak more correctly, I shipped with the understanding that I should be required to perform the duties which properly belong to that ob- scure station. Thus far the agreement was punctually fulfilled by the contracting parties on both sides ; for I received the regular wages of a man before the mast, and nothing more ; and I executed all the tasks which a seaman in my situation could be expected to perform, to say nothing of many other tasks and services which were purely gratuitous on my part. In order to become an arctic sailor, with the pay of eighteen dollars per month, I quitted a far more agree- able employment, which aiforded me more than three times the amount of compensation just mentioned. This, of course, will be considered as a fair example of that worldly wisdom for which sailors are not remark- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 19 able; but it would be doing some injustice to Jack's general reputation to make my individual imprudence a mere illustration of a professional trait, seeing that I was not a regularly trained seaman, but adopted the mariner's vocation only as the means of gratifying my unconquerable love of adventure. When I determined on making a voyage to the polar regions, I had no thought of acquiring glory ^ no notion of writing a book of travels after my return, no expectation of seeing my name in print ; and could I have entertained such fan- cies, they would not have been a sufficient inducement for me to submit to all the risks and sacrifices which this voyage would require. To come to the point at once, I was led, by a romantic taste for whatever is strange and marvelous, to visit a region which seemed to be enshrouded in mystery, and which was supposed to contain many scenes and objects that have no coun- terparts in any other quarter of the world. In addi- tion to this motive, a feeling of national pride and pa- triotic enthusiasm prompted me to assist in an enter- prise which, as I believed, would add new lustre to the glory of my country. I expected to meet with many dangers and hard- ships in my arctic travels, but these anticipations gave me little uneasiness ; for I placed much reliance on my personal strength and prowess, and on my powers of endurance. Nature had given me a tall and muscular frame, and habit had inured me to the extremes of heat and cold. I felt an assurance, therefore, that I should be able to perform all the labors, and to endure all the 20 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE hardships, which my duty as an arctic sailor woiild im- pose on me. It is needless to deny that there was somewhat of youthful audacity, somewhat of a restless craving after novelty and change, mingled with the better impulses which engaged me in this enterprise, the results of which have been calamitous to some of my fellow-ad- venturers, and particularly so to our commander him- self. Possibly some of us may have been made wiser and better men by the lessons of adversity which we received during our wanderings in the realms of per- petual ice ; but (moral and mental improvement out of the question) I do not know that any of us received much individual benefit from the voyage. Several of my comrades lost their lives, in consequence of their unparalleled sufferings in the polar climes. Dr. Hayes lost his toes, which were frozen and afterward ampu- tated; and two or three others of our company met with similar misfortunes. But my loss appears to be the most afflictive of all ; for I find, with equal sorrow and surprise, that I have lost some reputation by my con- nection with this enterprise. On this painful topic, I shall have more to say hereafter. Dr. Kane himself was singularly unfortunate; al- though, in some respects, he appeared to be most highly favored. It is stated that some booksellers have reaped immense profits from the sale of his narrative ; and they are probably the only persons to whom this arctic voyage has been profitable, so far as money matters are concerned. Dr. Kane, as I understand, GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 21 was but indifferently remunerated, in any way, (except- ing the complimentary notices of the newspaper press), for the eminent services he undoubtedly rendered to the public. His untimely death gave his countrymen an opportunity to express their gratitude by funereal demonstrations ; and I should speak of his obsequies with unalloyed gratification, were it not commonly re- ported and believed that even these " empty honors to the dead," were contrived by speculating ingenuity to answer the purpose of an advertisement, and to pro- mote the sale of a book ! I have hinted, somewhere above, that when I com- menced my voyage to the frozen ocean, I had no in- tention of embarking afterward on the still more cheer- less sea of authorship. Such a project as writing a book never presented itself to my mind until I discov- ered that my conduct as a seaman, and my moral cha- racter itself, had been, in some measure, assailed by publications already made. I hope that the public is disposed to believe that the reputation of a " common sailor" may be of some value — to himself, at least — ^es- pecially if it is his sole inheritance and the sum total of his earthly possessions. I complain not of the nega- tive injustice which may have been done me by with- holding the credit to which I consider my services fairly entitled, but I consider myself bound to repel any statements which may be construed as aflfecting my character as a man and a seaman. Nevertheless, I do not flatter myself that the vin- dication of an obscure individual like myself would ob- 22 Godfrey's narrative of the tain the ear of the public, if unaccompanied by matters of greater importance and more general interest. I have, therefore, prepared a narrative of the events of the Grinnell Exploring Expedition, which I can consci- entiously recommend to the public as a faithful and true account of that enterprise ; and, in some respects, the most complete account that has ever been pub- lished. No one can deny that the several narrativCvS of this expedition which have already appeared, are somewhat contradictory and irreconcilable. I have no doubt, or I wish to believe, that the authors of these various narratives intended to relate facts as they oc- cured ; but, in spme instances, their memories appear to have failed them, or they were not correctly in* formed in relation to matters w^hich did not come under their own personal observation. During the whole pro* cess of exploration by Dr. Kane's party, I was engaged, without intermission, in the most active duties. I was, therefore, an eye-witness of almost every important event connected with these explorations. I have no motive for misrepresentation ; and I believe that my memory is suflSciently retentive to enable me to relate every notable adventure of our party precisely as it took place. At all events, I shall be careful to do no injustice to any man, living or dead, in the course of my recital. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 23 CHAPTER II. - OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION WHERE THE EXPLORATION WAS TO BE CARRIED ON — GREENLAND A FRIGHTFUL COUNTRY — LAND TRAVELING IN THE POLAR REGIONS — DOG SLEDGES — NAVIGATION OF THE ICY SEAS — DAN- GEROUS SAILING — THE AUTHOR'S VIEWS RESPECTING THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN AND HIS PARTY^ — TRIBUTE TO LADY FRANKLIN — THE, ABSURDITIES OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION — QUEER FANCY OF A GREAT EX- PLORER — THE author's PLEBEIAN NOTIONS. Before I begin my narrative of the Grinnell Explor- ing Expedition, I wish to give the reader a clear under- standing of its objects. Ostensibly, the principal de- sign was to search after the missing navigator, Sir John Franklin, concerning whose '' mysterious fate" so much has been said and written, and in whose behalf an abundance of public sympathy and many thousands of dollars have been expended to little or no purpose. It was conjectured that Franklin and his companions, or their mortal remains, might be found in some part of Greenland, or in the adjacent seas: and accordingly those localities were to be the scenes of our exploring operations. Greenland is an extensive region, which, for the most part, is a mass of rocks, interspersed with 24 Godfrey's narrative of the glaciers or rivers of ice, which have a slow progressive motion toward the sea. The most southern point of Greenland is Cape Farewell, in lat. 59° 49', Ion. 43° 54^ Concerning the northern and eastern coasts, very little is known. Greenland was formerly supposed to be a peninsula attached to an arctic continent ; but recent discoveries make it appear that this region is a group of two or three large islands^ surrounded by several smaller ones. The neighboring seas, bays, and sounds are, at all seasons, more or less encumbered with ice 5 and, at some particular times in the year, are totally unnavigable. The climate of Greenland is intensely cold, especially in the more northern lati- tudes, and during the arctic night, which lasts for seve- ral months. Greenland belongs to the Danish govern- ment, which has several trading stations on different parts of the coast. There are many Exquimaux settle- ments scattered over the country. Some of the Es- quimaux are partly civilized, having become so by con- stant intercourse with the Danish settlers, who supply them with European commodities in exchange for skins, blubber, &c. The northern parts of Greenland are not inhabitable even by the Esquimaux them-selves, who are fitted by nature and habit to endure more cold than any other human beings on the face of the earth. The surface of the country is too rough to afford any facilities for traveling; and the neighboring waters when frozen over, as they generally are, present similar obstacles, as the ice is full of boulders, hummocks, bergs, and GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION". 25 other obstructions. The usual mode of traveling on land and on the ice is in sledges drawn by dogs. No other vehicle and no other draught animals could be used, probably, in these localities ; and the dog-sledge conveyance itself is liable to many inconveniences. The Esquimaux dog, used for this purpose, is neither large nor powerful. A team of six or eight dogs can transport a moderate load over the snow or ice, at the rate of from fifty to sixty miles per day, provided the route is favorable ; but when the track is very rough, as it often is, the strength of the dogs is wholly unequal to the task of drawing the .sledge. In these circum- stances, the driver must dismount and assist his team by pushing behind and lifting the sledge over the ine- qualities of the road. The navigation of the polar seas and sounds is at tended by still greater difficulties, and is never free from danger. When there is a track open for the passage of the ship, it is generally a sort of canal (technically called a ^Mead'') with an icy embankment on each side. One of these embankments, called the ''land ice,'* is usually stationary, being part of a large mass of ice many miles in extent, and connected with the shore. The other side of the canal, or "lead,*' is generally a movable body of ice, called a ''floe," which is often driven by the wind or tide with tremendous force against the land-ice, closing up the canal or lane of open water, and sometimes crushing an unfortunate ship which may happen to be sailing therein. The ice on both sides of the canal, or "lead,'' is often twenty 5 26 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE or thirty feet in height, above the level of the water ; and the "floe," or movable body of ice, is commonly of immense magnitude, so that its momentum, when it is set in motion by the tide or wind, is irresistible. The stoutest ship must inevitably be crushed, if caught between the icy masses. Ships intended for arctic navigation are built in a particular style, the hull being wedge-shaped, so that when pressed on each side by approaching masses of ice, the vessel is forced upward, and thrown on her beam ends on one of the icy platforms. This is the only contrivance which could save a vessel from being broken to pieces, in such circumstances. I need not remind my readers that the navigation of a sea which is agitated by powerful winds, is always dangerous ; but sailing on an ice-encumbered sea, such as I have described, is perilous in the highest degree. In this case, you are surrounded by breakers of the most formidable character — breakers of ice which are more to be dreaded than the " insidious rock,'' because the latter lies still, and may be avoided by the skillful management of the vessel; but the uncertain motions of the masses of ice in the polar seas, often make a collision with them unavoidable. Very often, the arc- tic navigator is menaced with destruction on all sides ; the multiplicity of dangers distracts his attention, and makes him powerless and inactive at the very moment when all his energies should be aroused. In short, the dangers of arctic navigation are so great and so complicated, that we should not wonder GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 2T at any loss of life or any destruction of ships engaged in that service ; on the contrary, every escape of the arctic voyager appears to be almost miraculous. I fear there was a good deal of insincerity exhibited by those experienced old seamen, who affected to consider that it was almost impossible that Sir John Franklin and his company should have perished while making their polar explorations. My own limited experience con- vinces me that nothing could be more probable than the total destruction of Franklin's party before the expiration of their third year in that most inhospitable climate. If, as Dr. Kane seems to have supposed, some of their party might still have been living in the northern regions of Greenland, at the beginning of the year 1853, they must have acquired an aptitude for living in ice quite as wonderful as the salamander's supposed ability to live in fire. Granting that Frank- lin and his company might have obtained a sufficient supply of provisions to maintain themselves for seven or eight years in such a country as northern Green- land, how would they have supplied themselves with fuel and other appliances to keep themselves from freezing in a climate where the temperature, for the greatest part of the time, is from 40° to 55° below zero ? True, they might have used their ships and boats for firewood, but even that supply would not have lasted the whole time. We burned about half of the Advance and her combustible equipments in a single winter, and with all that waste of valuable burning material, our men suffered excessively from the cold. 28 Godfrey's narrative of the I do not believe that there was a single survivor of Franklin's party in 1853 ; and I do not consider that it is presumptuous for me to say so, in opposition to the ex- pressed opinions of some distinguished navigators ; be- cause I am satisfied that these '' old salts" were prompted to express such opinions by the warmth of their feelings, and not by the sober dictates of their judgment. A very amiable sympathy for Lady Franklin, (that rare and admirable Penelope of modern times,) influenced several experienced naval officers, familiar with the perils of arctic travel, to express hopes which they could not have felt, in order to administer consolation to that bereaved lady who is so unwilling to believe in her own widowhood. A ''common sailor," conscious of his privilege as an American freeman, takes the liberty to declare his solemn conviction that any polar expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, after the year 184-6, must be considered as a futile enterprise, in which human life was exposed to unnecessary hazard. No man can re- gret the fate of Sir John Franklin more than I do — no man can feel a greater admiration for the conjugal de- votion of his lady ; but I cannot approve of the sacrifice of many lives in the prosecution of needless searches which can aS*ord no relief to the lost commander, and no satisfaction to his widow, whose agonizing suspense is merely protracted by these unprofitable inquiries. I strongly suspect that the most distinguished arctic navigators have generally been men of ardent tempera- ment, whose generous enthusiasm more than counter- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 29 balanced their rational and reflective powers. It is impossible, in any other way, to account for the reck- less hardihood with which these undertakings have been repeated, in pursuit of objects which were too evidently unattainable, and which, if accomplished, might not have been of sufficient value and importance to deserve the efforts which have been made for their attainment. Of course, in this connection, I do not speak of the search after Capt. Franklin, for that was an object on which too much time, labor, and money could not be expended, while there was any hope of success. But the arctic seas have been explored for several other objects, not one of which, if attained, could have been of much practical utility to mankind, on account of the difficulties which beset the navigator of those seas at every stage of his progress. The discovery of a shorter route to the East Indies, via the Arctic seas, is the most rational object that ever engaged the atten- tion of polar navigators ; but what would avail a shorter route, if it were found to be impracticable, or if tra- velers by the new route were liable to be frozen up for two or three years while on their passage ? One of the arctic explorers (Capt. Parry) considers that the successful navigator of the icy ocean would be well remunerated for all his toils and dangers, by having it in his power to boast that he had placed his foot on the pivot of the earth's axis ! I have seen the time (while journeying in the neighborhood of the pole) when it would have pleased me much better to place my foot on a warm stove-plate, or in a pile of hot 3^ 30 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE ashes, than to have accomplished that object, which appears to have been the apex of Captain Parry's am- bition. But I am a plebeian — a mere Jack-tar — and of course cannot be expected to appreciate the noble aspirations of an accomplished gentleman and a naval oflScer of high rank, like Captain Parrj. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. SI CHAPTER III. the voyage begun — public demonstrations — the author's emotions— he alludes to an affair of the heart — catalogue of the officers and crew — the exploring brig advance proceeds TO ST. John's, Newfoundland — the officers and CREW LIONIZED — THE VOYAGE CONTINUED — ARRIVAL AT FISKERNAES — HOSPITABLE RECEPTION— THE ES- QUIMAUX — THEIR COMICAL APPEARANCE — THEIR PE- CULIARITIES OF CHARACTER — HANS CHRISTIAN, THE commander's PET. On the memorable 30th day of May, ISSS, the ex- ploring brig Advance, fitted out at the expense of Mr. Henry Grinnell, and under the command of Dr. E. K. Kane, of the United States Navy, started on her last voyage from New York. The wharves were crowded with spectators to witness her departure ; the air re- sounded with huzzas and the strains of martial music— the valedictory greetings of our fellow-countrymen, who thus expressed their enthusiastic approbation of our enterprise. It was an exhilarating moment for all on board ; every man of our company, from the commander down to Mons. Schubert, the French cook, must have experienced a feeling of expansion for the 82 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE time being, as though we had all been suddenly en^ larged to heroic dimensions. I, who never suspected before that I possessed any element of greatness, was agreeably surprised to find myself one of the " observed of all observers ;'' and while the tarry ropes glided be- tween my fingers, my eyes were almost ready to stream with tears of joy and gratitude. In the excitement of that moment, my thoughts wandered to one to whom, with youthful indiscretion, I had dedicated my early affections, and whose condition in life, being far supe- rior to my own, made this aberration of my youthful fancy doubly indiscreet. But on this occasion, the public attention which had been attracted to our party, so excited my organ of self-esteem, that my erring attachment no longer seemed presumptuous; and I began to suspect, for the first time, that the mandate which forbade my approach to the object of my affec- tion was tyrannically severe. My comrades; who were probably less sentimental than myself, appeared to enjoy, with unmingled delight, the vociferous plaudits they received from the crowds on the wharves. Several of them had friends and re- latives among the assemblage, to whom they made their adieus with sailor-like levity. I must acknowledge that I saw none of those affecting leave-takings which my learned comrade, Professor Von Sonntag, refers to as being among the incidents of our departure. Se- veral steamboats, thronged with passengers, and pro- vided with bands of music, accompanied us several miles on our voyage. Our patriotic feelings were stimulated ESQUIMAUX GUIDE, GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 35 by the performance of national airs, and the display of the "stars and stripes" from every point where a flag-staff could be planted. Thus the commencement of our voyage was all romance and unalloyed pleasure, like the commencement of the voyage matrimonial; and, like many who embark in the last-mentioned en- terprise, we enjoyed our honey-moon, unmindful of the icebergs to which our course was directed. The Advance^ in which we were now sailing, was not a "ship" (as one of my traveling companions is pleased to call it, repeatedly), but an hermaphrodite brig ; that is to say, a combination of brig and schooner. The hull was altered and adapted to the purposes re- quired ; the bow or fore-part of the vessel being so filled up with timber as to be almost solid. This contrivance w^as intended to fit the vessel for butting against icy impediments, when they were of such a nature as would admit of their being broken or displaced by collision with the head of the brig. The shape of the Adva7ice was altered to suit the exigencies of arctic navigation; the sides of the vessel were so fashioned, that when caught between two masses of ice, she would be forced upward instead of being crushed. The brig, as I shall show hereafter, was not supplied with the necessary stores and equipments ; and hence the sufi*erings of the crew in the polar regions were much aggravated. I should think that all who were concerned in fitting her out ought to have known that we were not going on a holiday excursion. My object in alluding to this deficiency of equipments, is not to 80 Godfrey's narrative of the cast censure on any person, but to admonish others, who may contemplate similar undertakings, to make suitable provision for the health and comfort of the seamen. And I would earnestly advise my brother sailors to be well assured that all the necessary prepa- rations for the voyage have been made, before they enter their names on the books of any vessel which may be about to start on a polar expedition. The officers and crew of the Advance consisted of eighteen persons, namely : — Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, Commander. Henry Brooks, First Officer. Isaac J. Hayes, M. D., Surgeon. August Sonntag, Astronomer and Draughtsman. C. Ohlsen, Carpenter. Seamen. George Riley, George Stephenson, James McGarry, George Whipple, Henry Goodfellow, John Blake, John W. Wilson, Jefferson Baker, Amos Bonsall, William C. Godfrey. Thomas Hickey, Cabin Boy. Peter Schubert, French Cook William Morton, Steward. On the 2nd of June, eighteen days after we left New York, we arrived at St. John's, Newfoundland, where Dr. Kane made some necessary additions to his supplies GRINNELL "EXPLORING EXI EDITION 31 and equipments. We obtained at St. John's a quantity of beef and mutton, which we prepared for preservation by a process, well known to mariners, called ''marl- ing." In this process, the bones are removed, and the meat, after being salted, is hung upon the rigging to dry. At St. John's we also procured some addi- tional tinware and cooking utensils, and several dogs of the celebrated Newfoundland breed, which we intended to use as draught animals when we should arrive in those regions where the services of these quadrupeds are indispensable. Our passage from New York to St. John's was not very agreeable, — the weather being, foi the greater part of the time, quite boisterous. Oui deck cargo was much disarranged by the pitching of the vessel and some of the " green-horns," myself in- clusive, were considerably sea-sick. However, in this affliction I had very respectable company, for Dr. Hayes, whose seafaring experience was not much more extensive than my own, suffered considerably from gas- tric discomposure. By the way, it may as well be men- tioned here, that Dr. Hayes, who did duty as surgeon on board of the Advance^ was not a regular sea-bred " saw-bones," — but had previously been doing duty on dry land, in the capacity of a country physician, and resided in some rural village near Philadelphia. He is a gentleman whom I very highly esteem ; but I must say, nevertheless, that, like almost every other person who has undertaken to give an account of the Grinnell Expedition, he has made some statements which are not quite accurate. 4 38 Godfrey's narrative op the The English authorities at St. John's gave us a hearty welcome. Governor Hamilton especially ren- dered us every service that was in his power ; and, among other acts of kindness, he presented us with a fine team of Newfoundland dogs, which afterward proved very useful to us in our sledge journeys over the ice. We remained at St. John's two days, during which we were considerably lionized by the inhabitants, — the ladies in particular, who seemed to regard us as a ^' noble army of martyrs,'' about to oflFer ourselves as a willing sacrifice on the altars of science and humanity. From St. John's we steered, as nearly in a straight line as possible, for the coast of Greenland, direct- ing our course, in the first place, toward a Danish settlement, called Fiskernaes, — situated near the en- trance of Davis' Strait. We came within a few miles of this place on the 1st day of July ; but, as the atmosphere was very foggy, we had some diflSculty in finding the settlement. Another seaman and myself were sent ashore in a boat to obtain a pilot. We landed on the coast, after some hard rowing, — and on approaching a hut which we saw at some distance from the water, — we met a queer specimen of human nature, — a dumpy, duck-legged fellow, who proved to be a " cross" between Dane and Esquimaux. After both parties had stared at each other suflSciently, we began to communicate by signs, — and thus we contrived, after a great deal of trouble, to make the Green- lander understand what we wanted. The reward of an invalid jack-knife induced him to enter our boat and GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. ' 39 pilot US to Fiskernaes, which we reached after a pretty hard row of four hours duration. The '' Gov- ernor/' as the resident agent of the Danish government is called, gave my companion and myself a hearty re- ception, and treated us to a lunch, consisting of a lump of rye bread and a glass of grog for each of us. After this refreshment, we engaged a pilot, recommended to us by the Governor, and embarked with him in our boat. The brig was standing off and on, awaiting our return, — but we were obliged to row eight miles before we reached her. With our pilot's assistance, the Ad- vance soon entered the harbor of Fiskernaes. As soon as we came to anchor, the Governor sent a boat with an invitation for the officers to come on shore, and attend du.fete which his Excellency gave in honor of our arrival. The invitation was accepted by Dr. Kane, Dr. Hayes, Mr. Brooks, and Mr. Sonntag. Bonsall and I were selected to row these gentlemen ashore. The inhabitants of the town, Danish and Esquimaux, crowded the beach to see us land. They appeared to be very much amused at our appearance, and laughed in our faces without any restraint. We did as much for them, as their figures and dress were no less ridicu- lous in our eyes than our tout ensemble was in theirs. The Esquimaux in general are about as comical a race of mortals as ever I had the good fortune to meet with. Their corporal construction itself is unlike that of mankind in general, and they make themselves still more uncouth by their grotesque style of dressing. I think Professor Sonntag contradicts the common report 40 Godfrey's narrative of the that these people are dwarfish in stature, and avers that they are very little, if any, below the average height of Europeans. The Professor must have observed them through a convex lens, or some other magnifying medium, — for all my observations tend to confirm the general statement, that the tallest of them are below the middle height of Englishmen and Americans. Their complex- ions appeared to me to resemble those of the North American Indians in general, — but in elegance of figure, in nobility of character, in bodily activity and courage, they are very far inferior to the aboriginal inhabitants of the American continent. However, the Esquimaux have some admirable traits ; they are very hospitable to strangers ; they are exemplary in all their domestic relations, and the several tribes maintain a peaceable and friendly disposition toward each other. They have none of that vengeful ferocity which is im puted to savage tribes in general — in fact, there is nothing sanguinary or warlike in their character. The Esquimaux who reside near the Danish settle- ments are partly civilized, and many of them are as good Christians, at least^ as their Danish neighbors. One of these converted Exquimaux, a youth about eighteen years of age, named Hans Christian, was shipped on board of the Advance at Fiskernaes, and afterward became very useful to the Expedition and a special favorite of Dr. Kane, to whom he is indebted for as much celebrity as he deserves. GBINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 41 CHAPTER IV. nSKERNAES — THE AUTHOR'S HARD SERVICE — VISIT TO A MORAVIAN MISSION HOUSE — TWO QUEER OLD MISSIONARIES — SUCKERTOPPEN — ITS MAGNIFICENT PEAKS — ARRIVAL AT PROVEN — GRAND FANCY BALL — THE AMERICAN SAILORS DANCE FOR THE HONOR OF THEIR COUNTRY — THE AUTHOR INVITED TO OPEN A DANCING SCHOOL HIS QUALIFICATIONS — WE PRO- CEED TO UPERNAVICK — THE TOWN AND ITS IN- HABITANTS — MR. PETERSEN. FiSKERNAES is the most southern port of Greenland. It scarcely deserves to be called a town or village, as the only building of any importance which it contains is the governmental store-house, or depot for Danish merchandise, which is replenished, once a year, on the arrival of a ship sent from Denmark for this purpose. The Governor has the management of this store-house, to which the Esquimaux resort for the purpose of ex- changing their furs and other commodities for European goods. Fiskernaes is situated, if I remember correctly, about nine miles from the southern extremity of Davis Strait. Besides the trade which this settlement carries on with the Esquimaux of the interior, it does a good deal in the fishing way ; indeed its cod-fishing affords a 4^ 42 Godfrey's narrative of the considerable revenue to the Danish government. The name of the present governor is Lassen ; his estima- ble qualities and his pipe-smoking propensities have been spoken of at large by some of my illustrious pre- decessors, especially by Mr. Sonntag, whose German sympathies were naturally enlisted in behalf of a gen- tlenaan who could smoke tobacco for forty-eight hours without intermission. In justice to Mr. Lassen, I must say, that he deserves to be commemorated for more gentlemanly attributes than we can easily connect with the character of an incessant tobacco- smoker. As it was my good or ill fortune to be one of the most stalwart and active '' hands '' on board of the Advance, it was my lot to perform a full share of the most laborious duties ; such, for instance, as rowing the small boat, AYhile the brig lay in the harbor of Fis- kernaes, I had the honor to row Messrs. Kane, Hayes, and Sonntag to a neighboring missionary establishment at Lichtenfels, where the Moravians have a sort of monastery, if it is no offense to give it that name. Our officers received a cordial welcome from two brethren of the Order, the only survivors of some six or eight of their fraternity, who established themselves in this desolate place about thirty years ago. The missionary house is an antiquated building, in the Dutch style of architecture, one story high, and '^ hip- roofed,'' with a droll little steeple and belfry on the top. On glancing around on the hideous landscape, where nothing could be seen but rocks stuccoed with GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 43 ice and plains carpeted with eternal snow, I felt the conviction that men who could dwell contentedly in such a place for more than a quarter of a century must be either sanctified or insane. The dress of the two brethren who received us, like the architecture of their dwelling, belonged to a former century. While I looked at them, I could scarcely persuade myself that they were not two of the Seven Sleepers, who had just waked up, after their protracted nap, and had not had time to change their apparel. The good old gentlemen gave us an excellent dinner, cooked of course in an antique style, by the silver-haired matron of the establishment; and, after the repast was over, Dr. Kane and the Moravian brethren had a lono: confab on relio;ious sub- jects, in which the Doctor always took a lively interest. After our return to the ship, our commander sent me back to the Leichtenfel missionaries with a philopena, consisting of about two barrels of excellent Mercer potatoes, which they received with many grateful acknowledgments. From Fiskernaes we proceeded slowly, on account of adverse winds, to another Danish settlement, called Suckertoppen, (Sugar-peak,) from some fancied re- semblance of a stupendous rocky spire, at the entrance of the harbor, to a sugar-loaf. I supposed this peak to be more than 2,600 feet high. It is truly a mag- nificent object, when the observer is near enough to perceive its astonishing altitude and dimensions. In comparison with this great work of Nature, the tallest Egyptian pyramid, the dome of St. Peter, or any other 44 Godfrey's narrative of the production of human art, would appear perfectly insig- nificant. Our next remove was to Proven, situated on the western coast of Greenland, several miles above Sucker- toppen. At all of these Danish settlements we stopped to obtain additional supplies of furs, carpenter's tools, and other necessaries, with which our brig had not pre- viously been furnished. A few more dogs of the Es- quimaux breed, famous for their sledge-drawing abilities, were shipped at Suckertoppen and Proven. At the last-named place we remained more than two days, enjoying the luxuries and amusements of the locality; and while there, we were lionized almost as much as we had previously been at St. John's, but in a somewhat different style. The Governor of Proven gave a grand fancy ball for our special entertainment. All the ladies of the settlement, Danish and Esquimaux, and all the male aristocracy of the place, participated in this ele- gant /ete, which, as we were informed, was never sur- passed in splendor by any thing of the kind which the oldest inhabitants had witnessed. The saloon in which this ball took place was an apartment over the store- house, the floor of which consisted of boards which had never been profaned by a touch of the jack-plane. In the ceiling over head were seen the naked rafters, and the slate-roof inclining on each side, like an angular sky, to the plane of the horizon. This chamber, now devoted to Terpsichorean festivities, had been for twenty years at least in the undisturbed possession of the rats, which appeared to consider that they had GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 45 acquired a legal right to the premises. Owing to the shape of the ceiling, the dancers were confined to the middle of the room, while, in the angles where the ceiling and floor came together, the rats, w^ith " shock- ing taraeness," sat in full view, and watched our mo- tions with their sharp twinkling eyes, which seemed to sparkle with indignation at our intrusive audacity. The company was such as I never saw in a dancing Baloon before, and never expect to see again. Imagine a score of Esquimaux ladies, in seal-skin pantalettes (fur side outward), long boots of the same material, and ''monkey-jackets," as the sailors call them, composed of coarse cotton cloth obtained from the Danish store- house. The costume of the Esquimaux men was very little different from that of the females. The personal appearance of both sexes was more striking than pre^ possessing. Their short and broad faces, flat noses, wide mouths, and big round eyes, their long bodies and duck legs, their copperish complexions, their perpetual broad grins, their uncouth gesticulations, all these pe- culiarities together gave me the impression that they were the most extravagantly burlesqued specimens of humanity that were ever produced in Nature's work- shop. The Danish portion of our company made a somewhat better appearance ; but when the dancing commenced, the scene altogether was so exceedingly funny" that no description could do it justice. Every gentleman of the company selected a female partner, and then we executed some of the most original waltzes and polkas that ever were witnessed between the paral- 46 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE lels of 20^ and 80^ North latitude. The general impres- sion seemed to be that whoever could jump highest and fall hardest was the greatest adept in the graceful art of dancing ; and several of our ship's company, being young and active fellows, far surpassing both Danes and Esquimaux in agility, acquitted themselves much to their individual credit, and to the honor and glory of the nation which they represented. The ladies of the party expressed much admiration of my perform- ance at their ball, and several of them were pleased to remark, that if I would remain at Proven and open a dancing-school, I could, no doubt, obtain a very liberal share of public patronage. By the way, all the knowl- edge of dancing which I possessed must have been in- tuitive, as I had never received any instruction in the art, and my postures and motions, which elicited so much applause, were all of my own invention, and were most extravagantly original. Having greatly improved our stock of provisions, &c., at Proven, we took leave of our numerous friends and acquaintances at that place, got our brig under weigh, and steered for the port of Upernavick, the most north- ern Danish settlement on the coast of Greenland, in lat. 72° 40^ N., Ion. 56° W. from Greenwich. This village consists of some half a dozen comfortable wooden houses, occupied by the Danish settlers, a store-house, a carpenter's shop, a blacksmith's shop, and several Esquimaux huts composed of earth or clay. In all of these Danish settlements on the coast of Greenland, the population is partly composed of a mixed breed of GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 4t Danes and Esquimaux ; a '' cross" which, in the opinion of our astronomer Sonntag, is superior to the original stock on both sides. This opinion is not very compli- mentary to the Danes. They, to do them justice, could hardly be improved by an amalgamation with the Es- quimaux, who are, physically and intellectually, inferior to any race of people in the world, except some tribes of Africans, which are scarcely allowed, by several sci- entific writers, to take rank among the human species. At Upernavick we opened a trade with the settlers and natives, bartering knives, cheap jewelry, beads, &c., for furs and fresh provisions. We also obtained another team of dogs at this place, and engaged a Dane named Petersen, who resided here, to accompany us as an in- terpreter, to facilitate our communications with the more northern tribes of Esquimaux. Mr. Petersen made himself generally useful on board of the brig ; he was a skillful hunter, and a tolerable carpenter ; and, unlike our commander's pet, Hans Christian, and two or three others of our company, he had no repugnance for work, even when the labors to be performed were* out of the line of his prescribed duties. 48 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE CHAPTER V. WE LEAVE UPERNAVICK AND BID ADIEU TO THE HABIT- ABLE WORLD — THE DEVIL'S NIP — ICEBERGS — THEIR MAGNIFICENCE AND SUBLIMITY — ROCKS IMBEDDED IN THEIR SIDES — THIS PHENOMENON ACCOUNTED FOR — THE author's MOONLIGHT MUSINGS — A STRANGE FANCY — OUR BRIG IN DANGER — MIRACULOUS ESCAPE — TOWED BY AN ICEBERG — ARRIVAL AT HAKLUYT ISLAND — DR. KANE AND THE AUTHOR CATCH A COLD DUCK. Our departure from Upernavick was almost equiva- lent to a withdrawal from the inhabitable world ; for, beyond that point, all traces of civilization disappear and the dominions of the Ice-King are fairly entered. Sixty miles beyond Upernavick, we reach that bug- bear of arctic navigators, called Melville Bay, which occupies a semi-circular hollow in the coast of Green- land, extending from Cape York southwardly to the 74th parallel of north latitude, fifty miles beyond a point called the Devil's Thumb. This Bay is also called the Devil's Nip — as significative of its dangerous character. A great part of Melville Bay, namely, that portion which lies nearest to the land, is constantly frozen over, presenting a solid platform of ice from thirty to forty miles in breadth, and more than a hun- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 49 dred miles in length. From the outer or off-shore edge of this platform, huge masses or floes are broken by the action of the waves, and these floes, obeying the impulse of the winds and tides, are sometimes driven out seaward and sometimes floated in toward the land- ice, with which it comes in violent contact, producing a crash like '' the crack of doom." When the floes set off from the land-ice, an open space is left for the pas- sage of ships, if they choose to avail themselves of this precious but perilous opportunity. When a ship enters this dangerous passage, it must always be with the un- derstanding that a change of wind may bring the floe and land-ice together with a force sufficient to crush any oaken fabric to atoms. Instead of hugging the ice- bound shore of the bay, according to the usual practice of mariners who make this voyage, the Advance stood out to sea, taking a north-westerly course for Cape York, without entering Melville Bay at all. By this expedient we avoided the danger of being caught be- tween the masses of ice with which the bay is always covered, but we incurred other dangers almost or quite as great, for we encountered many bergs and other large bodies of ice, put into rapid motion by the currents proceeding from Lancaster and Smith's Sounds. We had the ill-luck, likewise, to be encompassed by a dense fog, which greatly increased the danger of collision with the icebergs that bore down upon us from seve- ral directions. The appearance of icebergs has been often described ; at least, attempts have often been made to describe 5 50 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE them ; but the truth is, they are indescribable. They are certainly the most magnificent and stupendous ob- jects in Nature. Even when stationary, they are un- rivalled in grandeur and splendor of appearance by any other terrestrial object, but their motions cannot fail to impress the spectator with astonishment and awe. The element of terror is not wanting to make them sublime ; for when they present themselves to the mariner, they are always suggestive of trouble and danger. I have seen some icebergs which appeared to ascend to the height of from two hundred to five hun- dred feet above the level of the water. Their appear- ance is often white, so that they resemble clouds at a distance. At other times they appear like mountains of glass, with many dark objects, rocks or boulders, masses of earth, &c., imbedded in their sides. The presence of huge rocks in floating icebergs is a phe- nomenon which requires some explanation. The polar icebergs are produced by glaciers or streams of ice, which have a very slow but constantly progressive mo- tion from the interior of Greenland to the sea. These ice-streams probably do not move, on an average, more than one fathom in a week ; however, they have suffi- cient force to take up and carry along large masses of rock which may happen to lie in their course. When the ice-current reaches the sea, a deposit is formed near the coast, the ice being heaped up in masses, which are constantly increased or enlarged by accessions of new ice from the glaciers ; and this icy-river, with the rocks it has taken up in its passage, still augments the heap, GRINNELL EXPLOKJCNG EXPEDITION. 51 until a mountain of ice is formed, and this mountain, being detached from the shore by the winds or waves, becomes a moving iceberg, the rocks and other foreign substances which it acquired in the process of its form- ation, being still a part of its component material. Sometimes, when I have been keeping watch on deck, and when an iceberg, glittering in the cold arctic moonlight, has swept past our vessel, I have imagined strange but not impossible things. I have supposed, for example, that the body of the lost navigator might be enclosed in that crystal mass — enshrined in a mov- able sepulchre of ice — and that, by some conceivable chance, the frozen corpse of the missing Captain might be thus conveyed to some region inhabited by civilized people, his own countrymen perhaps, or others who have been deeply interested in his fate. However un- likely such a thing might be to happen, it is not beyond the scope of possibility. If the arctic voyagers had forsaken their ships and betaken themselves to land travel, they might have sunk exhausted on the surface of a glacier ; in that case, their bodies would have been carried onward by the gelid current, and finally incor- porated with an iceberg. And, as large rocks are often transported in icebergs to far distant shores, the body of a man might change its locality by means of the same kind of conveyance. But this may appear to the reader to be a very idle speculation; much like Hamlet's attempt to show how the mortal remains of Julius Caesar^iglit be used to stop the bung of a beer- barrel. 5^ GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE On the 29th day of July, we found ourselves sur- rounded by drifting ice, which threatened to close in on us — an event which would probably have wrecked the brig and endangered the lives of all on board. On each side of us was a floe of vast extent and several feet in height above the water-line ; and we saw, with no little dread, that these floes were approaching each other, so that the lane of water in which the brig was sailing became narrower every moment. It was easy to foresee what would be the catastrophe if we did not escape from the contracting passage before the two floes came in actual contact. At this critical juncture, an iceberg, impelled by the current from Lancaster Sound, came drifting past us with a degree of speed which our vessel could not attain. We concluded to employ this berg as a tow-horse, and one of my com- panions and myself were sent out in a boat with a tow- line and ice-anchor to make fast. The ice-anchor used by us was similar in form to a pot-hook, or the letter S ; the line was attached to one extremity, and the other was inserted in a hole which we were obliged to cut in the ice with a mallet and chisel. I found it rather a ^'ticklish'' operation to cut a mortice in a moving ice- berg ; for, in the performance of this task, I was com- pelled to stand in the boat, which my comrade sculled and held as steadily as possible against the side of the berg. With much labor, we succeeded at last in get- ting our anchor firmly planted ; and, before the line was drawn taut, we got on board of the brig, which soon begun to bound forward like a wild horse, the iceberg # GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 55 dragging her along much better than a steam " tug" could have done it. In order to get ahead as fast as possible, as no time was to be lost, we drew in the tow- line and thus brought the brig under a projection of the berg, which was somewhat higher than our main-mast. We had scarcely placed ourselves in this position, when a curious crepitation above our heads was heard ; and, at the same time, a sort of shower of hail began to fall on deck. Lumps of ice as big as hen's eggs came rat- tling down ; and one of our fellows, while inconsiderately looking up to see where they came from, was knocked flat on his back by one of the ice-lumps, which struck him between the eyes. We now began to guess what was about to happen, and immediately commenced pay- ing out the tow-line as fast as possible, thus allowing the iceberg to shoot ahead of the brig ; and we did not escape from our dangerous neighbor too soon, for we had scarcely fallen back to the distance of thirty fathoms, when a mass of ice, weighing probably fifty tons or more, fell from the overhanging summit of the berg, with a thundering report, caused by the sudden fracture of so large a body. The huge fragment drop- ped into the sea at the very spot which the brig would have occupied, had we not cast off in time to avoid the impending danger. With considerable exertion, we ex- tricated the brig from her perilous position among the floating ice ; and, after the alarming adventure related above, we met with little obstruction until we doubled Cape Dudley Digges, in lat. 76°. We were now in a part of BaflSn's Bay called by the whalers North Water. 56 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE Here the ice seldom collects in any considerable quan- tity, and we were enabled to proceed on our voyage for several days without any impediment, passing Capes Athol, Abernethy, and Parry, and the islands of Dai- ry mple and Carys. On the 6th of August, we reached Hakluyt Island, lat. 77° 22^ This is the most westerly island of a group, lying in an indentation of the shore, between Capes Parry and Robertson. Hakluyt Island is dis- tinguished by a tall rocky peak, which rises to the height of about five hundred and eighty feet above the level of the water. In the neighborhood of this island, we shot two white bears on the ice. As we had not tasted any fresh meat for several weeks, the flesh of these animals was an acceptable article of food, though the flavor is rather stronger than delicate stomachs might tolerate. The liver of the polar bear is said to be poisonous ; and we had some evidence of the fact, for several of our men who partook of it were extremely ill afterward. At Hakluyt Island Dr. Kane and I went ashore in a boat. The place was frightfully desolate, but having made our boat fast to the shore, we walked a little way into the interior, to make observations. The island seemed to be a compound mass of rock and ice, and we soon became tired of a scene which presented so little variety. On our return to the boat, we found that the brig had set sail to avoid some drifting ice which threat- ened to surround her, and I was obliged to row the boat six miles before we overtook the Advance ; and then, GRINNELIi EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 5Y •while endeavoring to get on board, we had our boat " stove/' or crushed, between a large cake of ice and the side of the brig. The Doctor and I were both pretty well '' ducked/' being plunged head and ears in water which must have been near the temperature of melting ice. As I had been rowing hard for six miles, I was in a profuse perspiration when, by the smashing of the boat, I was plunged into the icy water; yet, strange to say, I did not take cold, nor did any of my subsequent exposure affect my health in the slightest degree. I never had a touch of catarrh or rheumatism while I was in the Arctic regions ; but since I returned to a temperate climate, I have seldom been quite free from one or the other of these diseases. These are facts which the medical men may find it somewhat diffi- cult to explain. 58 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE CHAPTER VI. MR. WILLIAM MORTON'S FAMOUS DISCOVERY — THE AU- THOR'S MISGIVINGS ON THE SUBJECT — VISIONARY MIS- TAKES AND HALLUCINATIONS OF ARCTIC TRAVELERS —BLOOD-STAINED SNOW — NO ACCOUNTING FOR THE PHENOMENON — WE ENTER SMITH'S SOUND AND MEET WITH GREAT OBSTACLES — THE AUTHOR'S PECULIAR HARDSHIPS — HIS UNPOPULARITY AMONG THE OFFICERS — HINTS FOR AMERICAN SEAMEN. Smith's Sound, or Smith's Strait^ (as Dr. Kane is pleased to call it), extends almost due northward from the Capes Alexander and Isabella to the " open polar sea," discovered by Mr. Morton, steward of the Advance^ in whose statement Dr. Kane appears to place unlimited confidence. However, as much depends on the correct- ness of Mr. Morton's statement, I will take the liberty to remark that he may have possibly been mistaken. The Arctic regions are a kind of "Dreamland," in which people are apt to imagine that they see more than is to be seen. We have an example of the kind in the famous discovery of the " Croker Mountains," by Cap- tain Ross. These mountains, supposed to be situated near the entrance of Lancaster Sound, never had any existence except in the imagination of the Captain just GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 59 named. And yet very few people suppose that Captain Ross intended to deceive. One effect of the extreme cold in the polar regions is to make some persons de- lirious; and, under the influence of their temporary phrenzy, such persons may persuade themselves that they see objects which have no real existence. I could give the reader many striking exemplifications of this curious fact ; but one instance, in particular, occurs to my remembrance. Once when Dr. Kane and I were traveling together in the interior of Greenland, the cold was so excessive that the Doctor partially lost his senses. At this time he fancied that we were pursued by a bear; and so strong was the impression on his mind, that he often referred to the circumstance after- ward, seeming to have no doubt that it was a veritable fact. Now, to my certain knowledge, no bear was seen while we were on that journey, and the one which the Doctor thought he saw must have been an ideal creation. Various circumstances incline me to suspect that Mr. Morton labored under a similar hallucination when he thought that he saw an open polar sea at the northern extremity of Smith's Sound. If such a sea exists, it is a settled fact that Greenland is an island, and not a peninsula or a part of an arctic continent. I do not think that the statement of one man should settle a question of so much importance to geographical science ; and, while I acquit Mr. Morton of any intention to mislead the public mind on this subject, I feel justified in warning future navigators not to place too much re- liance on his supposed discovery. 60 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE We reached Cape Alexander, at the entrance of Smith's Sound, on the 6th of August. At this cape, as well as on many other parts of the Greenland coast, there is a rocky embankment several hundred feet in height. The shelving rocks on the coast are usually covered with snow; but the precipices are bare, and present a hideously frowning and gloomy appearance* At some points, the snow on the lofty embankment is almost as red as blood, especially at a place called " Crimson Cliffs," near Cape Dudley Digges. I have heard that snow often assumes this appearance in cer- tain situations. Captain Ross observed the same phe- nomenon at various points on the shore of Melville Bay. Saursure witnessed a similar appearance of the snow on some parts of the Alps, and Martin observed the same thing at Spitzbergen. It seems, then, that the cause of the appearance, whatever it may be, is not confined to any particular locality. Curiosity induced me to examine the snow at " Crimson Cliffs,'' and, with the Captain's permission, I took a boat and went ashore for that purpose. The snow on these cliffs appeared to be stained by some foreign substance, and I expected to find the discoloration only on the surface ; but, to my great surprise, the same crimson hue was observable when I had dug through the snow to the depth of ten feet. At the same time, I satisfied myself that the coloring process did not begin at the bottom, for, in all cases, the lower stratum of snow, or that portion which was in immediate contact with the rock, was white. But for this circumstance, I might have suspected that GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 61 the unusual color of the snow is caused by some pecu- liarity of the rock on which it rests. I am sorry that I am unable to offer the reader any satisfactory expla- nation of this curious matter ; and I do not know that it has ever been explained in a manner to satisfy any rational inquirer. If Smith's Sound had been navigable, it would have offered us a passage in the direction we wished to travel, nearly to the northern parts of Greenland. But we soon ascertained that sailing up this Sound was an ex- tremely difficult undertaking ; for this piece of water is incumbered with ice at all seasons ; and, for much the greater part of the year, sailing is entirely out of the question. From the time we passed Cape Alexander, at the entrance of the Sound, the brig, for all purposes of progression, might as well have been a scow or a raft, or any other nautical contrivance without masts or sails. These appendages were now entirely useless, for there was not sea-room enough to make them serviceable. The only open track through which the brig could pass, was a narrow ''lead," or lane of water, near the shore, where the ice had been partially broken up by the waves. Our only mode of progres- sion was by "trailing" or "warping;'' a toilsome pro- cess, which consists in affixing a line or hawser to some object ahead, and dragging the vessel along by winding up the rope on the capstan. In this way, whole days were consumed in advancing a few miles, the men being exhausted by severe labor and discouraged by their tardy progress. I believe Captain Kane himself 6 62 Godfrey's narrative of the acknowledges that a full share of these laborious opera- tions devolved on me. In bodily strength and activity I was superior to my comrades ; and, owing to some peculiarity of constitution, I was but little affected by the cold, although I wore less clothing than any other man in the brig. I was generally selected, therefore, for the performance of those tasks which involved most toil and hardship ; and, by degrees, I became a fac totum; assistant-cook, journeyman carpenter, dog- trainer-general, sledge-driver, seal-skin breeches and boot-maker, bear and fox hunter; in short, Caleb Quotem himself had not a greater variety of occupa- tions. But, although I was acknowledged to be a useful member of our arctic commuuity, I never had the good fortune to become a favorite with our oflScers. Doubt- less my unpopularity among the aristocracy of the brig was, in some measure, the effect of a certain inflexibility of disposition, for which Yankees, in all situations, are more or less remarkable. The discipline of the Navy requires the common seamen to be humble and submis- sive to their superiors, viz., the oflScers ; and the latter often exact as much homage from the sailors as a king could expect to receive from his subjects. My early training, my feelings of independence and sense of equality, did not qualify me for the station in which I had thoughtlessly placed myself; and hence, without intending to offend the oflScers, I often excited their indignation and resentment. I felt little respect or affection for some official personages on board of the Advance^ and what I did not feel, I did nofe choose to GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 63 affect. However, I did my duty faithfully, and treated the oflScers with as much deference as I supposed the exigencies of the service to require. In this connec- tion, I feel constrained to say that the naval service of the United States, as well as that of Great Britain, must be grievously oppressive to any seaman or sub- ordinate oflScer who has that nice sense of honor, and that innate feeling of justice, which impel a man to resist tyranny and wrong. The spirit of freedom and independence is sadly out of place on the fore-deck, as the American navy is now constituted ; and I do not wonder that our national ships are manned chiefly by foreigners, as few natives of the American soil are base and slavish enough to submit to the hard and humiliat- ing requirements of our sea-service, unless they are privileged to walk the quarter-deck. 64 Godfrey's narrative of the CHAPTER YII. WE VISIT A DESOLATE ISLAND — MELANCHOLY SIGNS OF FORMER INHABITANTS — WE ARE FROZEN UP — EXTRI- CATE OURSELVES BY HARD LABOR — ANCHOR UNDER GOD- SEND LEDGE — TERRIFIC STORM — DESPERATE SITUA- TION OF THE ADVANCE — A BOLD EXPEDIENT — WE ARE AGAIN TOWED BY AN ICEBERG — OUR MIRACULOUS DE- LIVERANCE — PROBABLE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. A SMALL patcli of ground, or rock, (to speak more properly), called Littleton Island, lies near the entrance of Smith's Sound. August 6, we landed on this island, which is destitute of all vegetation except a certain kind of moss which grows on the rocks. Scarcely any thing was visible except masses of rocks and lumps of ice ; but, after walking a little way from the shore, we were surprised to find the ruins of Exquimaux huts. It is hard to imagine how any human beings could live in such a frightful place ; and there was reason to think that the former inhabitants of this desolate isle had perished either with hunger or cold. Skeletons were found lying on the ground, near the remains of the wretched dwellings. We thought it possible that one hundred and fifty or two hundred years had elapsed since the place was inhabited, as many of the bones had almost crumbled to dust. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 65 We erected a cairn on this island and deposited some provisions and other articles, which we thought might be useful on our return. On the Sth, we an- chored in a small cove, to which our Commander gave the name of Refuge Harbor ; where we were soon locked up by the ice. By cutting and sawing at the floes we succeeded, with immense labor, in opening a track, through which the brig was warped along the shore for several miles, until we reached an isolated rock, to which Dr. Kane gave the title of Godsend Ledge. I suppose he intended this name as a grateful acknowledgment of the protection which the rock afforded us from the drifting ice. Under the lee of this rock we remained in security until the 20th of August ; when the gale, which had been rather "stilBf" for several days, became a storm of extraordinary violence. Our situation now, with a rock on one side, and a raging sea, incumbered with huge fragments of ice, on the other, began to look very threatening. The chief danger was from the ice-billows, or large cakes and lumps of -ice which were tossed about by the surg- ing waves with such force as to make it appear that no vessel could live among them. Our position under the lee of the rock was comparatively safe ; but how was that position to be maintained? The brig had three several moorings : a chain-cable, a whale line and a ten-inch Manilla hawser. The latter was our chief dependence. The force of the rushing tide and that of the hurricane combined, put our fastenings to a severe test. The chain-cable was the first to give way ; it 6^ 66 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE parted with a sharp ear-torturing snap ; the brig fell back and hauled the whale line taut ; this rope stretched and chafed for a few minutes and then gave way with a sonorous twang. The Manilla cable now appeared to be " the thread of our destiny/' and a pretty stout one it was — but no string spun by mortal man could have withstood that racket. The reader may judge what forces we had to contend with, when he under- stands that they were suflScient to break a rope made in the best style, and of the best material, and as thick as a man's body. When that rope gave way, some of us thought of saying our last prayer ; but one or two, on " sober second thought,'' concluded to d — n our ill- luck ; and, in these orisons, all of those who had any hand in getting up the Expedition were remembered. After awhile, however, it seemed that there were some on board who were not fated to be drowned ; for although the brig was now at liberty to be smashed and go the bottom, if she thought proper, she preferred to keep afloat, and really she behaved wonderfully well when she was whirled out among the wildly pitching and plunging masses of ice, many of which were twice as large as the brig herself; and the way in which they knocked each other to pieces, showed what they would be certain to do if they came in collision with our vessel. I succeeded in reconciling myself to what seemed to be my certain doom ; for I considered the destruction of the brig and the loss of all on board as inevitable. At that moment of dreadful expectation, it aiforded me some comfort to reflect that few of our company were GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 6T married men, and that, consequently, there would be but few disconsolate widows made by our misadventure. I sincerely hoped that no future Expedition would be sent out to search for us ; for I had no desire that other lives should be sacrificed " to grace our fall and make our ruin glorious." Most fortunately for us, the brig was driven by the wind and waves shoreward, where an open lane of water between the land-ice and the "pack,'' gave us an opportunity to warp our vessel along and keep her away from the driving current. Northward, where the Sound becomes narrower, we could see the floating ice driven as it were, to a focus, by the tide ; there the large cakes of ice ground and dashed against each other, in a manner frightful to behold; and if the Advance should be forced into that chaotic whirlpool of ice and water, it appeared certain that she must be pulverized like a grain of corn in a grist-mill. In that case, not an individual on board could have possibly escaped to tell the s^ory, and our fate would have been as myste- rious as that of Sir John Franklin. The brig being now -adrift, and the probability being that she would " bring up " in some position from which she could not be extricated, all haads made preparation to leave her, at short notice. Every man put up his "kit,'' and made himself ready for a journey over the ice, as this appeared to be the only means of escape. In the meanwhile, we tried to make the best of existing circumstances. The gale was still very violent, and we were obliged to scud before it with a reefed top-sail; 68 GODFREY'S NARRATIYB OF THE as any attempt to withstand the forces which were operating on us, would merely have made matters worse. We passed a fearful night, in constant expectation of having our vessel dashed to pieces, and in the morning we found ourselves on the very edge of that dangerous whirlpool of ice and water, to which reference has pre- viously been made. At this point, the Sound makes a bend to the north-eastward, and the reaction of the current against a projection of land, called Cape Sabine, produced a violent commotion of the waves and their superincumbent masses of ice. To keep the brig out of this frightful vortex, we put out our heaviest anchor ; but this experiment succeeded so badly, that we soon had reason to wish it had not been tried. As soon as the course of the brig was arrested by the anchor, the pressure of the ice, which Y,as sent against our devoted vessel by the resistless force of the current, made a complete wreck of the sternpost and rudder, and the work of destruction would soon have extended to other parts of the brig, had we not immediately cast loose the chain-cable, and permitted the vessel to drive ahead, by leaving her anchor at the bottom of the Sound. Once more at the mercy of the wind and tide, the brig dashed on among the ice-breakers, rasping her side against a floe forty feet thick, and soon knock- ing her starboard bow against a lump of ice as big as a church. By this accident some of our forward wood- work was smashed to small pieces, and about a dozen cart-loads of ice were deposited on our deck. Just ahead of us, now appeared half a dozen icebergs, of GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 69 Tarlous shapes and sizes, among which the current vrould soon carry us, and a collision with which appeared to be unavoidable. Several of these bergs wore a very threatening aspect, as their tops projected far over the water, and produced the impression that they must soon turn over or break off at the summit. These tricks are very common with icebergs, and we had already made several narrow escapes from the effects thereof. The reader may form some idea of the danger which mariners might incur from the sudden whirling over of an iceberg more than two hundred feet high. The peril is scarcely less when a large fragment is sepa- rated from the top of a berg and falls into the sea. Our brig has often passed under projections of icebergs which extended a hundred feet beyond the base line, at an elevation far above our mast-heads ; and in some cases it is necessary to go under these dangerous pent- houses, when the "lead," or lane of open water hap- pens to pass close to the berg. On the occasion I am now speaking of, we adopted an expedient which had been successful once before : steering our course directly for an iceberg, and send- ing out a boat to fasten an ice- anchor in the side of the floating mountain. The berg, having thus been made to take us in tow, pulled us along briskly, and besides kept an open track for us, by pushing aside the smaller masses of ice which obstructed our path. Neverthe- less we were obliged to keep close in the rear of the berg which was dragging us, because the track which it opened was soon closed again, by the drifting ice 70 Godfrey's narrative of the from each side. Other bergs likewise pressed in upon us so closely, that one of our boats would have been stove, had we not removed it from the davits. At one time we were between two bergs, whose perpendicular walls were higher than our masts, and they were ap- proaching each other so rapidly, that we deemed it almost impossible to escape before they should come together. In fact, the stern of the Advance was scarcely clear of them, when they came in contact with a frightful crash, breaking and grinding off huge frag- ments, and half demolishing each other by the force of the encounter. Nothing but the daring expedient of attaching our brig to an iceberg, could have saved us from total destruction. Supposing that the Advance had been crushed between those two icebergs, which came in such formidable collision with each other, is it not pro- bable that, like " the cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces," &c., we would have left "not a wreck be- hind?" Every spar, plank, and piece of timber, and every man on board would have been overwhelmed in the icy ruins; and every vestige of the brig and its inhabitants would, in all likelihood, have been hidden forever under the frozen surface of Smith's Sound. The broken ice which swallowed us up would soon have become reconsolidated, and humane adventurers coming in search of us, might have passed over our mortal remains, without suspecting that we were em- tombed in an icy sepulchre below. And is it very un- likely that Captain Franklin and his company may have GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. Yl met with a similar accident, and that they are now awaiting the call of the last trumpet in a crystal mau- Boleum, the locality of which will never be known to mortal man ? The storm which we experienced in Smith's Sound was sufficient to have annihilated forty ships ; and our escape was a mere fortuitous event, or a providential deliverance, which would not be likely to occur again in the same circumstances ; for chance or Providence seldom favors those who expose themselves to unneces- sary hazards for unattainable objects. 72 Godfrey's narrative of the CHAPTER VIII ABATEMENT OF THE STORM — REPAIRING DAMAGES — DR. KANE AND SEVERAL OTHER PERSONS GET ADRIFT — THE AUTHOR GOES TO THER ASSISTANCE — A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY LOST — THE COMMANDER'S PROJECTS — A CONSULTATION OP THE WHOLE BRIG'S COMPA- NY — THE AUTHOR MAKES A SPEECH WHICH ASTON- ISHES AND DISPLEASES THE OFFICERS — HE IS SUS- PECTED OF A MUTINOUS DISPOSITION. During the terrific scene which I have attempted to describe in the last chapter, several of our crew were exposed to still greater dangers than those which threatened the whole of the brig's company. When- ever the vessel came in collision with the land-ice, some of US were sent out with lines and ice-anchors, with the hope of making the brig fast. In the performance of this duty, we were obliged to get out on the icy plat- form, and sometimes on movable cakes or lumps of ice, which heaved and tossed with the motion of the sea, making it almost impossible for us to maintain our foot- ing ; and a slip, in such circumstances, might have been fatal. Bonsall slipped between two fragments and nar- rowly escaped a " nip.'* Myself and three others got GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. ^3 adrift on an ice-cake, and were compelled to weather the storm in this singular barque, as all our efforts to get on board of the brig were fruitless. As a finale to this storm-scene, I may mention that the Advance was driven, peak foremost, on an inclined plane of ice, which formed the side of a stationary berg. Here, with the rising and falling of the waves, she alternately ascended the plane, falling on her beam-ends, and slipped back again to the water, assuming her right position. All this time masses of ice were thrown against her side, by the force of the waves, with a con- cussion which made her timbers creak, and convinced every man on board that she could not stand this racket for half an hour. But our anti-drowning destiny pre- vailed ; the wind gradually subsided, and the violence of the waves perceptibly abated. While the brig was performing her maneuvers on the sloping side of the berg, I and my three companions who had been adrift on an ice-cake, were carried by the current to another part of the same inclined plane ; which, with much hard scrambling, we ascended, and embracing the opportu- nity when the brig was thrown on her side, we con- trived to get aboard. After the agitation of the waters had ceased and we had taken some rest and refreshment, efforts were made to place the brig in a safer situation. The car- penter made some necessary repairs, as the hull of the vessel had been considerably damaged in her late strug- gle. We then recommenced the labor of warping, and thus managed to proceed northward, along the edge of 7 74 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE the land-ice, five or six miles. Dr. Kane, Mr. Brooks, and two of the seamen, in the mean time, took a boat and went out to make explorations, leaving the brig under the command of Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter. They were obliged to leave their boat, which became entangled among some floating ice; and the captain and his companions came back on a floe which the wind was driving away from the land-ice, to which the brig at this time was moored. I took a boat, and rowed hard after the floe, which seemed disposed to abduct our commander and the gentlemen who w^ere with him. The ice- cake, impelled by the tide, bore them away so rapidly that I almost despaired of being able to over- take them ; but, by dint of great exertion, I succeeded in sculling the boat up against the floe and holding it there until they all got on board. Had this floe taken the Doctor off", I think it likely that he would have reached " the open polar sea'' discovered by Mr. Morton, or some other distant locality, from which it would have been no easy matter to return. Before Dr. Kane left the brig, he had given orders to have every thing ready for sailing, and it was gen- erally supposed on board that he intended to move homeward ; as he must have been satisfied by this time that it was utterly impossible to ascend Smith's Sound much further in such a vessel as the Advance. Such a ffeat could be accomplished only by a steam propeller, built or fitted up expressly for the purpose. Had we sailed immediately, the Advance might have been brought out of the Sound, for strong south-eastern Pij. ;^ i|)| . GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. IT Winds had opened the ice sufficiently for the purpose. But Dr. Kane, at this time, appears to have turned his attention to land travel ; and with this object in view, he concluded to place the brig in some convenient har- bor, which might serve as a starting point for the sledge parties which he intended to send out further to the North. Petersen, the Danish interpreter, and Wilson were sent out to look for some eligible locality in which the brig might pass the winter. At the expiration of eight-and- forty hours they returned without having discovered any quarters which might answer our purpose. They reported that they had seen tracks of bears and rein- deer, and they had found a skull, which appeared to have belonged to a musk-ox ; but while on this excur- sion they had met with no living animals except a few seals. We now held a grand consultation, in which all hands on board (common sailors not excepted), were invited to take a part ; the object being to decide what course it was most expedient for us to pursue. Some of our fellows were more or less home-sick, and I dare say they would have given their vote for an immediate return to the United States, p-romising themselves more comfort in the arms of their wives and doxies than in the chill- ing embraces of the polar seas. But our more expe- rienced seamen had sense enough to know that they were expected to coincide in opinion with the officers ; they were therefore very backward about expressing any views until they should learn what might be the prevailing sentiment on the quarter-deck. I, being but 7* 78 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE a "green-horn," comparatively speaking, was not con- versant with the usages and etiquette of the naval ser- vice in such cases as that which now claimed our atten- tion ; and, when requested to declare what appeared to me to be the proper line of conduct for men in our situation to pursue, I frankly stated that I could see no use in proceeding any further on the voyage. "As for Captain Franklin,'' said I, "no doubt he is safe in heaven, if he was as brave a commander and as good a man as the books and newspapers represent him ; and if we desire to follow him to that celestial harbor, we can do so by a safer and more agreeable route than through the polar seas. Should we succeed in finding his dead body, something would be gained, I confess ; for public curiosity might then be satisfied, and no pre- tense would be left for future adventurers to undertake this dangerous voyage on the score of humanity. But even these good efi'ects, such as they are, would not follow our discovery, unless we could return and com- municate that discovery to the world. Should we suc- ceed in reaching that point where this veteran arctic navigator and his hardy companions could not live, is it not likely that we should perish as they did ? The same circumstances which were fatal to them might be equally so to us. And if we should share the fate of our unfortunate predecessors, of what avail would our discoveries be to the world, even if we should ascertain how, when, and where Captain Franklin and his com- pany perished ? " As for any other motives for continuing our ex- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 79 plorations in these regions, I know of none which can be expected to have much influence on the subordinate members of this expedition. Granting that it would be a glorious achievement to plant the American flag on the pivot of the earth's axis, we who handle the ropes would seldom be mentioned in connection with that achievement, wherefore the expectation of fame or glory cannot be a very great inducement with us. Be- sides, I can scarcely think it possible that any man on this deck, after all the experience we have had, believes that there is any chance of reaching the North Pole by this route, and with such means of travel as we possess. I do not know what other discoveries of importance may be contemplated ; but, until I am better instructed, I entertain the notion that the wisest course would be to turn the head of the Advarice southward, and either to steer homeward, or to take another route by the way of Lancaster Sound, where we may possibly be able to make some progress ; whereas, on the present track, there is no likelihood that the brig will ever be con- ducted fifty miles further to the North.'' I had been invited to express my opinion, and I did so with a degree of freedom which seemed to give some offense to the officers. However, I received only a little browbeating to correct my presumption, and then the consultation proceeded, with all due formality, until it was finally resolved that we should continue to warp the brig northward until we should find a convenient winter harbor. I had reason to suspect afterward, that my incon- 4 80 Godfrey's narrative of the siderate speech at this consultation was regarded by some of the officers as a sly demonstration of mutiny ; and Captain Kane himself seems to have listened to some such suggestions, as he afterward gave me credit, on several occasions, for more self-will than was be- coming in " a man before the mast." The Captain misconstrued me somewhat ; but I do confess that I was not prepared, at all points, to fill a station in which humility and submissiveness were the most desirable and indispensable qualifications. ( GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 81 CHAPTER IX. THE ADVANCE PROCEEDS FURTHER NORTHWARD — HARD WORK FOR THE SAILORS — THE AUTHOR AND SEVERAL OTHERS OF THE CREW START ON A SLEDGE JOURNEY — THEY BREAK THROUGH THE ICE— SEVERE SUFFER- INGS — HYDROPATHY — SLEEPING IN ICE — TROUBLE- SOME COOKING — ASCENT OF AN ICEBERG — A SINGU- LAR FOX-HUNT — A PRIZE SECURED GREAT RE- JOICINGS — ACCOUNT OF THE BLUE FOX — ITS VALUABLE FUR, AC. According to the resolutions which had been passed at the meeting of officers and crew, on the deck of the Advance^ preparations were now made to move north- ward. The only way in which the brig could be urged along, was by the process called "warping," which I have described in a former chapter. When we were happy enough to discover a lead, or crevice in the ice, the men were sent out with a line and ice-anchor to make an attachment, forty or fifty yards ahead ; then, by winding up the line around the capstan, the brig was dragged along, until she neared the point where the anchor was fixed ; another fastening was then made further ahead, and so the work proceeded. This *' warping'' is one of the most toilsome operations that 82 Godfrey's narrative of the can be imagined, and so slow withal, that it produces an impression on the minds of the men that they are working to little or no purpose ; and this is very discouraging. The height of the ice above the level of the water was from seven to fifteen feet; the lead or lane of open water was often so narrow that the brig could scarcely squeeze through ; and sometimes the floating ice-cakes would press on us so as to lift the vessel completely out of the water ; then, as the floes would fall back again, the brig would sink down again to her proper position. The hull of the Advance was very much racked and strained, of course, hj such rough treatment ; and, as staunch as she was, she could scarcely have held together, if she had been subjected for any length of time to such severe bufi*eting. In less than twenty-four hours after we had missed the opportunity which had ofi'ered to us for getting out of the Sound, the wind changed, and the floes set in to- ward the shore, closing up every avenue of open water, and locking us up in that dreary locality, from which we had neglected to escape at the right time. It now became necessary to cut a passage for the brig, in order to enable her to proceed northward in search of a harbor. All hands were employed in saw- ing and splitting the ice, for the purpose of opening a canal. By these means we were enabled to proceed at the rate of about three quarters of a mile per day ; a degree of speed which, for " progressive Yankees," was not at all satisfactory. In this state of things, the commander determined to send out a party to make GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 83 observations and to deposit provisions at different points, for the use of such exploring parties as might afterward be sent from the brig. The persons selected for this duty were McGarry, Bonsall, Biley, Whipple, Baker, and myself. We took a sled, not to ride in, observe, but as a means of conveyance for our baggage and provisions, we ourselves being the draught animals. Our provisions consisted of salted meat and ship-bis- cuit ; our baggage comprised some wearing apparel and sleeping fixtures, such as buffalo skins and blankets. The temperature at this time was 30° below zero. In order to keep ourselves warm, we traveled at a pretty rapid pace, when the route was favorable ; but the ice over which we journeyed was, for the most part, very rough, having been broken up repeatedly by the tides and the collisions of the floes ; the fragments, after- ward becoming cemented together by the frost, formed ^'hummocks,'* or hillocks and ridges, varying in height from two to ten feet. The reader will perceive that dragging a heavily-laden sledge over such an uneven surface was no child's play. In some cases we were compelled to unload the sledge before we could get it over these obstructions ; after which, it was ne- cessary for us to reload. In places where the water had recently been open, new ice had now begun to form. This new ice, called "bay ice'* by arctic sailors, was not yet strong enough to bear the weight of our sledge. Of this circumstance we were not aware until, while attempting to cross a lead which had lately been frozen over, the sledge broke 84: GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE through, and all its lading, including our bedding, was completely saturated. We now had an opportunity to test the merits of the water-cure practice, by sleeping in wet blankets ; and, as several of our party had touches of the rheumatism, the occasion was particu- larly suitable for a trial of the hydropathic experiment. At night we found the buffalo-skin bags, which had been provided for us to sleep in, so completely froze up, that it was impossible to effect an entrance until we had beaten the skins with sticks, to break up the ice. My rheumatic comrades were apprehensive of some very unpleasant consequences from sleeping in these frozen sacks ; but they comforted themselves, (as Jack tars often do, when in aiBiction,) with hard swear- ing. This exercise soon appeared to afford a genial warmth to their whole system, and they sunk to rest with the tranquillity of infant innocence ; having un- burdened their consciences by damning all arctic ex- peditions, and all who ever took a part in contriving them. Our beds were spread on the naked ice, but our own vital heat, being confined in the sacks which enclosed us, was sufficient to keep us from freezing. Although our sleeping bags were generally damp when we first got into them, the sensation of cold lasted but a short time ; the moisture which surrounded us was converted into a sort of steam, which made us comfortable during the remainder of the night, although the external air was colder, by many degrees, than it ever is in our own country. During the excursion I am now speaking of, GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 85 we passed six nights in the manner I have described, with no shelter above us but the sky, and with nothing to protect us from the cold but our buffalo-skin sleeping bags. We found it most convenient to eat our provi- sions raw, for the operation of cooking was tedious and troublesome. When we made a fire for culinary pur- poses, we burned blubber or "slush;'' the last-named article is the grease which has been boiled out of meat, and which constitutes a large part of the fuel used for cooking purposes by arctic travelers. The Esquimaux do their cooking over large lamps filled with the melted blubber of the seal or walrus. On the exploring tour which I am now speaking of, we were obliged to cook in the open air ; and this is no easy matter when the temperature is from 40° to 50° below zero, as it was all the time we were absent from the brig. Sometimes, when we thought our coffee-pot had been over the flame long enough to boil, we examined the water and found it frozen ! It generally required two or three hours to make coffee or to prepare a little broth. In accordance with our orders, we made a depot of provisions about seventy-five miles from the place where we left the brig. To secure the articles deposited from the bears, we placed large stones around and over them, and afterward poured water on the pile, by which means the stones became firmly cemented together, as the water poured on them froze immediately. We generally traveled on the frozen surface of the Sound, but our deposits of provisions were made on points or projections of the land. About twenty-five miles from '8 86 Godfrey's n^^rrative of the Cape Frederick, where our first cache, or deposit, was made, we came to a tongue of land, where we made another. From this point we still proceeded north- ward, crossing a great glacier, or river of ice, which extends far into the interior of Greenland. These ice rivers are among the greatest curiosities in the world. They have a regular flow, like streams of water, though their motion is so slow that they do not advance more than eight or ten inches in a day. The ice of the glacier is of a mushy consistency ; its progressive motion is owing partly to the inclination of the ground over which it passes toward the coast, and partly to the pressure from behind. These glaciers are the parents of the icebergs, as I have mentioned in another part of this work. They are instrumental in conveying immense quantities of ice from the interior of Greenland to the sea ; and, as the stock seems to be inexhaustible, it is probable that Greenland itself is little else than a mass of ice. It has furnished mate- rial for icebergs, perhaps, ever since the world was created, and will continue to stock the market with the same commodity as long as Nature's laboratory shall continue in operation. After crossing two glaciers, we proceeded about eighty miles further north before we arrived at another point of land suitable for making a provision depot. Here we stopped for some hours to rest ourselves and indulge in the rare luxury of a cooked dinner. While our chocolate was coming up to the boiling point, I re- quested McGarry, Bonsall, and Riley to accompany GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 8T me to the summit of a stationary iceberg in the neigh- borhood, which was about one hundred feet in height, as I hoped, from that elevation, to see if there was any land ahead where another deposit of provisions might be made. The iceberg which we used as our observatory on this occasion, was one of those which, after floating about for awhile, run aground at places where the water is too shallow to keep them adrift. This sort of acci- dent often happens to the bergs, and when they become fixed it is most likely that they remain in that predica- ment for ages, or forever. Hence many immovable mountains of ice are seen on the coast of Greenland, and some of them are of magnificent dimensions. To a person who is unacquainted with the composition of icebergs, it may appear strange that any man should be able to climb to the top of one a hundred feet high. Those who have experienced the difficulty of walking on the level surface of a sleety pavement, might con- cider the ascent or descent of a steep ice-hill, as high as a church steeple, as almost an impossibility. This is not the case, however ; for I have often found it as easy to walk up the side of an iceberg, as to ascend a grass-covered acclivity. A few words will suffice to explain this matter : the reader has been told that ice- bergs are produced by accumulations from the glaciers, or rivers of ice, which disembogue on the coasts of Greenland and other polar regions. The ice of these glaciers is mixed with a large proportion of foreign matter, such as earth, stones, rocks, &c., and all these, 88 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE of course, become component parts of the icebergs, imparting to them a degree of roughness which makes it possible to walk on their surfaces with very little difficulty. When we had reached the summit of the berg to which reference has been made above, we were enabled to look ahead to the distance of fifty or sixty miles; and this view satisfied us that it would be useless to proceed further in that direction. There was no pro- jection of land within that whole distance ; and the ice, over which we would have to travel, was an endless succession of hills and hummocks, which for sledge traveling made the route altogether impracticable. Besides, aS we had exhausted the stock of provisions which we had been sent out to deposit at different points, the main object of our journey was at an end. We might have gone on and discovered "the open polar sea,'' which Dr. Kane mentions on the authority of Mr. Morton, or we might have discovered that no such sea has any objective existence ; but the truth is, we were heartily tired of our jaunt, which had been, from beginning to end, a freezing purgatory, that was so much worse than the fiery one we have heard of, because the former was not likely to introduce us to a paradise. Had we succeeded in rubbing our noses against the north pole, our statement of the fact might have been doubted or denied after we came back ; for who w^ould be willing to give a party of common sailors credit for an achievement which many distinguished cap- tains had attempted without any approximation to sue- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 89 cess ? But apart from these cogent reasons for turning back, it may be mentioned that we had not provi- sions enough to justify us in traveling north- ward three days longer ; and we had ascertained by our look-out from the top of the iceberg that we might travel that long without making any discovery of the least importance. Living so long on salt ^^junk" and dry biscuit had made us all qualmish at the stomach ; and we felt such a longing after fresh meat and vegetables that I believe we should have made up our minds to travel further toward the pole at all hazards, had there been any reason to suppose that we should find a butcher's shop and market-garden in that vicinity. On the morning after we had made up our minds to return to the brig, I had just emerged from my sleeping-bag and was about to draw on my seal-skin boots, when Bonsall, who had " turned out*' earlier than the others to prepare a dish of coifee, startled us all with the exclamation, " A fox ! a fox !" at the same moment he snatched up a gun and fired at the animal, slightly wounding him in the flank. My imagination immediately presented the delicious odor of fresh meat ; and although I was but half dressed, having no coat on my back and no boots on my feet, I started in pursuit of Reynard, who was limping away as expeditiously as his wound would permit. I was so eager in the chase that I actually forgot that I was running over the ice in my stocking feet. After a race of more than a mile in length, I overtook the wounded fox and caught him by the brush, but he turned his 90 Godfrey's narrative of the head and bit my fingers so severely that I was obliged to relinquish my grasp of his tail; however, it was no part of my design to give him up, as I was already feasting, in imagination, on his carcass. I kicked him several times in rapid succession with my unbooted foot ; till, at last, he caught the toe of my stocking in his mouth and held on with invincible resolution. I en- deavored to disengage my foot, but the fox still main- tained his hold and finally made a prize of my stocking by pulling it ofi", leaving my naked right foot in imme- diate contact with the ice. I now became desperate, resolving to put an end to the contest by one masterly movement. Thus heroically determined, I threw my- self on the body of my antagonist, clasped him in my arms, and gave him a squeeze which he was not cunning enough to construe as an evidence of my afi'ection ; for while I lifted him up and pressed him to my bosom, he dropped the stocking from his mouth and made a snap at my nose, which would certainly have demolished that feature if it had taken efi'ect. But I had the advan- tage of him now, and soon placed him on my shoulder in a position which prevented him from using his teeth to the detriment of my person. With as much joy and triumph as Wellington must have felt after the battle of Waterloo, I now returned to my companions, who raised a shout of congratulation at my approach. There was but one drawback on my perfect felicity : the toes of my naked foot were severely frost-bitten ; but until my comrades called my attention to the subject, I really was not aware that I was walking barefoot over GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 91 the polar ice. My mental excitement caused me to overlook my bodily suffering. I had secured a prize which made all of our party inexpressibly happy ; and, as a matter of course, I was the happiest one of the party. By the way, I fear it will be difficult to make the reader comprehend how the capture of a fox could produce so much happiness. No man can sympathize with our pleasurable feelings on this occasion unless he has experienced that indescribable and almost insup- portable craving after a change of diet which is felt by mariners who have subsisted for many months on those nauseous sea-messes which, by constant repetition, become as displeasing to the palate as they are preju- dicial to health. Nature, in her own defense, produces a strong feeling of repugnance to those salted meats which are used on shipboard, when the use of these becomes deleterious, by inducing that horrid disease called scurvy, by which vessels which make long voy- ages are sometimes almost depopulated. * The fox we had caught belonged to a variety which, I believe, is peculiar to Northern climes, viz : the blue fox. The flesh is very savory ; at least, it appeared so to us, after our long abstinence from fresh meat. The fur of this variety is very fine and valuable ; a single skin being worth at least twenty dollars. 92 Godfrey's narrative op the CHAPTER X WHAT OUR SLEDGE PARTY DISCOVERED — NO OPEN POLAR SEA — ALARMING CONDITION OF THE TRAVELERS — AN AUDACIOUS FOX — THE AUTHOR'S POWER OF ENDUR- ANCE—SEVERAL OF HIS COMPANIONS IN DESPAIR — THEY ARE IN DANGER OF FREEZING TO DEATH — THEIR INCLINATION TO GO TO SLEEP — SUFFERING MAKES THEM INSANE — PROVISIONS EXHAUSTED — MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION. On this journey, the particulars of which were nar- rated in the preceding chapter, we must have traveled nearly two hundred miles further north than our brig ever proceeded. I judge that we went beyond the 82d degree N. latitude. In the accomplishment of this task, we endured hardships which I have scarcely at- tempted to describe, because no description could afford any idea of the reality ; and yet the journey was without any results of a satisfactory nature. Say that we traveled one hundred and seventy-five miles, and saw fifty miles further from the top of the iceberg ; this would make the whole extent of our exploration two hundred and twenty-five miles ; and in the whole of that space, we made no discovery of any importance to science or humanity. We saw nothing, in fact, but a GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 95 wilderness of ice and barren rocks, without any appear- ance of vegetable life ; unless an occasional patch of moss, attached to a rock, deserves to be considered as an exception. And yet I think we must have seen beyond that point which Mr. Sonntag, in his map, makes the locality of the Polar Sea discovered by Mr. Morton. I believe my eyes are as good as those of Mr. Morton, and I honestly confess that I saw nothing of the kind. The ice became more compact as we ad- vanced, and I saw nothing to make me suspect that there was open water ahead. When we started on our journey back to the brig, my companions were almost in a disabled condition. Several of them were afflicted with snow-blindness, all w^re more or less frost-bitten, and they were so enfee- bled by the benumbing influences of the atmosphere, that they staggered like persons intoxicated. My iron constitution, (for which God be thanked,) made me almost insensible to the cold, and the consequences thereof affected me in a very slight degree. During the whole time of my sojournment in the arctic regions, I never experienced any inconvenience from snow- blindness, rheumatism, catarrh, or any other disease incidental to the climate. And yet none of my com- panions of the voyage can deny that I was more ex- posed to the rude breath of the North, than any other man of the brig's company ; for I was always in good health and ready for duty, whereas not another man on board was prepared, at all times, for active service. The fox I had caught was almost totally consumed 96 Godfrey's^ narrative of the at a single meal by my comrades and myself. Our provisions had become very scarce ; but we determined to suffer for want almost to the last extremity, rather than disturb the deposits of provisions we had made on our outward journey. While we were making pre- parations to return, all my comrades, except Whipple, appeared to be much dispirited. The arctic breezes, operating like the " chill penury," which the poet Gray speaks of, seemed to have repressed their noble rage, and frozen the genial current of their souls ; for, Whipple excepted, they had no longer vital energy enough to comfort and sustain themselves by hard swearing. Whipple, whose temper was all pepper and mustard, would occasionally pause in his labor, and thrashing his arm across his breast to restore warmth and animation to his system, would pour forth a torrent of maledictions, with so many allusions to the fiery lake and other Tartarean scenery, that I could almost imagine at such times that we had suddenly been trans- ported to a much warmer climate. These outbursts evidently revived the drooping spirits of our whole party. On the second day after we began to retrace our steps, a blue fox had the audacity to join our company. He came trotting along by the side of the sledge with perfect composure ; but although he was evidently un- acquainted with man, his tameness was not shocking to me. On the contrary, I was delighted with his familiar and confiding disposition, and it was really with great reluctance that I prepared to give him an GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 9T illustration of human treachery and barbarity, by pre- senting my rifle, and planting a bullet in his unsuspi- cious breast. The flesh of this victim of misplaced confidence afi'orded us another grateful repast, and contributed, in a high degree, to invigorate and re- animate our poor fellows, who could scarcely be per- suaded to continue their march. Several of the party were ready, every moment, to throw themselves on the ice and take their last sleep in life, preliminary to that sleep " which knows no waking.'* The efi*ect of intense cold is sometimes to make men perfectly reckless of all consequences, when their half congealed blood induces that lethargic feeling which, if not resisted, is sure to be fatal. When several persons are traveling together in the polar regions, it often requires the constant ex- ertions of some of the party to keep others from falling into that sleep which is more than '' the image of death'' — for it is death itself! Whipple and I, being more alive than the rest of our party, were obliged to undertake the responsible duty of keeping the others in motion ; and, in order to " stir them up," we were obliged to administer some pretty sound cuffs and many a hard shake, which barely suf- ficed, however, to make them move on mechanically, like people who had lost all power of volition. In ad- dition to all the trouble of taking care of our comrades, Whipple and I were compelled to draw the sledge, and to perform all other labors which had hitherto been distributed among the whole party. As soon as we came to a convenient place, we made an excavation in 9 98 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE a deep snow drift, to afford our company some shelter from the wind, which was now blowing with a keenness that seemed to cut like a razor. We then put our sick comrades in their sleeping sacks, to make them as comfortable as possible, and enable them to enjoy a re- freshing nap without the risk of freezing; and, after thus disposing of them for the present, we proceeded to kindle a fire of pork-fat and blubber, in order to prepare a warm supper for our invalids by the time they should wake up. We cut up the fox which I had shot in the morning, and which by this time was frozen, and as stiff and hard as a piece of wood. In about three hours we succeeded in making a fine kettle of fox-broth, in which I crumbled a suitable quantity of ship biscuit, and then awakened my comrades and called them to partake of the mess. The refreshing slumber they had enjoyed, and the good warm supper, made a strange revulsion in their feelings, and a corresponding change in their behavior. They had completely re- covered from their late torpor, and now became excited to a degree which resembled intoxication or insanity. They sang scraps of old songs, uttered wild exclama- tions, and gesticulated violently; but as their excite- ment appeared to be pleasurable, we made no attempt to check it. However, there was something haggard and ghastly in their mirth which shocked me. It was the first time that I had ever seen exposure to extreme cold operate in this way ; but, on many subsequent oc- casions, I saw temporary madness induced by this cause. The effect seems to proceed from a strong effort of na- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 99 ture to produce a reaction in the physical system when the vital energies thereof have been nearly prostrated. During the remainder of our journey, two-thirds of the party were in a lunatic condition ; but their mental aberration was, no doubt, a blessing in disguise, as it made them more insensible of suffering ; and this un- natural excitement was, perhaps, the only thing which could have enabled them to hold out until we reached the brig. *^ On the next evening we arrived at a spot where we found a considerable quantity of dried moss, which was very useful to us as fuel, as our slush and blubber had become rather scarce. Our bread (ship biscuit) was likewise nearly exhausted, so that we were obliged to live chiefly on salt pork and pemmican. Occasionally, as we traveled onward, we came to places where the rocks afforded a sort of vegetable substance, a species of lichen, which we collected and boiled as a substitute for cabbage or greens. The taste of this article w^as too much like senna to be palatable. As we had nearly used up all our provisions, the sled was comparatively light, a circumstance which af- forded us an opportunity to give our feeble comrades an occasional ride — one at a time. The man who rode was placed in a sleeping-bag, to prevent him from freezing ; an accident which, but for such precaution, would be very likely to happen, v^hen the limbs of the individual were no longer in active use. For several days after we started on our return trip, I thought it impossible to get all our people back to the brig alive. 100 Godfrey's narrative of the But, thanks to God, we succeeded in doing so at last. We had been absent twenty-seven days. During the whole of that time the thermometer was from 30° to 40° below zero; our breath froze and formed icicles on our beards and mustaches ; the perspiration from our bodies produced a moisture in our sleeping-bags which became ice as soon as we left them, and when we were about to "turn in" for the night we were obliged to encase ourselves in these icy envelopes. For nearly a whole month we never warmed ourselves at a fire, as the fires we could make were scarcely large enough to boil our cofiee, and the heat afforded bv them could not be felt at the distance of one foot. Had the experiment not been tried, it would be hard to believe that any human creature could survive so much exposure to cold; and when we consider how often persons are frozen to death in our own country, where the tempera- ture is seldom below zero, it is really a very surprising matter that arctic sailors should exist for weeks to- gether constantly exposed to an atmosphere* from 40° to 50° colder than it ever is in the United States, Had we possessed fifty lives each, we endured enough, on this journey, to destroy them all, and I am com- pelled to regard our preservation as a miracle. GRINNRLL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 101 CHAPTER XI. OTTE, SLEDGE PARTY RETURN TO THE BRIG — WE FIND THE ADVANCE IN HER WINTER HARBOR — PREPARA- TIONS FOR THE DARK SEASON — STRANGE FANCY OF THE DOGS — THEIR TROUBLESOME BEHAVIOR — WHY THEY LIKE HUMAN SOCIETY — THE AUTHOR'S OBJEC- TIONS TO DOGS AS DRAUGHT ANIMALS— ANOTHER SLEDGE JOURNEY — HORRORS OF THE ARCTIC WINTER — DR. Kane's warlike demonstration against the RATS. Contrary to all reasonable expectation, we got back to the brig without the loss of a single man, though several of our party were very ill for some days after- ward. During our absence the brig had been placed in her winter harbor, about a mile from the place where we had left her. The spot was well chosen, being a small bay, well protected on the seaward side by lofty rocks, and open to the south and east for the reception of the sunshine, when we should happen to have any. The bay was just about large enough, ex- clusive of the space occupied by three small islands, to afford us commodious anchorage. The soundings be- tween the islands, showed about seven fathoms. In 9^ 102 GODFREY^S NARRATIVE OF THE short, it was a snug resting-place for the Advance ; and so it ought to have been, considering the length of time she was destined to occupy it — for, if the Esquimaux have not pulled her to pieces, she is there yet. While we were away, our comrades had been making preparations for passing the winter in this gloomy re- treat. They had built an observatory and a provision- house on one of the little rocky islands near the brig. They had also made some improvements in the intei*nal arrangements of the brig, preparatory for the cold weather, by building an additional room between decks, where the cooking-stove was put up and a number of bunks were fixed for the men to sleep on. At the time of our return, Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter, assisted by Mr. Petersen, was employed in erecting a house on the deck of the brig ; and this afterward proved to be a very excellent contrivance, tending to promote the health and comfort of our people. In order to make more room on board for the accommodation of the officers and crew, the provisions were all removed to the store-house which had been built on a neighboring rocky islet, to which Dr. Kane had given the name of Butler Island. On this island, besides our other building improve- ments, the men had built a dog-kennel, large enough to afford comfortable lodgings for all our canine family ; but the perverse brutes refused to occupy the habita- tion which had been provided for them with so much trouble. They broke out of their kennel and couched themselves on the snow near the brig, where their GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 103 howling every night was a terrible annoyance to some of our men, who entertained the superstitious notion that such nocturnal music is ominous of ill-luck. The preference shown by the Esquimaux dogs for sleeping on the snow near the brig, rather than in the hut on the island, was considered by Dr. Kane as a somewhat affecting incident, proving that these quadrupeds have an instinctive attachment to human society. I regarded the circumstance in a different light : these dogs had been accustomed, from their early puppyhood^to sleep on the snow near the huts of their Esquimaux masters, and as this mode of lodging had become habitual to tPthem, they could not be satisfied with any other. I consider it very derogatory to the canine character, to suppose that dogs have any natural inclination for human society. In his wild state, the dog is quite free from any weakness of that kind, and it requires a great deal of discipline or training to make him endure the company of our species. The Esquimaux dogs are only in a half-reclaimed condition, and I have much reason to believe that they would cut the acquaintance of mankind altogether, if they could maintain themselves without human assistance. While we retained some of them in our service, they frequently ran away, two or three at a time, and remained abroad until they were nearly starved, when they would come back with evi- dent reluctance and a sullenness of deportment, which seemed to say, " We do not like your company, you two-legged rascals, but necessity compels us to associate with you a little while longer.'' 104 Godfrey's narrative of the There was not a great deal of love lost, (as the saying is,) between our men and the dogs. Among our crew they were very unpopular, and although their services were supposed to be indispensable, the animals could scarcely be tolerated, as they made themselves as troublesome as possible and their consumption of food was enormous. On our sledge journeys we were often obliged to half starve ourselves in order to afford our dogs the neces- sary supply of provisions, without which they would be unable to perform their work. It is a most unfor- tunate circumstance of arctic travel, that dog- sledging is the only practicable means of conveyance or transportation in the polar regions. This circum-# stance necessarily makes all journeys by land or over the ice of brief duration ; as dogs cannot travel many days in succession without " breaking down ;'' and it is impossible for an exploring party to carry enough pro- visions to maintain these voracious brutes through a very long journey. It is true that there is a possibility of obtaining, occasionally, fresh supplies of animal food on the way ; but this resource is too precarious to justify any arctic traveler in placing much dependence thereon. The principal animals whose flesh could be made useful in these cases are the bear, walrus, seal, and blue fox. I have found by experience that it is possible to travel many miles in Greenland, and on the frozen waters con- tiguous to that region, without seeing one of the crea- tures mentioned above, and even when they are seen it may require some trouble to secure their spoils. During the whole time of our stay in the arctic regions, (more GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 105 than two years), we killed but three or four bears, one walrus, and about half a dozen seals, although some of our people were frequently engaged in hunting. The foxes are taken chiefly in traps, but a party traveling in sledges for the purpose of making explorations, would find the trapping of foxes a very dilatory and uncertain process, and one on which it would be foolish to depend for a supply of animal food. Owing to the deficient supply of such food which the polar regions afford, (especially such parts of those regions as require explo- ration), traveling in dog-sledges is attended with very great diflSculties. I see no reason why rein-deer should not be used by arctic travelers for draught animals, instead of dogs. They could be much more easily main- tained, as they require but little food ; and in a case of necessity, they could subsist on the lichen which grows on the rocks in every part of Greenland. Besides, as I think, they would be found more serviceable than dogs ; being equal in speed to the latter and having much greater power of endurance. It was about the middle of September when the arctic winter set in ; the sun did not quite disappear, however, until the 10th of October. In the latter part of Sep- tember, Dr. Kane, Dr. Hayes, and Mr. Sonntag made an excursion to Cape Frederick, where the traveling party to which I belonged had made the first deposit of provisions. The object of Dr. Kane and his compan- ions in visiting this spot was to ascertain the tempera- ture and to make other scientific observations. They traveled in a dog-sledge, and of course were enabled to 106 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE proceed more expeditiously than our party, Tvhich went on foot, and dragged a sledge heavily laden with provi- sions after thera. But the Doctor's party had the ill- luck to encounter hio-h winds and a heavy snow storm. The wind made them feel the cold more severely, and\^ the snow storm caused them to lose their way. They '' returned to the brig, at last, in a very pitiable condi- tion, every one of them being more or less afflicted with snow blindness ; and, but for the sagacity of the dogs in retracing their route, the whole party might have perished. This party was absent two days. When the sun was about to make his final adieu for the season, the Commander sent out Bonsall and Blake with directions to proceed southward, to a place on the coast where we had left a boat and some tools. They were required to see if these articles were safe, as there was some likelihood that the wandering Esquimaux had overhauled them. The distance was about thirty-five miles, and the two men commenced their journey thither in a dog-sledge. They met with great difficulties on their way, as the road over the ice was so rough, and unmanageable that they were unable to proceed more than eight or ten miles per day. They were likewise overtaken by the darkness when they were about twenty miles from the brig ; and to put the climax to their misfortunes, their sled broke down before they had reached their place of destination. They came back with the dogs, leaving their broken sledge on the ice ; and when they arrived at the brig they were speechless and scarcely alive. Hans, (Dr. Kane's pet Esquimaux,) GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. lOT and Whipple were sent after the broken sledge, which they luckily found and brought back, having taken a dog team with them for that purpose. The long arctic winter was now down upon us ; we expected to see no more of the sun for several months. Outside of our vessel nothing was seen but ice, snow, and naked rocks ; unless we turned our eyes upward to behold a sky which could not be seen without a thrill of horror, so repulsively unnatural was its appearance. The arctic heavens, after the disappearance of the sun, resemble a vast arch or dome of granite, almost forcing the beholder to imagine himself in one of " the pro- foundest caves of gloomy Dis," or in one of those central caverns of the earth which, (according to the theory of Captain Simmes,) have their entrance near the Pole. When the moon is visible, the sky glistens with a faint metallic lustre, like the interior of the dome of a German church lined with lead ; or like any thing else rather than the cheerful aspect of the etherial fir- mament. On every object around and above us " Black Melancholy sits, and round her throws A death- like silence and a dread repose." It is impossible to describe the effect produced by polar scenery on those who can see nothing else for months together. The very soul of man seems to be suffocated by the oppressive gloom, the horrid silence, the changeless appearance of surrounding objects, among which no signs of animated nature can be dis- cerned ; for all that the eye can compass is fixed and still, like a sad and dreary picture, or some magnificent 108 Godfrey's narrative of the piece of sculpture, representing a scene of utter deso- lation. As might be expected, in view of their situation, our men were all terribly afflicted with the blue devils. I hoped that our officers would feel disposed to get up some kind of dramatic entertainments for our relief, as Captain Parry did in 1821, when his ships were detained among the icebergs in Repulse Bay. But I rather suspect that Captain Kane was conscientiously scrupulous about these matters, as he had been educated among Christians of the straitest sect. As circum- stances had deprived me, in a great measure, of the advantages of a religious training, I was heathenish enough to become an amateur performer, in a small way, for the diversion of my moping companions. I blacked my face occasionally with charcoal dust, and treated the poor fellows to a few Ethiopian songs, and a lecture to match, which seemed to do them some good, although Jack Frost was nibbling at their toes during the performance. One of my ears was actually frozen once, while I was singing an amusing negro melody to a select audience on the fore-deck. Notwithstanding our melancholy seclusion among the ice-cakes, we were not quite killed by ennuij for we had employments enough during the winter to keep the mind (which has been aptly compared to a mill-stone) from grinding itself away. When I was not engaged in out-door work, I applied myself to the arts of tailor- ing and boot-making, my principal material being the skins of seals and bears. At this time there was a GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 109 good deal of sickness on board. Dr. Kane himself was severely afflicted with rheumatism. Whipple had agonizing pains in the back. Stevenson and several others were down with the scurvy. Schubert, the French cook, was seldom well enough to attend to his duty, and it was my fate to be everybody's substitute. I was the hunter, dog-trainer, boot and breeches-maker, journeyman carpenter, Ethiopian serenader, and French cook, pro tem.^ besides executing a dozen other offices and commissions which could not have been required of me, according to the letter of my contract. But, if I happened to grumble a little, (which I seldom did, however,) the prompt answer was, " You ought to be thankful, William, that you have health and strength sufficient for the performance of these tasks. Consider how much better your condition is than that of your sick comrades." These words of reproof and consolation were always effective, and I became sensible that any complaint on my part was impious and ungrateful. As the winter wore away, Ohlsen (the carpenter) and Petersen began to fit up sleds for the purpose of mak- ing journeys of exploration in the spring. It was Dr. Kane's intention to send an exploring party over land to the western coast of Greenland ; or, at least, to test the practicability of such an enterprise. The dis- tance to be traveled would probably be between six hundred and eight hundred miles. The interior of Greenland is supposed to be little else than a mass of ice, with scarcely any animal or vegetable productions. 10 110 Godfrey's narrative of the In view of these circumstances, the proposed journey offered nothing very inviting to the most adventurous spirits ; for travelers generally go in pursuit of novelty^ which no one could expect to find in a region of un- varying ice. It is unnecessary to speak of our life on board of the brig during the winter. Enough has been said to con- vince the reader that such a life is little better than a living death. We were entombed in ice, and we were so much worse off than those who are really dead, that we were sensible of our wretched situation, and alive to the keenest suffering. The only stirring incident which comes to my re- membrance as an occurrence of the dark season, was an attempt made by Dr. Kane to exterminate the rats with which the brig was much infested. We had shipped a good many of these animals at the different ports where we had stopped, and they had fully carried out in practice the scriptural injunction, ''Increase and multiply." Our commander had a fancy for doing things in the most scientific manner ; he therefore de- termined to destroy all the rats, "at one fell swoop,'' by dosing them with carbonic acid gas. We were all turned out of our comfortable quarters between decks to make room for this interesting experiment, which was to proclaim the triumph of human knowledge over brutal instinct. The hatches were closed, a number of furnaces and other vessels containing ignited charcoal were placed in the interior of the brig, and all the cracks and crevices having been closely stopped, the GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. Ill rats were abandoned to their fate. The fumigation was continued for thirty-six hours without intermission, and so effectually was the gas applied that no less than fourteen full-sized rats were done to death ; and the French cook, Monsieur Schubert, was very near coming to the same conclusion. In the warmth of his profes- sional zeal, he went below to dress a slice of ham for the Captain's dinner, forgetful of the orders which had been issued for all hands to keep out of the gaseous atmosphere between decks. Schubert was overpowered by the unwholesome vapor, and fell into convulsions. Morton, the steward, endeavored to haul him up the ladder but failed in the attempt, and fell down likewise. Dr. Kane hastened to the assistance of the cook and steward, and met with the same ill fortune ; and all three of them might have perished but for the strenuous exertions of the whole brig's company to save them. Moreover, the brig took fire from one of the furnaces in which charcoal was burned in order to suffocate the rats ; and so the Doctor's experiment proved almost as disastrous as that of the Dutch farmer of Pennsylvania, who set fire to his barn for the purpose of exterminating the vermin which infested that building. Luckily the fire on board of our vessel was extinguished before much damage was done ; but the Doctor (who for seve- ral days after felt the effects of the gas which he had inhaled), was not sufficiently satisfied with the result of his charcoal experiment to give it a second trial. 112 Godfrey's narrative of the CHAPTER XII. TERMINATION OF THE DARK SEASON — GRAND JUBILEE — AN EXPLORING PARTY — INAUSPICIOUS BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY — OUR TRAVELING COSTUME — GLOOMY ANTICIPATIONS OF THE TRAVELERS — ;THE AUTHOR'S PET FOX — HIS GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS AMONG THE RATS — A SUGGESTION FOR SPORTING GENTLEMEN — SINGULAR RAT TRAP — SAD INTELLIGENCE FROM THE EXPLORING PARTY. We had a glimpse of the returning sun about the latter part of February. None but those who know by experience what it is to see no daylight for several months, can appreciate our feelings of joy and exulta- tion when the first rays of the long-absent luminary were seen on the mountain tops. On that occasion, we all became idolaters — sun-worshipers — hailing the advent of old Sol with as much rapturous enthusiasm as was ever manifested by his Eastern devotees. A few days after the joyful event just mentioned, we began to make active preparations for carrying out Dr. Kane's stupendous project of sending an exploring party across the whole breadth of Greenland to the western coast. The persons detailed for this service w^ere Brooks, (who officiated as leader of the party,) GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 113 Sonntag, Wilson, Baker, Schubert, and Hickey. These were to start on the expedition, dragging their provi- sions and baggage in a large sledge, constructed ex- pressly for the purpose ; and, some days after, Dr. Kane himself was to follow in his dog-sledge. On the 5th of March the large sledge was made ready, and its load of provisions, &c., was placed in it, preparatory for commencing the journey. The men who were appointed to haul it, then took hold of the ropes and drew the vehicle about one hundred yards on the ice, to ascertain if all the apparatus were in good working order. The men then came back to the brig and reposed themselves for several hours. At eleven o'clock, P. M., a luncheon was prepared for them on board, and all things being now quite ready, they com- menced their expedition at midnight, the thermometer then indicating 40° below zero. The travelers pro- ceeded about seven miles from the brig, when they were obliged to come to a halt, having found to their sorrow, that the sledge, however well it might work on the hard ice, was not suitably constructed for traveling on any yielding surface, such as the deep snow with which the ice was covered at the point which they had now re*ached. The runners of this sledge were so narrow that they sunk very deeply into the snow, and thus made the heavily-laden vehicle almost immovable. The party therefore pitched their tent, and sent Wilson and Hickey back to the brig to apprize the commander of their diflSculty. When these men arrived and delivered their message, Dr. Kane ordered out another sledge, 10^ 114 Godfrey's narrative op the which was provided with very broad runners, and Riley, Whipple, and myself were directed to drag this sledge to our comrades, and bring back the one which they had found unserviceable. The wind blew in our teeth as we proceeded on this mission, and the cold produced a sensation which could scarcely be distin- guished from burning ; but when we became benumbed, or about half frozen to death, w^e began to feel more comfortable. The dress worn by our men on this journey, and on similar occasions, was cut according to the Esquimaux fashion. A monkey-jacket, or ^'jumper" covers the upper part of the person. This garment is made of bear-skins, with the fur on, and it is provided with a hood, which can be drawn over the head and fastened around the neck, so as to leave only a small part of the face uncovered. Tight breeches of seal-skin, and boots of the same material, complete this elegant cos- tume, which imparts to the wearer a more bear-like appearance than would be required of an actor dressed for one of the leading parts in the drama of "Valentine and Orson.'' Guided by Wilson and Hickey, we reached the tent which our travelers had pitched on the ice. They seemed to have become sick of their undertaking already, though they had traveled only seven miles of a journey which might extend to seven hundred. The general opinion among them was, that this enterprise had been commenced too socn in the season ; for the sun, as yet, was almost powerless, and the temperature GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 115 of the atmosphere was almost as low as it had been at any time during the winter. While the traveling party groaned and grumbled in anticipation of the hardsips they were about to en- counter, Riley, Whipple, and I were engaged in trans- ferring the load from the rejected sledge to the one which we had brought with us ; and, when this work was completed, we (somewhat ironically,) wished the travelers a pleasant journey, and bade them " good- night/' In answer to which one of them rather dis- courteously recommended us to go to some place which lies a little to the southward of purgatory. A whole day had been consumed by the traveling party in waiting for a change of sledges, and the dijffi- culties they had met with at the outset must have had a very discouraging effect. My two companions and I returned to the brig, dragging the sledge from which the load had been removed, and which, in its lightened condition, could be moved without much trouble. The next day I began to put a team of dogs in training, in order to have them under due regulation for the use of Dr. Kane, when he should proceed westward to join the exploring party I have just been speaking of. In order to put the dogs in practice, I harnessed them in a sledge and drove to the fox-traps, which we had set in various places, at some distance from the brig. These traps are of Esquimaux invention ; they are constructed by placing flat stones in a position to form a sort of box ; another stone, suspended by a string, makes the falling door, the end of the string being carried over 116 Godfrey's narrative of the the top of the trap, and fastened to a trigger, which is baited and placed at the back part of the box, so that when the fox nibbles at the bait the string is disengaged, the door falls and closes the aperture in front, making the animal a prisoner. The traps had not been ex- amined for a week ; several foxes had been caught ; but all except one were frozen stiff, and were as dead as red- herrings. I brought the dead animals as well as the survivor to the brig ; the latter was soon domesticated on board, and became a great favorite. This blue fox conducted himself with the strictest propriety, and made himself extremely useful by hunting the rats, which, in spite of Dr. Kane's grand fumigation, con- tinued to be very numerous and troublesome. ''Jack,'' as I called my pet, killed more of the long-tailed ras- cals in half an hour than the fumigation aforesaid did in two days. For ''ratting" purposes, I consider the blue fox as far superior to any terrier ; and I conceive that it would be worth while for some sporting gen- tleman to import a few arctic foxes for the sake of car- rying on that elegant and tasteful recreation called rat-hunting, which has lately become so fashionable in the United States. Before my fox was brought, the vermin had become so bold and impudent that they scarcely took any trouble to keep out of our way. It was no uncommon thing for them to run over us at night while we were asleep ; and on one occasion an indivdual of the species attempted to warm his feet at Whipple's nose, which was somewhat of a Bardolph complexion and glowed like a coal-grate. Whipple, GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 11 Y though in a profound slumber at the time, felt the tail of the intrusive brute in his mouth, and instinctively closed his teeth with a snap, like that of a steel rat- trap. The squealing of the rat, whose tail was firmly held between Whipple's masticators, awakened the sleeper, who put up his hand and caught the animal, which, after biting his fingers rather severely, was crushed to death in his grasp. I think Monsieur Schubert, the French cook, boasted his ability to prepare exquisite dishes, in the most ap- proved French style, to be composed of rats, with the proper seasonings and appliances to make them more delicious. One day, when my fox had been more than usually successful in hunting, Schubert actually pre- pared a rat fricassee^ which was tasted by some of the oflScers and pronounced excellent. Although our men were pining for a change of diet, and especially for a taste of fresh meat, few of them could be persuaded to touch this mess, though Schubert used all his rhetoric to overcome our scruples, assuring us that similar pre- parations were often served up at some of the most fashionable restaurants of Paris ; and he stated that, among French gourmands, if a dish was found to be palatable, no idle curiosity was ever manifested with regard to its composition. Ten days after the exploring party had started, we were aroused from our slumbers at midnight by the in- telligence that some of them had returned in a most wretched plight, having left several of their companions behind in a dying condition, or so much exhausted that 118 Godfrey's narrative of the they were unable to get back. All hands immediately arose to give due attention to the sufferers. The per- sons who had returned were Ohlsen, Sonntag, and Pe- tersen. Their faces were absolutely black. Ohlsen's toes were frozen ; Sonntag was stupefied, and appeared to be unconscious of his situation ; Petersen was in a similar condition ; and Ohlsen informed us that it was with extreme diflSculty that he had been able to keep his two companions in motion on their way to the brig. They showed a constant inclination to lie down and sleep ; and had, in fact, been in a sort of somnambulistic state during the last ten miles of their journey. Ohlsen, though he himself was scarcely alive, was the only one of the three who was able to give any account of his party. He reported that four of his companions were lying in a rude tent, at the distance of forty miles from the brig ; that they were all disabled, and, as he be- lieved, at the point of death. He had reason to sup- pose that they would all perish before any succor could reach them. The persons who had just returned de- manded our first attention. Ohlsen's statement made us fear that the others were beyond the reach of earthly assistance. The three returned travelers were put to bed without delay, and all the medical skill on board was called into immediate requisition. Doctors Kane and Hayes gave their most anxious attention to those afflicted persons ; who, as soon as they were brought into the warmer atmosphere of the lower deck, began to suffer with the most excruciating agonies. By the way, it may be proper to inform the reader that the suffering GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 119 which a man experiences while he is freezing, or while some of his members are in a frozen condition, is very light compared with the horrible anguish which he feels when the frozen parts of his body begin to thaw. The pains at such times are insupportable, and compel the stoutest man to scream out as though he were on the rack. It was found necessary to amputate all of Ohlsen's toes ; Sonntag and Petersen escaped without mutilation, but they were delirious and otherwise very ill for several days after their return. At an early hour in the morning of the day after the return of these three persons, we began to fit out a sledge party to go to the relief of our unfortunate com- panions who had been left on the ice. The great proba- bility was that they had all perished ; but, as we could not be quite certain of that fact, we felt bound in duty to visit them with as little delay as possible. 1^ 120 Godfrey's narrative of the CHAPTER XIII. DR. KANE AND SEVERAL MEN GO TO THE RELIEF OF THE PERSONS SUPPOSED TO BE DYING — SLOW AND TROU- BLESOME TRAVELING — OHLSEN'S NOBLE CONDUCT — HE WALKS TWENTY MILES WITHOUT ANY TOES — DR. KANE'S SUFFERINGS — HIS LIFE IN DANGER — WE REACH THE TENT WHERE OUR SICK COMPANIONS ARE LYING — THEIR MIRACULOUS PRESERVATION FROM DEATH — DR. KANE'S PRAYER. The persons selected to go to the relief of our dis- tressed comrades were, besides Dr. Kane, who took the lead in this business, McGary, Morton, Riley, Blake, Bonsall, and myself. It was necessary that we should have a guide, otherwise the sick persons might not have been found ; and as no others but the three members of their party who had returned could direct us on the way, it was necessary to take one of those three with us. Sonntag and Petersen were totally unfit for this duty ; for, besides being too feeble to undertake such a journey, they had not recovered their senses. We were compelled, therefore^ to make use of poor Ohlsen, whose toes had all been cut off only a few hour's previous, and who, as the reader may suppose, was not OF THE GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 123 in very good traveling order. His mutilated feet were carefully bandaged, and he was placed in a sleeping bag of buflfalo-skin, on the sledge ; all care being taken to make him as comfortable as he could be in such cir- cumstances. Unfortunately, we had no available dog-team, as great sickness and mortality prevailed among the quadrupeds during the winter ; and such of the survivors as were well enough to travel were so badly trained and so little under control, that we feared that they would retard our progress rather than help us onward. It was determined, therefore, that the men themselves should draw the sledge. The route which had been taken by the exploring party was across the channel of Smith's Sound, with the intention of reaching the oppo- site coast. The ice on the Sound was exceedingly rough ; in fact, there was scarcely a square yard with- out a hill or a hummock, and our progress with the sled was so very slow, that nothing but the disabled condition of our guide, Mr. Ohlsen, prevented us from leaving the vehicle on the road and proceeding on our way without it. Anxiety for the fate of our sick com- panions urged us forward, and in spite of all obstacles we had cleared fifteen miles by twelve o'clock. At this point, rest and refreshment became indispensable ; we stopped therefore and had a luncheon of hard biscuit and salt pork. Among other preparations for the journey, which had been made in the morning before our departure, a number of bottles filled with hot water had been placed in the sledge ; by means of this provi- 124 Godfrey's narrative of the dent contrivance we were now supplied with something to drink, as the water had become cool enough for the purpose without being frozen. It is a notable circumstance that travelers in the polar regions are as liable to suffer for want of water as those who wander over the sandy deserts of Africa. Ice and snow cannot be used for the purpose of quench- ing thirst until they are liquefied ; the liquefaction of them, in these regions, requires a good deal of artificial heat, and that, of course, is not always attainable in a country which produces nothing combustible except animal fat. I have often attempted to relieve my thirst by sucking pieces of ice or lumps of snow, but the expedient is painfully tantalizing, serving rather to increase the drought than to allay it. Soon after we had disposed of our lunch, we started again on our toilsome way ; the inequalities of the route made sledge-hauling a work of extreme difficulty, and although the temperature, at this time, was more than fifty degrees below zero, all of the men who took a part in the severe labor were in a profuse perspiration. The difficulties of the road increased as we went forward, and our progress, at the same time, was so slow, that a feeling of despair began to pervade the whole party. We liad now been ten hours on the road and had ad- vanced but twenty miles. The sledge was the great incumbrance, and it was totally useless, except for the purpose of conveying our disabled guide. Mr. Ohlsen, perceiving where the difficulty lay, with the most heroic self-devotion, requested that the unwieldy vehicle might GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 125 be left behind, and signified his determination to pro- ceed on foot. He supposed that we had now achieved half of the journey, and that a walk of twenty miles would bring us to the place where the sick people had been left. But who without a shudder could think of permitting a man, whose toes had been amputated on the preceding evening, to walk twenty miles on the ice. The experiment appeared to be both cruel and danger- ous ; but the alternative was still worse. If we should attempt to carry the sledge with us, it might require ten or twelve hours more to reach our perishing com- panions; and so much delay would seem to preclude every chance of saving any of their lives. We were there- fore, (on the principle of choosing the least of two evils,) compelled to embrace Ohlsen's proposition. Accord- ingly the sledge was abandoned; and, by supporting our guide as well as we could, and carrying him occa- sionally, we managed to get on with considerable expe- dition. Dr. Kane himself, owing to the delicacy of his constitution, which was not well calculated to sus- tain such severe hardships, was almost as helpless as our guide. He fainted several times, and it required all the attention of Morton and myself to keep him in motion. At length, after struggling along for five or six hours more, we came within view of the tent in which we expected to find our comrades, either living or dead. We could scarcely think it possible that they were yet alive, for when Sonntag, Ohlsen, and Peter- sen left them, they were supposed to be in a dying con- dition. Thirty-six hours had since elapsed, and during 11^ 126 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE all that time they could not have had any kind of as- sistance or relief. I fixed my eyes on the little tent with the most painful anxiety ; it was pitched between two hillocks of ice, and the whole scene around was cold, dreary, and death-like. In my mind's eye I could already see the four corpses, lying on the icy floor of the canvas house ; and I thought that if the lives of these men could only have been prolonged until our arrival, that they might not have believed themselves deserted and abandoned by those from whom they had a right to expect sympathy and assistance, it would have afforded no little consolation both to them and to us. The death-scene I had imagined appeared to be realized when we reached the door of the tent. Four bodies, apparently lifeless, each one enclosed in a sleep- ing-bag, were lying closely together in the little enclo- sure. I was the first one who arrived at the entrance of the tent, and for a moment I hesitated to examine the bodies, fearful that my worst apprehensions would be confirmed. No sound was heard, not even a sup- pressed groan, not even the spasmodic breathing of persons in the grasp of death. No movement, nor any other indication of life could be discovered. I kneeled down by the side of one of the bodies, which proved to be that of Brooks, the first ofiicer of the brig and com- mander of the exploring party, and, with feelings of inexpressible joy, I found that he still lived. He fixed his eyes on me and gave me a faint smile of recogni- tion. I sprung k> the door of the tent and shouted to GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 127 my companions, who were still at some distance, in order to relieve them as soon as possible from their painful suspense and to encourage them to hasten onward. I then examined the other three bodies, and found that the vital spark still lingered in them all. The four persons whose lives we came scarcely soon enough to save, were Brooks, Wilson, Schubert, and Baker. As soon as Dr. Kane and the others of our party arrived at the tent, the Doctor professionally examined the sick people, and found that the condition of two of them, at least, was critical. All were badly frozen, but Schubert and Baker were believed to be beyond all chance of recovery. However, under Dr. Kane's directions, every available remedy was applied on the spot ; though it was evident that little could be done for the suiferers before they were reconveyed to the brig. A fire of lard, blubber, waste-paper, &c., was kindled in an earthen pan at the door of the tent, and the preparation of some warm broth for the sick was immediately commenced. The sledge which had been used by the exploring party stood near the tent ; on this we placed our invalid companions, after the broth had been administered to them in homoeopathic doses, and having rested ourselves for half an hour, we started on our return. The dangerous condition of the sick persons required that we should hasten back to our vessel, where they might meet with those attentions which their situation demanded. When we were all ready to begin our backward journey. Dr. Kane, in a short but atFecting prayer, 128 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE earnestly recommended our party to the protection of Divine Providence. He acknowledged the merciful kindness of God, which had preserved the lives of several of our number in a manner which might almost be regarded as miraculous, and he implored Omnipo- tent Goodness to mitio^ate the sufferino-s of those who were afflicted, and so to direct us that we might escape the great danger to which we must be exposed on the journey we were about to commence. A feeling of sadness pervaded the whole party, and our march much resembled that of a funeral procession. In fact, the sledge we were dragging was laden w^ith the sick and dying; and there was little room to doubt that some of them would be dead before we could arrive at our place of destination. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 129 CHAPTER XIY. A TERRIBLE JOURNEY OVER THE ICE — SUICIDAL DROW- SINESS OF OUR PEOPLE — THEY BECOME DESPERATELY SOMNOLENT — DR. KANE AND THE AUTHOR TRAVEL BY THEMSELVES — THE DOCTOR'S VISION OF A BEAR — THE author's troublesome duties — HE CARRIES THE DOCTOR ON HIS SHOULDER — THE DOCTOR MISTAKES HIM FOR A BEAR — THE AUTHOR SHAVES THE DOCTOR WITH A JACK-KNIFE — STRANGE FACT RESPECTING SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. As we had anticipated, our return to the brig was attended with still more trouble, hardships, and perils than we had encountered on our way to the tent. We had a heavy sledge-load of sick people, five in number, including Ohlsen, whose late pedestrian exercise, while his condition was so unfit for it, had rendered him as helpless as any of the others. The reader may imagine how difficult it was to draw a sledge with such a load over consolidated masses of ice, where it was impossi- ble to proceed two yards without ascending a hill or sinking into a hollow. There were places, and not a few of them, where every thing on the sledge, including the bodies of our invalid passengers, had to be removed and laid upon the ice, while we lifted the vehicle over 130 GODFREY S NARRATIVE OF THE some obstruction which would otherwise have been in- surmountable. It was a most unfortunate necessity which compelled us frequently to disturb these suffering people, several of whom appeared to be in their last agonies, by lifting them off and on the sledge. In some places the hummocks or ridges of ice were impas- sable, and we were obliged to go around them, which gave us a longer distance to travel. The men worked with admirable spirit, as if aware that it was a struggle for life ; but with all our exertions, the rate at which we traveled was little more than a mile per hour, on an average. This sort of progress was not very en- couraging, as the distance to the brig was more than forty miles; and, as we could not work more than twelve hours in the twenty-four, it seemed likely that we should be at least three days on the road, and^w^ had scarcely enough provisions to serve us for forty- eight hours. After the first ten miles were passed, the men began to show fatigue, and became so drowsy, that one or another was continually throwing himself on the ice. The scene reminded me of John Bunyan*s account of the Enchanted Ground, where men were desperately somnolent, although the consequences of sleeping were most appalling. Bonsall and Morton begged Dr. Kane, in the most pathetic manner, for permission to take " only a short nap.'* They were not at all afraid of freezing, (they said,) for they did not feel " the least bit cold.'' Doubtless that was true enough, and there was so much the better reason for not indulging them GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 133 in their inclination to slumber. At last matters came to a crisis ; all hands, except Dr. Kane and myself, threw themselves on the ice, in spite of all remon- strances, and were asleep in a moment. It was impos- sible to arouse them ; nothing could be done therefore but to pitch the tent and come to a halt for the night. I erected the tent as speedily as I could, and put all the people, sick and well, to bed. They were all equally helpless ; for sleep made some of them as powerless as sickness did the others. I was like the old woman who lived in the shoe, having so many children to take care of. When I had arranged them all for the night, the tent was so much crowded, that there were no sort of accommodations for Dr. Kane and me. The Doctor, observing this difficulty, proposed to walk on nine miles further to the place where we had left the sledge we had started with, and where we had deposited another tent, to be in readiness for use on our way back. Considering how fatigued and benumbed we were at the time, this walk was a considerable undertaking. I did not doubt my own ability to endure it, but I felt very apprehensive that the Doctor, (whose constitution was by no means robust,) would be wholly unequal to the task. However, there was no alternative, and, without pausing to reflect on the troubles before us, we betook ourselves resolutely to the journey. The inci- dents of this walk of nine miles have been related by Dr. Kane in his published journal; and several of them are marvelous enough to surprise every reader. Cer- tain I am that they surprised me; though I feel well 12 134 Godfrey's narrative of the assured that the Doctor intended to relate facts. H states that the cold made us both delirious. This is only half correct ; only one of us, namely, Dr. Kane himself, was in that condition. Had we both lost the use of our senses, we would most certainly have perished on the way. As it was, although I had possession of my reason and judgment as perfectly as I have at this moment, it required the constant exercise of all my faculties to prevent a fatal catastrophe. The Doctor speaks of a bear which " walked leisurely before us, and tore up a jacket which McGary had thrown off on the out- ward journey." " He tore it into shreds and rolled it up in a ball," (says the Doctor,) but never offered to inter- fere with our progress." Now this story, in itself, is improbable. The conduct here ascribed to the polar bear is not characteristic of that animal, which would be very unlikely to waste his time in playing poodle- like tricks with a sailor's jacket. This bear, in fact, w^as a creation of the Doctor's fancy. He spoke of it at the time when he supposed that he saw it ; but, although my eyesight was much better than his, I saw nothing of the kind. He talked incoherently during - the whole time of our walk, except when he fell into a state of utter insensibility. I supported him on my arm when he was able to walk ; and when he swooned . away, as he did two or three times, I carried him on my shoulder. At last, with inconceivable exertion on my part, we reached the place where the sledge and tent had been left ; and here new diflSculties presented themselves. I was obliged to erect the tent, in order m GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 135 to make it serviceable, and, at the same time, to keep the Doctor awake ; for he was so nearly frozen, that he was already in that torpid state which immediately precedes death. Before I could get a pole set up, I was obliged to step aside and give my commander a hearty shake with one hand, while I held the tent-pole in the other. And so the work of pitching the tent proceeded with frequent interruptions, until the job was finished. But while this work was in progress, the bear, which had been haunting the Doctor's imagination during our recent walk, now seemed to be identified with my unworthy self; for, in his half-conscious con- dition, he several times called on his favorite men, Bonsall, Morton, &c., to shoot that bear which was "rummaging in the tent." When I had succeeded in putting the tent up, I has- tened to prepare the Doctor for a safe and comfortable nap in his sleeping-bag. Among other preparations which I found necessary for this object, was cutting away with my jack-knife his beard and woolen tippet, which had been frozen together in a solid mass. This rough shaving operation must have been painful, but it did not arouse him to a full state of consciousness. Having chafed his limbs to restore animation, and packed him up in furs and blankets, I then — fatigued and exhausted as I was — kindled a blubber fire at the door of the tent, and began to prepare some coflee and " scouse" for my commander's refreshment when he should awake. The " land-lubbers" will please to un- derstand that scouse is a marine article of diet, com- 136 GODFREY'S NARRATIYE OF THE posed of salted pork and hard biscuit, boiled together and reduced to a sort of hash. It is a dish which, for want of any thing more suitable, is often prepared for invalids on shipboard. The Doctor slept heavily for about two hours, when he awoke and complained of feeling very unwell. He requested me to give him some spirits, and directed me where to find it, in a case-bottle among the baggage. As the water which I had kept on the fire for the pur- pose of making coflfee was now somewhat heated, I gave him a stifi" dram of warm "toddy," which appeared to do him good, and I now observed, with great pleasure, that he had perfectly recovered the use of his senses. He soon fell into another profound slumber, from which I aroused him when his cofi'ee and '^ scouse" were ready. Having thus paid all necessary attentions to my com- mander, I laid myself down and slept for about two hours. I was then awakened by Dr. Kane, who called to me and requested me to go out and see if the others of our party were approaching. I looked out accord- ingly, but saw nothing of them ; however, as I thought that they must soon come, I began to cook something for their entertainment when they arrived. I had pre- pared a pot of chocolate and some soup when they came in sight. Those of our people who were well had derived much benefit from their night's repose, and when they overtook Dr. Kane and myself they all ap- peared quite freshened up and in pretty good spirits. The case was very different with our sick companions. The tent in which they slept had been much crowded GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 13Y during the night, as all of our traveling party, except Dr. Kane and I, were packed in it. In consequence of the crowding, the interior of the tent became quite warm, and this circumstance produced a thaw in the frozen limbs of our invalids. Before this change, they had not been sensible of pain, but now their agonies became very acute, causing them to pass the night in torture, and morning brought them no relief. The feet and legs of Schubert and Baker soon mortified. I reported the arrival of our people to Dr. Kane, who arose to give them a welcome. The meal I had pre- pared was served out to them, and a proper allowance of liquor was given to each man. I will here take no- tice of a fact which struck me as very remarkable, and which, as I think, has never been mentioned by any other arctic traveler. No matter how much a man may have been addicted to the use of ardent spirits, he sel- dom shows an extravagant appetite for that kind of liquid refreshment when he is traveling in those regions of the extreme north. There^ (strange as it may ap- pear,) cold water is generally preferred before any other kind of beverage. It is observable, likewise, that the native inhabitants of the polar regions, namely, the Esquimaux, show no predilection for alcoholic liquors ; and in this respect they differ from all other savages. It appears to me that the disposition to reject spirituous liquors in those climes is instinctive ; and I argue from thence that it is a mistake to suppose that ardent spirits are beneficial to a man who is much exposed to an ex- cessively cold atmosphere. I always found that I could 12* 138 Godfrey's narrative or the endure the cold mucli better when I drank nothing but water or some other non-stimulating liquid, such as tea or chocolate. I have observed, moreover, that the drinking of distilled spirits, even in small quantities, will often induce or aggravate those fits of insanity to which arctic travelers are liable. The small ration of liquor which was dealt out to our people on the occasion to which I now have reference, made them behave in a frantic manner, and indulge themselves in a wild jollity, which, considering the situation of our sick comrades, was certainly ill-timed as well as extravagant. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 139 CHAPTER XV. RETURN OF THE RESCUE PARTY — OUR GREAT DANGER AND PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE — THE WHOLE COM- PANY BECOME DELIRIOUS — STRANGE PHASES OF IN- SANITY — THE author's FEELINGS OF DESPERATION — TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF HIS HALF-FROZEN COMPAN- IONS — ARRIVAL AT THE BRIG— DEATH AND BURIAL OF SCHUBERT AND BAKER— WE ARE VISITED BY SAVAGE ESQUIMAUX — HANS CHRISTIAN'S ROMANTIC LOVE AF- FAIR. While our comrades were following after Dr. Kane and myself, they were much puzzled by the occasional appearance of only one man's tracks in the snow. They wondered if the Doctor and I had been amusing our- selves by trying an experiment which is common among the North American Indians, who, in order to conceal their numbers from their pursuing enemies, walk in single file, each one treading in his predecessor's foot- steps. Our people stated that they sometimes found but one pair of tracks for two or three miles together ; and this account surprised me, for I really was not aware that I had carried the Doctor so far " at a stretch." Dr. Kane, in his published journal, while 140 Godfrey's narrative of the alluding to my services on this occasion, says : '^ God- frey, with whom the memory of this day's work may atone for many faults of a later time, had a better eye than myself," &c. Had the Doctor's extreme modesty allowed him to place a proper estimate on the value of his own life, he might have thought, perhaps, that the assistance I then rendered him deserved a more hand- some acknowledgment. As for " the many faults of a later time" to which he refers, I shall come to the con- fessional in this volume, and the reader shall know the full extent of my guilt. Then, it may be, when I have expressed all the penitence which the case may seem to require, the public will give me absolution, though my commander himself would have devoted me to capi- tal punishment ! After we had refreshed ourselves with food and rest, we started for the brig, from which, according to our calculation, we were now about twenty-five miles. It is impossible to give the reader any description of the horrors of this part of our journey. The route was so toilsome, on account of the roughness of the ice, that the greatest speed we could make was less than a mile and a half per hour. The labor of hauling the sledge, laden with five invalids and the baggage, tents, &c., wearied the men out ; they were obliged to make fre- quent halts, being so overcome with fatigue that they fell on the ice, panting for breath and totally exhausted. In the mean time, the shrieks and groans of our sick people, who endured the most excruciating torments, harassed our minds and distressed us infinitely more GRINNELL EXPLORINa EXPEDITION. 141 than our own toils and corporeal sufferings. On this occasion I believe our whole company — myself included — were seized with frenzy. I know that all my com- panions were frantic, for they laughed immoderately, gibbered, uttered the most frightful imprecations, mimicked the screams and groans of the invalids, howled like wild beasts, and, in short, exhibited a scene of insane fury which I have never seen equaled in any lunatic asylum. After the lapse of a few minutes the frightful hubbub would suddenly cease ; the raving ma- niacs were changed to sullen and moping idiots, weep- ing and blubbering like children ; and in this condition all would move on mechanically for perhaps half a mile, when, as if all were actuated by one disorderly spirit, another outburst would take place, and the former scene of maniacal fury was re-enacted. If I was as mad as the others, my madness was of the melancholy order. Never before or since have I felt such a strong in- clination to commit suicide. I looked about anxiously for some chasm in the ice into which I could throw myself, and so put an end to my intolerable misery, the precise nature of which I could not discern, but which seemed to be altogether disconnected from bodily suffering. I was not conscious of any corporeal pain, but there was an anguish of the mind, or of the soul, which I will not pretend to describe. It is indeed a most wonderful circumstance that such a troop of madmen (not one of whom was sane enough to conduct the others,) could find their way to the brig. Yet it is evident that we must have taken the straight- 142 Godfrey's narrative op the est course ; and we could not have made the journey in less time, probably, if we had been guided and con- troled by the soundest reason and judgment. Never- theless, we consumed more than fourteen hours in trav- eling the last twenty miles. During this walk, brandy was occasionally administered to the men in very small doses, each one receiving not more than a tablespoon- ful at a time. But although this stimulus was used very cautiously, I believe it did much more harm than good ; and I attribute to this very cause a good deal of the frenzy which prevailed among our party. When we came within eight or ten miles of the brig, some of us partially recovered our rationality. Dr. Kane was then self-possessed enough to order Bonsall to hasten forward to carry to Dr. Hayes the intelli- gence of our approach, and to bring a dog-sledge, with some bottles of hot water and other articles for the use of the sick. Bonsall had become sane enough to ex- ecute this order in a businesslike manner ; and so promptly did he perform his task, that when we had proceeded at our very slow pace three miles further, and rested for about an hour, he met us with the arti- cles required. Having no load to carry, he traversed the route quickly, and the dog-team brought him back with the celerity of lightning. As soon as the dog- sledge arrived, Dr. Kane entered it, and telling us that he was going to make preparations for the reception of the sick, he set off at full speed, and so reached the brig at least two hours sooner than we did. We all ar- rived at last, after an absence of three days and nights, URINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 143 according to the mode of computing time in the tem- perate latitudes. The average temperature during the whole of this time was about 40° below zero. Soon after our arrival a consultation over our sick men was held by Doctors Kane and Hayes. They ascertained that the condition of Schubeift and Baker was nearly hopeless. Both of these persons died soon after their return, and were buried on one of the islands BURIAL-PLACE OP SCHUBERT AND BAKER. adjacent to our winter harbor. Schubert was a French- man ; he had shipped on board of the Advance as cook; but, to his credit be it said, he was always willing to perform any duties which the exigencies of 144 Godfrey's napirative of the the service required. Baker was a native of Pennsyl- vania. These two unhonored victims of the exploring mania were buried side by side, according to the Es- quimaux style of sepulture, the bodies being deposited above grc^nd, and covered with arches of stones, ce- mented togerher by pouring water over them, the fluid immediately becoming solidified by the cold. The other persons who were frozen, will probably be crip- pled for life, as some parts of their feet were amputated, as the only means of preserving their lives. A day or two after our return, we had a visit from a party of Esquimaux savages, who resided at a village or settlement about ninety miles from our harbor. These curious people came in dog-sledges, and brought with them a quantity of fresh meat, the flesh of seals and walruses, which they wished to exchange for knives, needles, beads, copper jewelry, and other knick-knacks. We were much amused by the jovial and eccentric be- havior of these savages, and they were no less delighted with our company, testifying their pleasure by dancing around us and screaming, *' Cab-lumaik !" — (white men.) They showed a disposition to steal every porta- ble article that came in their way ; if detected in the act, they would pass it ofi" as a joke, never showing any signs of shame or anger when the stolen article was taken from them. Among these visitors was an Esquimaux named Novatong, who had formerly lived at the Danish settle- ment called Proven, on the south-western coast of Greenland. While residing at that place he had es- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 145 poused a Danish woman, by whom he had two daughters, who were far superior in personal appearance to the females of the unmixed Esquimaux bread. The father of these girls, the aforesaid Novatong, had tried civi- lization for awhile, and did not like it ; he thpiefore re- lapsed into the barbarism of his ancestors, and took up his residence among the savage tribe in whose society we found him. To the settlement in which this renegade lived, Hans Christian, (Dr. Kane's Esquimaux pet,) was several times sent to negotiate for provisions. On his very first visit he had the misfortune to be victimized by the killing charms of Miss Choolakee, (I think that was her name,) Novatong's youngest and fairest daughter. This young lady, in spite of her hideous Esquimaux dress, which would have marred the ap- pearance of the brightest angel in Paradise, was really a fascinating object ; and I, having had similar expe- riences of my own, was prepared to excuse Hans for being completely carried away by the impetuosity of his passion. Indeed it appeared to me to be a very admirable thing for so much amatory heat to be ex- hibited in that icy region, lying beyond the 78th parallel of North latitude. Hans entrusted me with the secret of his love, and declared his intention to elope from the brig at the first opportunity, thus forfeiting all his chances of naval preferment, in order to become the happy husband of the irresistible Choolakee. I neither commended his resolution nor attempted to dissuade him from it, but promised to keep his secret ; and, to do this more effectually, it was agreed that there should 13 146 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE appear to be some animosity between us. This part of our plan was so well carried out, that Dr. Kane appears to have become apprehensive that I would do Hans some personal injury. I think the Doctor hints, somewhSre in his book, that he was afraid that I would waylay the young man and assassinate him, or commit some other horrible outrage. Thus it seems to have been my peculiar ilMuck to be constantly misconstrued by my captain. The termination of Hans Christian's love adventure will be related in the sequel, as it has a circumstantial connection with my narrative. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 14^ CHAPTER XVI. DR. HAYES AND THE AUTHOR CROSS SMITH'S SOUND — TROUBLES AND DISASTERS — SUCCESSFUL EXPLORATIONS — HORRORS OF STARVATION — THE AUTHOR'S BOOTS AND BREECHES USED FOR FEEDING DOGS — HARD FARE — THE GRAND EXCURSION OF THE SEASON — SICKNESS PREVAILS — DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF DR. KANE — BEARS STEAL OUR PROVISIONS — OUR DESPERATE CONDITION — WE ARE OBLIGED TO TURN BACK — VARIOUS AFFLIC- TIONS. The greater number of our men were disabled by the late disastrous exploring experiments. Dr. Hayes and I were almost the only persons on board of the Advance^ who, at this time, (about the middle of May,) enjoyed perfectly good health. Dr. Kane wished to send an expedition across the Sound to examine the coast north- ward of Cape Sabine. This attempt had been made several times without success, owing to various accidents or want of energy on the part of those who undertook the task. Dr. Hayes and I, finding ourselves in very good health as aforesaid, cheerfully agreed to make another effort to carry out this project, the chief pur- pose of which was to determine the position jof the Cape, 148 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE and its bearings with reference to the newly discovered coast-line to the North and East. We had a dog-team well trained, and a good strong sledge ; and being fur- nished with necessary provisions and equipments, we commenced our journey on the 20th day of May. The passage across Smith's Sound was extremely difficult, almost every yard of the way presenting some formida- ble obstruction, such as I have heretofore spoken of in my accounts of similar expeditions, but we succeeded at last in accomplishing our object. The distance in a straight line, across the Sound, is not more than eighty miles ; but we extended our researches for two hundred miles along the coast, and thus made an im- portant addition to the chart of that locality. Two days after we started. Dr. Hayes was seized with snow- blindness and required considerable nursing and attend- ance. Our supply of provisions was calculated to serve us but for ten days ; this circumstance and the illness of Dr. Hayes necessarily abbreviated our journey, very much to my regret, as I felt a strong inclination to go further. Many of our failures in these traveling ad- ventures were owing to a deficiency of supplies, or to some error or oversight in making preparations for the journeys. I have very little doubt that, if our outfit had been more complete, I could have gone beyond the 82d parallel (how much further I will not say,) on the occasion to which I now refer. We exhausted seven days' provisions before we commenced our return, leaving not half enough for our backward trip. The harness of our dogs was very defective, the straps breaking con- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 149 tinually and thus occasioning much trouble and delay. Besides, one of our dogs had the vexatious trick of eating his own harness. In fact, the animals were in a starving condition during the latter part of the journey. When our stock of provisions failed, necessity compel- ed me to cut up my seal-skin boots and a portion of my leather trousers also, for the maintenance of the dogs. Having thus denuded my lower extremities in a measure, the exposure occasioned severe pains in my limbs, (rheumatic pains, perhaps,) and this was the only sickness I experienced during the whole time of my sojournment in the polar regions. On our way back to the brig, I wore nothing on my legs but the scanty remains of my dog-eaten trowsers and a pair of seal- skin stockings. But all this sacrifice of my wearing apparel afi'orded little relief to the ever-craving appe- tites of our quadrupeds. On our way back, they were so desperately hungry that I suspect they would have devoured Dr. Hayes and myself, if the thought had once occurred to them that we might be used as articles of diet. My traveling companion and I were almost as hungry as our dogs. We lived for two days on a cake of raw chocolate ; and when this was consumed, we made one meal oflF the tops of Dr. Hayes' boots, which we cut into small pieces and dipped in lamp oil to render the morsels more savory. A few hours after we had made this luxurious repast we arrived at the brig, from which we had been absent twelve days. I made two or three other excursions, (shorter ones than that just mentioned,) with various members of our 150 Godfrey's narrative of the company. McGary and I started with a dog-sledge and team, to ascertain if our provision depots were all safe. We encountered a heavy snow-storm, which blinded us, and compelled us to return before we could execute the duty assigned to us. Snow-blindness is one of the great inconveniences to which arctic travel- ers are exposed. Besides the total deprivation of sight, which is always one effect of the disease, it is extremely painful, producing a sensation like that which might be caused by piercing the eye-balls with needles or lancets. The traveler who is affected with this malady becomes as helpless as any other blind man, and requires a leader. McGary and I, being both stricken at once, and having nobody to guide us, were obliged to trust to the instinct of the dogs to conduct us back to the vessel. Our canine conductors, finding themselves abandoned to their own discretion, and perceiving that we were not able to correct their errors, followed their own inclination in returning. When nothing allured them out of the way, they went on steadily enough ; but, being at all times more intent on indulging their appetites than any thing else, they often went aside for the purpose of hunting seals. These amphibious ani- mals often appear on the surface of the ice, but always near some hole, into which they retreat as soon as danger approaches. The dogs can scent the seals at the distance of half a mile, and, if they are not restrained, they immediately start off in pursuit of their prey, the sledge which they are dragging after them and their GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION, 151 driver, appearing, at such times, to be altogether for- gotten. DOG-TEAM — DRIVER SNOW-BLINDED, The seals, vrhich are always very much on the alert, generally plunge into the hole in the ice, and so make their escape, but sometimes the dogs come upon them so suddenly that one of them is caught and torn to pieces by the voracious quadrupeds. Occasionally a dog bites a piece out of a seal just as the latter is making his plunge. Soon after the return of McGary and myself, another party, consisting of McGary, Hickey, Riley, Stephen- son, and Morton started on a northern excursion, with 152 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE a load of provisions, which they were instructed to de- posit at some convenient place, for future use. On the following day, viz. April 25th, Dr. Kane and I fitted up a dog-sledge and started on the same track. We overtook our comrades on the open ice, near Cape Frederick, sixty-five miles from the brig. Several of the party had been stricken with snow-blindness. While A BEAR VISITS A TENT they were sleeping in their tent on the preceding night, a bear forced his way into the tent door, and startled the sleepers by rubbing his nose against their persons. Hickey struck him on the nose with a boat-hook, and GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 153 Bonsall snatched up a rifle and shot him dead on the spot. They had all made themselves sick by eating the flesh of this animal, which appears to have been too gross for their delicate organs of digestion. Dr. Kane's principal purpose, on this occasion, was to inspect the great Humboldt Glacier ; and, if possible, to reach the extreme northern point of Greenland, sup- posing this region to be an island. He set out, in short, with a determination to find an open sea to the north of the Greenland coast ; and as he did not quite accom- plish this object at that time, his devoted friend, Mr. Morton, afterward did it for him, unless we may sup- pose it possible that Mr. Morton was mistaken. This journey, like every preceding one, was a failure. We came within five miles of the Humboldt Glacier, when nearly all of our men, and Dr. Kane himselfy'became infected with the scurvy, the disease being accompanied by unusual and alarming symptoms. It was a prevail- ing opinion among us that the Doctor would not live long enough to get back to his vessel. To make our situation still more distressing, the bears had made an inroad on our provision depots, several of which were pretty well cleared out by these conscienceless ma- rauders. In this state of things, our best policy was to return with all the expedition that was possible for such a sickly company as ours. On the way back, our sledges were moving hospitals, being laden with sick people ; and several of our sick men were obliged to walk, because there was not room enough for their ac- commodation in the vehicles. We had dogs enough to 154 Godfrey's narratiye op the haul one sledge only ; a team of men was therefore re- quired to drag the other. My companions regarded me as "a whole team;" but, besides having a dog's duty to perform, I was compelled to nurse the sick, cook the victuals, and make myself generally useful, " because I was the healthiest man of the party." Health is a great blessing truly, but it sometimes has its disad- vantages. « \ GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 155 CHAPTER XVII. SEVERAL TRAVELING PARTIES SENT OUT — THEIR ILL SUCCESS — MORTON AND HANS CHRISTIAN TRAVEL NORTHWARD — THEIR EAMOUS DISCOVERIES — A SEPA- RATION OF OUR COMPANY — THE AUTHOR, WITH SEVEN COMPANIONS, PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE BRIG — THEY TRAVEL SOUTHWARD — ARE OVERTAKEN BY THE WIN- TER — THEIR UNPARALLELED SUFFERINGS FROM COLD AND FAMINE — THE AUTHOR VISITS AN ESQUIMAUX SETTLEMENT — THE GENEROSITY AND BENEVOLENCE OF THESE " BARBARIANS" — THEIR HOUSES, MODES OF LIVING, &C. For about two weeks after our unsuccessful attempt to reach the Humboldt Glacier, the serious illness of Dr. Kane prevented him from undertaking any new enterprise. As soon as he was well enough to travel, he made two unsuccessful attempts to cross the Sound with Esquimaux guides. Early in June two traveling parties were sent out. One of these parties, under the direction of McGarry and Bonsall, came to the foot of the Humboldt Glacier, which is a perpendicular wall of ice, 250 feet high and 60 miles long. Finding it impossible to scale this stu- 156 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE pendous embankment, or to proceed any further, they returned to the brig. The other traveling party con- sisted of two persons only, viz., Mr. Morton and Hans Christian. They reached the foot of the glacier on the 15th day of June, and traveled in their dog-sledge on the land-ice of the Sound, crossing Peabody's Bay, and so found a practicable road along the base of the vast wall of ice spoken of above. They proceeded, accord- ing to Morton's statement, in a direction as nearly northward as possible, passing along the edge of Ken- neday Channel, which extends from the 80th to the 81st parallel. Here, as they report, the ice was found broken up and the water in a navigable condition. They also saw "flocks of geese, ducks, and dovekies," and gulls probably ; and Mr. Morton — having ascended a berg or knob of ice five hundred feet high — beheld " a boundless waste of water, stretching away toward the pole.'' If this account given by Morton is correct, it is probable that the pole is covered by water. In that case it might be difficult for a navigator to put his foot on the " earth's pivot," according to the earnest desire of Captain Ross, unless the adventurer should happen to have more faith than St. Peter, and be able to walk on the surface of the sea. I sincerely hope that, for the benefit of future explorers, there may be some bet- ter means of access to this "open polar sea" than by the way of Smith's Sound ; otherwise no vessel of con- siderable size will ever be able to reach it. As the summer drew near its close, it became evident GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 151 that the American brig Advance was one of the perma- nent fixtures or "institutions'' of the ice-regions. All hope of moving her had been pretty nearly abandoned, and we began to contemplate the sad necessity of re- maining another winter in this gloomy clime. Among other troubles in prospect was a scarcity of provisions. In order to increase our supplies of eatables, Hans, Petersen, and I were almost constantly engaged in hunting. We caught or shot a number of white rab- bits, foxes of both varieties, white and blue, and a few seals. The flesh of these animals, by being allowed to freeze, was easily preserved for future use. About the latter part of August all hands were sum- moned on deck, and Dr. Kane, in a formal speech, an- nounced that such of the men as wished to leave the brig for the purpose of traveling homeward, had full permission to do so. I perceived that the apprehended scarcity of provisions led to this generous offer. As 1 had never enjoyed much comfort, or experienced much kindness, on board of the Advance^ I was one of the first to embrace this opportunity to depart. A majority of the brig's company, viz., Sonntag, Dr. Hayes, Pe- tersen, Bonsall, Blake, Riley, Whipple, and Stevenson, came to the same conclusion. Our withdrawal left but eight persons on board. Dr. Kane furnished us with a boat placed on sledge- runners, and some few cooking utensils and other arti- cles which could be spared from the brig. We bade our comrades who stayed behind an afi'ectionate adieu, and started on the 28th of August — rather too late in 14 158 Godfrey's narrative of the the season for such an undertaking. Our purpose was to proceed by boat or sledge conveyance, as we best could, to TJpernavick, the most northern Danish settle- ment, from whence we expected to find a passage in some vessel to our own country. We traveled south- ward on the ice some three hundred and fifty miles, when the severity of the weather compelled us to go on shore and build ourselves a hut. This habitation was made of stones, in the Esquimaux style of architecture. We covered it, according to our best ability, with oars and sails ; nevertheless, it was a rather airy place of residence. We were entirely destitute of provisions, and were obliged to gather the lichen or rock-moss and boil it for our maintenance, although the taste of the herb is extremely nauseating, and its nature is decidedly unwholesome. We hunted every day, but could find no game. Meanwhile, the dark season was coming on very rapidly, and our situation became exceedingly pre- carious. I constructed several fox-traps, and although foxes were very scarce in this neighborhood we had the good fortune to catch two of them. As all of our ship biscuit had been consumed, we had nothing of the bread kind to eat with our fox-meat. In other circumstances, we might have thought the taste of this meat unpleasant, as it has somewhat of a fishy flavor, but long abstinence enabled us to eat it with a good relish. We called our hut the "Wanderers' Home," and we made a strong effort to feel comfortable and contented in our domestic establishment, designing to spend the winter there, if possible, and to pursue our journey early in the spring. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 159 The average temperature was 50° below zero ; a greater degree of cold than we had ever experienced in the more northern latitude where the brig was harbored. When we had been about a week in this pleasant location, we were visited by a party of Esquimaux, who were migrating to Cape York, having been starved out of their former place of residence, about fifty miles further to the North. Although we ourselves were rather " hard up" for something to eat, we gave these poor wanderers a morsel of food, without any expecta- tion that they would ever have it in their power to re- ciprocate our kindness. But a good deed, even in this *' naughty world/' often meets with its reward in a most unexpected manner. Several days after, the same party, with some other Esquimaux, men, women and children, making altogether eighteen persons, called on us again, having a good stock of provisions, which they oflfered to sell us at our own valuation. The com- modities which they wished to dispose of consisted of seal and walrus meat, eider-ducks, loons, and other water-fowls. Before we began to trade, we had a grand entertain- ment, our Esquimaux gue3ts supplying the viands and we cooking them. It was neither " a feast of reason" nor '' a flow of soul," for we all ate in the most unrea- sonable manner, and thought of nothing but the gratifi- cation of our corporal appetites. As a specimen of the way in which we used up the eatables at this banquet, I will mention that I myself consumed two eider-ducks, each of which was larger than any wild duck ever seen 160 Godfrey's narratiye of the in the United States. Dr. Kane, when we were about to separate ourselves from his company^ had supplied us with some beads, needles, and other trifling articles, suitable for trading with the natives ; and this was sup- posed to be our main resource for supplying ourselves w^th provisions. On the morning after the arrival of our native guests, we applied ourselves to business and obtained a good stock of food and other necessaries on very easy terms. I '* swapped" an old jack-knife with one of the Esquimaux gentlemen for a pair of excellent bear-skin boots, each of us believing that we had got the best of the bargain. A string of small beads, worth about two cents in the United States, was considered as a fair price for a pair of eider-ducks or a good large lump of walrus-meat. When our visitors were about to depart, after we had traded to our mutual sat- isfaction, they invited me to accompany them to their settlement. I did so with a great deal of pleasure, as I wished to examine their modes of life ; however, having some speculation in my eyes, I took with me some large sewing needles, several articles of cheap jewelry, some beads, &c., which I designed to barter with the inhabitants of the settlement for articles of food and clothing. Our Esquimaux friends traveled in dog-sledges, six of which they had with them and a team of four dogs to each sled. One of the company, named Colootna, offered me a seat in his vehicle, and we set out in very high spirits, although the thermometer was 48° below zero. The settlement was sixty miles from our hut, and w^e reached it in about eighteen GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 161 liours. On the way, we gave chase to a bear, who kept us in pursuit of him for six hours, and then escaped by a very ^'cute trick," diving under an ice floe and ap- pearing on the other side, entirely beyond our reach. He looked back at us, as I imagined, with a comical ex- pression of countenance, as if he would have said, " You couldn't come it that time, my boys." He was a fine fat old fellow and promised to afford some capital eating. His escape was a source of bitter disappointment to my Esquimaux companions, and some of the women and children of the party cried very heartily when the bear gave us the slip. When we arrived at the settlement, the " barbarous people showed me not a little kindness," treating me in the most generous and hospitable manner. I re- mained with them for two or three days, in order to cultivate their acquaintance and open the way for a regular trade, which might be the means of supplying our party with food during the winter. The habita- tions of the Esquimaux savages are of a very singular construction. They are of a circular shape with round dome-like tops ; the diameter of the building never ex- ceeding eight or ten feet. The height of the dome, in the centre, is about equal to the diameter of the hut. The entrance consists of a low arched- way, two feet high and six feet in length. The opening of this archway is just large enough for a man to creep through on his hands and. knees, and every one who enters must do so in this humiliating manner. Around the interior of the hut, half way between the floor and the ceiling, there 14* 162 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE is a gallery made of stone, like all the other parts of the building — leaving in the centre of the hut an area not more than three feet in diameter. The occupants of the dwelling live and sleep in the gallery, where their bedding, consisting of moss and skins, is disposed. The cooking is done by a lamp, rudely constructed of stone, which stands on the edge of the platform or gallery whereon the family sit when they are awake and lie when they are asleep. The cooking lamp is fed with the blubber of the seal or walrus. As the hut is made almost air-tight, having no aper- ture except the little door, partially guarded from the cold external atmosphere by the long arch-way described above, the interior of the dwelling is quite warm. The heat of the cooking-lamp, vrhich is kept always burnino;, toojether with the breath and vital heat of the occupants, is sufficient to make the apartment comfort- able ; and indeed too warm for persons who are not accustomed to the Esquimaux modes of living. When I had made all the purchases I desired, and signified my wish to return to my companions, my friend Colootna conveyed me home in his dog-sledge. My comrades were glad to see me, and (as I suspect,) were still better pleased to see the additional stock of provisions I had brought with me. Some of them were in very bad health, and all were, more or less, afflicted with the blue devils. They suffered consider- ably from the cold likewise, for our house was not as comfortable as the dwellings of the Esquimaux. My companions were very much divided in opinion respect- GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 163 mg the proper course to be pursued. Some were for remaining where we were until Spring, and then pro- ceeding on our way to Upernavick ; some wished to pass the winter at the neighboring Esquimaux settlement ; and some were desirous of returning immediately to the brig. The last-mentioned expedient was less accepta- ble to me then either of the others. I considered that we had, to all intents and purposes, been dismissed from our vessel, because our Commander thought that his family was larger than he could well maintain ; and as we had received our portions, like so many prodigal sons, and been set adrift, I preferred living on husks or moss, or any thing else, to going back with expres- sions of contrition and making a pitiful appeal to the benevolence of Dr. Kane. A few weeks had passed away, and we had not yet resolved what to do. Our stock of provisions had nearly run out. Se.veral of our men were sick, and nearly all were haunted by gloomy anticipations. Karl Petersen and I had some energy and resolution left, and we had health and strength enough to attempt something for the relief of our companions. We walked to the Esqui- maux village, sixty miles over the ice, the thermometer fifty degrees below zero. Incessant exercise was necessa- ry to keep us from frezing. We could not stop a moment for rest or refreshment, and we could not sleep on the way as we had no tent or bedding. We finished the journey in eighteen hours, traveling without intermision ; and this was extraordinary speed, considering our benumbed 164 Godfrey's narrative of the condition and the disabling effect of spare diet. Our only food on the way consisted of a little dried walrus- meat, on which we breakfasted, dined and supped, as we walked. When we arrived at the settlement, we staggered like drunkards, being completely unnerved by fatigue and exhaustion. After all our labor we were doomed to meet with a great disappointment. The inhabitants of the settle- ment, according to the usual improvident habits of the Esquimaux, had exhausted nearly all their provisions by continual feasting, and they were now almost as badly provided with food as we ourselves were. The young men of the village were absent on a seal and walrus-hunting expedition ; and as they had been away longer than usual, it was thought that they had met with but little success. Nevertheless, the benevolent savages took pity on our wretched condition, and spared us a little food from their scanty stores. As the prin- cipal men of the village were absent with their dog- sledges, we could obtain no conveyance back to our home, and were obliged to return on foot with the little meat we had obtained, after resting ourselves for a few hours. We made as little delay as possible, for those of our company who remained at the hut were suffering for want of victuals. We carried the small stock of walrus-meat we had obtained from the Esquimaux, strapped on our backs. The load was not very op- pressive, it is true, but it added somewhat to the weari- someness of our journey. When about half-way to our GRINSTELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 165 dwelling-place, I was unlucky enough to sprain my ankle while attempting to leap over a chasm in the ice ten feet wide. This accident added very much to my sufferings during the remainder of our walk ; and my lameness was the cause of considerable delay, prolong ing the journey to twenty-five hours. 166 Godfrey's narrative of the CHAPTER XVIII. THE AUTHOR AND HIS PARTY ENDURE ALL THE HORRORS OF FAMINE — THEY RESOLVE TO RETURN TO THE BRIG — THE author's reluctance TO GO BACK — HE COM- PLIES WITH THE WISHES OF THE MAJORITY — ANOTHER TROUBLESOME JOURNEY — THE ESQUIMAUX TRY TO OUT-YANKEE THE YANKEES — THEY MISS THEIR FIGURE — VIRTUES OF ''GODFREY'S CORDIAL" — THE AUTHOR'S SUCCESSFUL STRATAGEM. The last supply of provisions obtained by Petersen and I was consumed within two or three days, except about fifteen pounds of walrus-meat, which, although frozen, was in an advanced stage of putrefaction. The mention of this circumstance may surprise the reader ; but while I remained in the polar regions, I had fre- quent proofs of the fact, that extreme cold is sometimes almost as conducive as extreme heat to the decomposi- tion of animal matter. On this meat, oifensive as it was, we were obliged to subsist for two days. At the end of that time an Esquimaux hunter stopped at our hut with his dog-sledge. As there was no hope of re- lief from any other quarter, my companions wished to engage this Esquimaux to convey one or two of our company to the brig, to solicit Dr. Kane for a barrel GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 167 of ship-biscuit, or something else which might be the means of sustaining our lives. Petersen and I were requested to go on this mission ; but I informed my fellow-sufferers that I could not on any account become a petitioner to Dr. Kane.. I had reason to think that he was prejudiced against me, and I should prefer starving in that icy wilderness to becoming a pensioner on his bounty. I told them that I was willing to un- dertake any other journey, or to attempt any thing else for their relief, even if the attempt required the sacrifice of my own life, but they niust find some other messenger to perform the errand they now had in con- templation. After some debate, it was determined that Bonsall and Petersen should be the begging embassa- dors to Dr. Kane. The Esquimaux, who undertook to carry them in his sledge, was promised a reward on his arrival at the vessel. I learned afterward that the strength of the dog-team proved inadequate to the con- veyance of the three men ; and at the end of the first eighty miles the animals were completely worn out, so that a sort of " rotation in office'" became necessary, the dogs being placed in the sledge while the men hauled it. In this unusual style of traveling they proceeded fifty miles further, when they fell in with a large party of Esquimaux hunters, and after some conversation it was agreed that they should all go to the brig together. The hunters had sledge-room enough to accommodate the whole party, and so our messengers sped much bet- ter than they had expected. Bonsall and Petersen did 1G8 GOT^niEY'S XARllATlYE OF THE not return ; but as soon as they gave Dr. Kane an ac- count of our starving condition, that gentleman very promptly dispatched some provisions for us by the Es- quimaux hunters, detaining one of their number as a "' hostage" for the safe delivery of the articles. In the meanwhile, I had been making all possible exertions to obtain food by hunting, trapping, &c., in which operations my remaining companions were too sickly or feeble to give me any assistance. Four or five days after the departure of the messengers, my comrades informed me that they themselves had come to the determination to go to the brig, and earnestly entreated me to accompany them. I consented, be- cause I saw very plainly that they were not able to take care of themselves. After making all the prepa- ration that was necessary we started ; and, oh reader, how shall I give you the faintest idea of the tribulation I experienced on the way ! When I had performed the part of dry-nurse for ten or twelve hours, and was almost distracted by the multiplicity of my cares and duties, we met the Esquimaux hunters who had been sent from the vessel with some provisions for our use. They had five sledges, with teams of six dogs each. Both parties came to a halt ; and after the usual salu- tations, arrangements were made for cooking a meal. The Doctor had sent us some biscuit and salt pork, and we soon had a good kettle of "scouse" in the course of preparation. In the meanwhile, we tampered with our craving appetites by nibbling dry biscuit. As soon as the repast was finished, the Esquimaux divided our GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 169 company, consisting of six persons, into five lots, so that four of the sleds should carry one man each, and the fifth one two. As soon as we were all on board, we went oflF in gallant style, and put sixty miles behind us in the first ten hours. At the end of that time we halted, pitched our tents, and enjoyed a most refresh- ing sleep, as the gnawings of conscience or hunger did not interrupt our repose. The next day our Esquimaux drivers held a consulta- tion apart, and appeared to be debating some subject of importance, in their own estimation at least. The conference being over, they approached us and gave us to understand that four of them, with the same number of sledges, would be obliged to visit the place of their abode on business of great consequence. Two of their men and one sledge would remain with us, until the other members of their party should return. They would also leave us a tent and every thing necessary for our comfort. Though very much vexed at this de- tention, we felt that we had no right to object to the proposed plans, as these people were certainly pri- vileged to attend to their own affairs before ours. Soon after, four of the hunters drove off in a different direction from that we had lately been traveling. They had scarcely been gone an hour, before the two remain- ing Esquimaux announced that it had just come to their recollection that they would be obliged to go too ; and they began to hitch up the last dog-team for that purpose. I new became suspicious of a trick, and re- solved that these fellows should not out-jockey me. 15 no Godfrey's narrative of thb Happening to have a small book of *' Ethiopian Melo- dies" in my pocket, I took it out and examined a page with the most earnest attention ; then, putting on a very gloomy aspect, I informed the two hunters that they had chosen the most unlucky day in the whole year for this new journey, " After we have slept once more," said I, " the danger will be over, and you can then start as soon as you please, without any fear of the consequences." Finding that I had made some impression on their superstitious feelings, I endeavored to touch them on another assailable point, by promising them a capital supper. The gluttonous proclivities of the Esquimaux made this last argument a clincher. Our two gentlemen were persuaded to pass the night with us ; and, while I prepared for them a bountiful supper, according to promise, my mind was occupied with painful reflections on the new embarrassments which now presented themselves. I saw very plainly that these Esquimaux, for some reason or other, wished to desert us ; and it was equally evident that, if we should be abandoned in that place, the consequences would be fatal to some of my sick companions. I could see but one or two ways of extricating ourselves from the difficulty. I did not doubt our ability to compel these two savages to convey us to the brig ; but know- ing these people to be unwarlike and cowardly in their disposition, I was unwilling to take advantage of these defects of character. My intercourse with the native tribes had taught me that all kinds of trickery with them is considered fair and honorable. They are GKTNNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 171 always ready to practice a ruse^ or to excuse others for the same propensity. I determined, therefore, to com- bat them with their own weapons ; but nothing but the desperate circumstances in which I was placed could have induced me to use the stratagem, of which I am about to give an account. Convinced that it was an affair of life or death, for Dr. Hayes and two others of my party appeared to be almost in the last extremity, and were likely to die for want of medical assistance, I resolved that no time should be lost in the conveyance of these sufferers to the vessel, where alone they could meet with the attentions they required. I endeavored to touch the humane feelings of the two Esquimaux, by explaining to them the dangerous situation of my com- rades ; but these representations did not answer the purpose ; it was plain that they had made up their minds not to go to the brig. Their obstinacy in this matter was unaccountable to me at that time, but the mystery was cleared up afterward. When these hunters and their associates conveyed Bonsall and Petersen to the brig, as I have previously related, Dr. Kane feasted them in his cabin, and they embraced that opportunity to steal some of the Doctor's knives, forks, spoons, and every other small article that could possibly be carried off without too much risk of detec- tion. They had likewise committed another piece of knavery, by throwing away some of the pro\asions which they had engaged to carry to our party at "Wanderers' Home," notwithstanding they had left one of their company as a hostage for the safe delivery 172 GODFREY'S NARRATIYE OF THE of these provisions. These deeds of delinquency made them afraid to revisit the hrig, where they might expect to be held accountable for their rascality. Finding that the two native hunters could not be persuaded or induced to help us on our way, and being now satisfied that they had resolved to leave us on the ice, I perceived that it would be necessary to turn the joke on themselves. Among other trumpery in our baggage department, there were a few bottles of medi- cines. One of these nostrums, labeled " Grodfrey% Cordial^'' appeared to have been invented by some namesake of mine, with whom I cannot claim the honor of a personal acquaintance. However, the physic is considered to be ^' a safe and pleasant remedy for colic, griping pains, and other diseases to which children are liable.'' I had known it to be given to peevish infants, to make them sleep, and its virtue as an opiate was the circumstance that chiefly recommended it to my notice at that time. Having prepared a pot of " scouse'' ex- pressly for the entertainment of our faithful Esquimaux carriers, I seasoned the mess with a pretty large dose of the anodyne mixture. This preparation was greedily swallowed by my two patients, who were too intent on gratifying their own appetites to observe that my com- panions and I did not partake of the same dish. After awhile, perceiving that they were becoming drowsy, I advised them to put themselves to bed in the tent. As an Esquimaux is always willing to eat or sleep, they readily took my counsel, and were soon locked up tightly in the embrace of the poppy-crowned deity. I GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 113 then deposited in the tent provisions enough to serve them for two or three days, — (which was as much as I could spare,) — and having hitched up the dog-team, we placed our invalids in the sledge, wrapped them up well in buffalo skins and blankets, and started off at full speed. Hayes, Sonntag, and Stevenson occupied the sledge ; and as the dogs could not conveniently drag a heavier load, Blake, Whipple, and I, being the healthiest men of the party, ran on behind and assisted the dogs, by pushing against the back of the sledge. I really am not casuist enough to know whether my conduct in this affair was justifiable or not. It was certainly an unjust act to take possession of a sled and dog-team which did not belong to us; but then the question arises, would it not have been a greater fault to allow our sick people to perish on the ice ? I was placed between the horns of a moral dilemma, so that it was impossible for me to take any course with which my conscience would have been perfectly satisfied. Some time after this occurrence, I met with one of the natives whom I had tricked ; he gave me full credit for my in- genuity, and was so excessively complimentary, as to say that I deserved to be an Esquimaux. He gave me a humorous account of the astonishment of himself and his comrade when they awoke, and found that they had been outwitted by the white men ; and he begged me to supply him with some of the "sleepy stuff," as he thought it would be a good joke to try its effects on some of his countrymen. When our party had traveled, in the manner I have 15* 174 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OP THE described, about eight hours, we came to an Esquimaux settlement, where we stopped to repose. Here I met with two of the hunters who had deserted us on the preceding day. They were very much surprised to see us at that place. I informed them that we had bor- rowed the sledge and dog-team from their associates, who were waiting at the tent in expectation of their arrival, according to promise. As they never had any intention to go back, and knew that their friends did not expect them, my story did not obtain much credit. They appeared to be apprehensive that we had done their companions some mischief, and when I parted from them, they were about to start for the place where we had left my two slumbering patients. I sent word to the victimized hunters that whenever it suited their convenience to come to the brig, their sledge and dog- team would be returned, and the owners should be suita- bly recompensed for the use of them. 1 i GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. IT 7 CHAPTER XIX. THE WANDERERS RETURN TO THE BRIG — SOME OF I HEM ARE TAKEN SICK — DR. HAYES HAS HIS TOES CUT OFF -STARVATION ON SHIPBOARD — PREVALENCE OF THE SCURVY — THE MEN DYING FOR WANT OF FRESH PRO- VISIONS — SEVERAL PARTIES SENT OUT TO PROCURE FOOD — THE COLD DRIVES THEM BACK — THE AUTHOR'S SOLITARY JOURNEY OF NINETY-FIVE MILES — HIS DAR- ING ENTERPRISE SUCCEEDS — HE OBTAINS A SUPPLY OF FRESH MEAT — MORE OF HANS CHRISTIAN'S LOVE AF- FAIR. We traveled as rapidly as the strength of the dogs would permit, timing matters so as to stop for rest at the different Esquimaux settlements on the way. The natives treated us with uniform kindness at the several villages where we halted ; and I believe that some of our invalids would have died on the way, but for the relief afforded them by the hospitality of the " savages." We reached the brig on the 12th of December, having been absent more than three months. Famine, disease, d long suffering had made such havoc in our personal appearance that our friends on board could scarcely recognize us ; certainly a more ghastly company was never seen on the deck of an hermaphrodite brig. The 1Y8 Godfrey's narrative of the sick people were immediately put to bed. Some of them were found to be in a very bad condition. Sonn- tag, Blake, and Stevenson were quite ill for several weeks ; and Dr. Hayes was obliged to part with his toes, as his feet had been badly frozen. This toeless condition, by the way, was one of our arctic fashions, as a considerable proportion of our company had been subjected to that kind of trimming ; though, (if a bad pun may be excused,) few of us could well afford to have our understandings retrenched. We found that those of our men who had remained on board had suffered rather severely, though their sit- uation exposed them to much less hardship than our party of wanderers had sustained. Our second winter in the polar regions was more calamitous than the first. Of course, the longer we remained there the more our stock of provisions and fuel must become exhausted. The commodities we had brought out for the purpose of trading with the Esquimaux were nearly expended ; the consequence was, that the supplies of fresh meat which we had hitherto obtained from the natives now became more scanty. Latterly, these people had visited us but seldom, as they never leave their houses in the winter except in cases of absolute necessity. The want of fresh meat caused the scurvy to prevail among us more extensively than ever. In the latter part of De- cember nearly all of our men were sick ; and it wa" very perceptible that unless they could have the benefit of a salutary change of diet, the death of some of them would be inevitable. The dogs were dying in great GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 179 numbers — literally starving to death. In this contin- gency, Dr. Kane and Petersen started in a dog-sledge for the nearest Esquimaux settlement, called Etah, with the hope of procuring some meat ; but the severity of the cold compelled them to turn back before they had accomplished their purpose. Several other parties were sent out with the same result. At last Dr. Kane dispatched Hans Christian on a similar mission, having a notion that the hardihood of this young native would enable him to perform the task. Hans gave me an expres- sive glance when he took his departure, and I judged then that he did not intend to return. I mentioned in a former part of this narrative that he had entrusted me with the secret of a love aTair in which he was en- gaged, and I suspected thvt he was now about to settle down as a married man. The event seemed to confirm my suspicions, for he remained absent for more than three weeks. In the meanwhile, the state of afiairs on board be- came almost desperate. Several of our men appeared to be at the point of death ; their sufferings were most distressing ; and all this misery proceeded from the want of suitable food ; and it appeared to me that, with a little energetic exertion, this necessary article might be obtained. As I was in good health, and was always willing to undertake any labor for the good of our littlo community, I wondered that our commander did not send me on a provision-hunting expedition, as every other healthy man on board had been dispatched on this errand. The reason why he did not send me has 130 Godfrey's narrative op the been subsequently explained by the Commander himself. He was " afraid that I might meet or waylay Hans Christian on the route and murder him !'* Good heavens ! how could Dr. Kane have harbored the suspicion that it was possible for me to perpetrate such a crime ? Had he ever seen any thing assassin-like in my conduct ? When the reader has accompanied me through this narrative, he may come to the conclusion that Dr. Kane himself was quite as likely to commit such a deed of blood as William Godfrey. I never attempted to shoot a man on a slight provocation, and without any coloring of law or justice; nor have I ever shown a disposition to assail the person or the reputation of a man whom I supposed to be defenseless. Were Dr. Kane now living, I should speak of the events I am about to record in a manner which might be unpleasant to the feelings of his enthusiastic admirers ; but as the man who was my enemy without a cause has gone to his final account, I shall say no more than is absolutely necessary for my own vindication. Among other unwarrantable liberties which Dr. Kane has taken with my name and character, I find the following mention of me in his published journal : " I had on board a couple of men, William Godfrey and John Blake, whose former history I would like to know — bad fellows both of them, but daring, energetic and strong." If Dr. Kane had any curiosity to know my " former history" he might have been gratified, if he had merely hinted his wishes to myself. I could have told him a tale, not of crime but of sorrow, which might 1 GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 181 have disarmed his prejudices and ill-\rill. As the name of John Blake appears above, in an unfortunate con- nection, I must do him the justice to say, that I know no reason why he deserved to be called a " bad fellow," more than any other person on board of the brig Ad- vaneej except that it was his misfortune, as well as mine, not to please Dr. Kane. He was no hypocrite, no sycophant, he was not slavishly submissive to his superior, he would swear a little sometimes, and would occasionally go to sleep in the midst of one of the Doctor's religious exhortatians ; and I believe that was the most damnable sin that the recording angel ever set down to his account. For all these things Blake did penance, and is therefore, (according to the Catho- lic doctrine,) entitled to forgiveness ; unless it should be urged that his penance was involuntary/. Once, when he complained of being unwell, and showed a*dis- inclination for some task which the Doctor imposed on him, our " mild and gentle" Commander struck him on the head with a handspike, inflicting a wound which placed his life at some hazard. To show how apt Dr. Kane was to misconstrue a man's character, I will refer to the glowingly favorable account he has given of that " pious youth," Hans Christian. This sly and sedate individual had the au- dacity to fall in love without his Commander's permis- sion, and while he was professing the most unbounded affection for the Doctor, and declaring his perfect satis- faction with his situation on board of the Advance^ he was making preparations to " vamoose" at the first opportu- 16 132 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE nity. I have confessed that he made me acquainted with his design ; for which I could not blame him, as his term of service had expired, and he had a right to follow his own inclinations. I thought so at least, and I did not choose to become an informer. It was mentioned above that Hans had been sent to the settlement of Etah for provisions. He had been absent several weeks, and but one person on board could guess at the cause of his detention. Meanwhile the sickness and distress on board increased daily, until I could bear the sight of my comrades' misery no longer. As I had once been dismissed from the brig, and had never entered into any new contract with the Commander, I considered myself under no obligation to wait for the orders which I saw plainly that he did not intend to give. Believing that it was in my power to supply my companions with the means of health and comfort, I resolved to start forthwith for the Esqui- maux village. I did not ask Dr. Kane's permission, for several reasons. 1. I thought that such an appli- cation to him would be an acknowledgment of his au- thority to control my movements. 2. I had reason to believe that he would not give his consent. 3. He might forbid me to go ; and I judged that if it were a fault for me to go without orders, it would be a still greater fault to go against orders. Without making any communication to Dr. Kane on the subject, I started on foot, about the latter part of February, 1854, and walked ninety-five miles over the ice to the Esquimaux village called Etah. Several of GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 183 our company, including Dr. Kane himself, had at differ- ent times, attempted to make this journey in dog- sledges, but were driven back by the severity of the cold. I traveled the whole distance on foo% without pausing to rest but once, and with nothing to eat during the whole walk except two hard biscuits. The reader will observe that I was obliged to keep in constant motion to avoid freezing, as I had no blanket or buffalo-skin to wrap myself in if I felt disposed to sleep. I had the ill-luck to encounter a severe snow-storm when about half-way, and I took shelter under the lee of an ice-hill, where I remained for two hours, at the great risk of my life ; for had I fallen asleep I might have awaked in heaven. Had I kept on while the snow was falling rapidly, I would probably have been struck with snow-blindness ; in that case I should have lost my way, having no companion to guide me, and I must have perished. Traveling alone in these regions is so very dangerous, that unless a man knows well what he can endure, he should never undertake it. I made this journey in thirty hours. On my arrival at Etah, I found our truant, Hans Christian, domesticated in the hut of his intended father-in-law. He excused himself for not coming back with the sledge and provisions, by stating that he had been very sick. I judged that he had merely been love-sick ; but knowing how to excuse a lover's foibles, I did not reproach him. Kalutunah, Shangheu and some other distinguished citizens of Etah, prepared a rich banquet of seal-meat in honor of my arrival, and 184 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE they appeared to be much grieved when they under- stood that I could make but a short stay. When I made them acquainted with the destitution of my com- panions on shipboard, they made a contribution of seal and walrus-flesh, amounting to about 450 pounds, for which I was unable to oflfer them any recompense, and none was demanded. After resting myself for four hours, I took the sledge and dog-team which Hans had brought to the settlement with him, and having put the provisions which had been given me on board, I took leave of my friends and started on my return. Before I left, however, I advised Hans Christian to come back and stay with us a little while longer, as I thought it probably that the Expedition would proceed homeward in the Spring ; and in that case, Hans would be honorably dismissed from the service, as he would not be expected to leave his native country. In com- pliance with my advice, he promised to return to the brig as soon as an opportunity offered. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 186 CHAPTER XX. THE AUTHOR RETURNS TO THE BRIG WITH A LOAD OP FRESH MEAT — HIS WARM RECEPTION — HE BECOMES A TARGET FOR PISTOL AND RIFLE PRACTICE — REFUSES TO COME ON BOARD — DR. KANE AND BONSALL TRY TO COMPEL HIM — HE TREATS THE DOCTOR DISRE- SPECTFULLY AND RETIRES UNDER A GALLING FIRE — HIS DESPERATE JOURNEY BACK TO ETAH — HE IS OVERPOWERED BY THE COLD, AND SINKS DOWN IN A SNOW-DRIFT — HIS PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. As my dogs were fresh and vigorous, after their long rest at the settlement, they traveled very rapidly. As my business was urgent, I stopped but two or three times on the way, and then only long enough to feed the animals and give them a little rest. I felt some doubts arising as to the reception I should meet with when I arrived at the vessel, but I hoped that my suc- cess in procuring food for the starving people would be a sufficient apology for my unauthorized absence. I made up mind, however, not to go on board until I was assured of meeting with friendly treatment. When about fifty yards from the vessel, I stopped and hailed with the customary, " Ship ahoy !" Bonsall appeared at the side, and I requested him to call up Dr. Kane. ' 16* 186 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE The commander soon presented himself, and I accosted him as nearly as I can remember with the following words : " Dr. Kane, I have brought some fresh provi- sions for the use of my suflfering companions. I am about to return for some more, and I hope you will send some of your men to take these on board.'' He did not answer me for several minutes, but appeared to be reflecting what he should do. At length he said, " William, you had better come on board." I replied, "That is unnecessary. Dr. Kane; here is the meat; will you be kind enough to send some of your people for it ?" He then said, in a peremptory tone, " I tell you, you must come on board.'' To this I promptly answered, " I will not." " If you do not," said he, " I will shoot you !" During this conversation, Dr. Kane had de- scended from the vessel's side to the ice and approached me. I met him half way, and when he spoke of shoot- ing me, we were scarcely two yards apart. ' He put his hand into his pocket, as if to draw out a pistol. "Dr. Kane," said I, "you cannot frighten me in this way, and I thought that you knew me too well to make the attempt. Hans was sick and not able to come with the provisions ; I have brought them, and ask you to apply them to the relief of your starving crew. Is this an offense which deserves capital punishment?" He replied, " I do not punish you for bringing the provi- sions, but for leaving your vessel without permission." Said I : " I have been discharged from the brig, and am no longer under your command; but had you treated me in a proper manner, I would have remained GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 187 "With you as long as my services were required." To this he answered, "If you will not come on board, come nearer the side, while I try to convince you that you are under a mistake." I complied with this request, and, as soon as we came near the companion-way, the Doctor called for Bonsall, who immediately came down on the ice. The Doctor then repeated, "You must go on board." Said I: " If you choose to murder me, you may ; but go on board I will not." Dr. Kane then drew a pistol and gave it to Bonsall, directing him to shoot me if T at- tempted to go away. The Doctor then ascended the companion-ladder, and went on board. I turned to Bonsall and said, " Comrade, do you intend to shoot me?" He answered, " I will shoot you, if you offer to leave the side of the brig." "Then," said I, "you must shoot, for I am going this moment;" and I suited the action to the word, walking very deliberately toward my sledge. Bonsall presented his pistol and pulled the trigger, but the cap exploded without communicating with the charge. Dr. Kane now appeared on deck, and seeing me in the act of walking off, he snatched a rifle from the gun-stand, for the purpose of shooting me, as he fully admits in his journal ; but, owing to his haste in handling the weapon, it went off before he could bring it to bear. He caught up another rifle, cocked it, took deliberate aim, and fired. The bullet whistled as it passed my head; but God, being more merciful than this amiable and saintly naval ofiicer, protected me from harm. I then bowed to the Doctor, 188 Godfrey's narratiye of the in acknowledgment of his intended kindness, and ad- vised him to go below and compose himself. " When your nerves are steadier," said I, *' perhaps you may shoot with more effect." He stood gazing at me as if astonished at my audacity. I walked a few paces further, and then turned and addressed him again: " Dr. Kane, as you will not order your men to unload the sledge, I shall have to go back without it. But no matter ; I have walked to Etah once, and I can do so again. I shall borrow a sledge there, and return with another load of meat. In the mean time, you can practice with the rifle until I come back and offer you a chance for another shot." Then, leaving the sledge, with its load, on the ice, I bowed again to the Doctor and departed. My former journey on foot to Etah was one of unexampled hard- ship and danger, but the repetition of that journey, at a time when I was already exhausted with fatigue, was a desperate undertaking. I expected to die on the way ; but I preferred this alternative to making that submission which my late Commander required. I felt revengeful enough against Dr. Kane to wish that he had killed me, so that he might experience the pangs of remorse. When I had plodded on my weary way for several hours, the thought suddenly occurred, to me that I was without a morsel of food, and that it would be impossible for me to obtain any before I came to Etah. "But that matters little, (I soliloquized,) it is not likely that I shall die of hunger.'' I made this journey at the coldest and darkest period GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 189 of the arctic winter. The temperature must have been at least fifty degrees below zero. My limbs became stiffer every moment, and a drowsy feeling crept over me in spite of every effort to resist it. Often did I feel strongly tempted to lie down, ** And with one dying glance upbraid the sky ;" but better feelings prevailed ; and I looked up to Heaven with affectionate confidence, remembering that man alone was my enemy. I felt, however, that the catastrophe was approaching. My physical energies had been tried to their utmost powers of endurance, and they failed at last. I felt an oppressive weight on my brain ; my limbs were immovable ; I tottered and sank into a deep snow-drift. Then I recognized the certainty of my fate, recommended myself to Divine mercy, and became insensible. But a few minutes could have elapsed, I think, be- fore I recovered my senses. I felt no pain — no un- pleasant sensation of any kind — but was extremely drowsy ; and although quite conscious that sleep and death, at that time, were one and the same thing, that thought would not have prevented me from indulging my somnolent inclination. In such circumstances sleep is so fascinating and attractive, that the gloomy aspect of his ''half-brother" ceases to be terrible. A touch of the ice-king's sceptre then becomes as potent and irresistible as the somniferous influences of Prosperous wand. But, while my physical powers succumbed to the antagonism of natural causes, my spirit resisted, 190 Godfrey's narrative of the and prompted me to attempt one more struggle for my life. I felt that it was unmanly to be victimized by any earthly power, without resisting to the last ex tremity. With a desperate effort I arose to my feet, and gave myself a severe buffet in the face, which ef- fectually awakened me. In fact, the pain of the bruise kept me wide awake for three hours afterward. Strange as it may seem, when I again began to walk I found myself much refreshed. I judged that while my senses were absent I had enjoyed the benefit of a short sleep. I had, on several former occasions, observed the wonder- fully renovating effect of a very short slumber, when arctic wayfarers appear to be completely overcome by cold and fatigue. One instance occurs to my remem- brance. When the rescue party, mentioned in a former chapter, were returning to the brig, and the men seemed to be entirely worn out by toil and hardship, each was allowed to sleep for two minutes while sitting on the side of the sledge. They were aroused in time to pre- vent fatal consequences ; but this sleep of only two minutes duration appeared to restore all their animation and vigor. My falling into the deep snow-drift (as mentioned above,) was a providential circumstance, as a man is much less likely to freeze in a pile of snow than on the naked ice. After I had recovered my power of loco- motion, I struggled onward with some degree of speed for the first twenty miles, but afterward with a slow and irregular pace, like the movements of a somnambulist. I have no recollection of any thing that occurred during GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 191 the last forty miles of my journey, and I am totally un- able to comprehend how it was possible for me to travel at all. It is a still greater mystery how I could keep in the right course. I learned afterward from the Es- quimaux of Etah, that they saw me approaching their settlement, and ran out to meet me. They found that my eyes were closed, and that I was unable to answer any questions. The charitable natives took me into one of their huts, chafed my half- frozen limbs, and ad- ministered to my necessities with the most anxious at- tention. I slept fifteen hours without intermission, and, on awaking, found myself as well and as vigorous as ever. 192 GODFREY'S NAKRATIVE OJF THE CHAPTER XXI. HANS CHRISTIAN PROVES THAT FEAR CAN MAKE A MAN SICK AS WELL AS LOVE — GODFREY CONTINUES TO SUPPLY THE brig's COMPANY WITH PROVISIONS — DR. KANE SENDS ANOTHER ORDER FOR HIM TO COME ON BOARD — HE DISOBEYS — THE DOCTOR COMES AFTER-, HIM — AN EXCITING DIALOGUE BETWEEN KANE AND GODFREY — ^WHEN THREATS FAIL, GODFREY YIELDS TO PERSUASION — HE RETURNS TO THE BRIG, AND MEETS WITH A CORDIAL RECEPTION FROM HIS COMRADES. Hans Christian still remained at Etah. When I gave him an account of my last interview with Dr. Kane, he was very much alarmed lest the commander should have Am arrested and punished as a deserter. My story first made him aware of the great fault he had committed by absenting himself from the brig without leave. His mind was so much exercised by the dread of Dr. Kane's resentment, that he became sick in reality, and I was obliged to nurse him for two or three days. I inspired him with fresh courage by assur- ing him that all would be well enough if he should re- turn to his duty, which he promised to do. As soon aa he was well enough to be out, he and I began to hunt, in order to raise another supply of provisions for the =^- "ill ill r-/l|iiiiiil!l!iiiiii!!il!!iili i liiiiiiiiiiii liiiiiiiiii I p gs^ ^- •'111 illiilli lif GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 195 people on board of the AdvancSj as I did not wish to exact too much from the charity of the Esquimaux ; in fact, they had already given us as much meat as they could easily spare. When our hunting had furnished us with a considerable amount of provisions^ consisting of arctic rabbits, foxes, and seal and walrus-flesh, I bor- rowed a sledge from Kalnuch, (one of the men of Etah,) and sent Hans with a good load of eatables to the brig. I sent him, instead of going myself, in order to give him an opportunity to make his peace with the Doctor. As Mr. Christian was a perfect adept in the art of blarney, he soon succeeded in re-establishing himself in the good graces of the Commander. A week after the departure of Hans, he returned with the borrowed sledge, and brought a verbal man- date from Dr. Kane, requiring me to come to the vessel without delay. Of course I paid no attention to this summons. Soon after Hans returned, I borrowed a sledge and dog-team from one of my Esquimaux friends named Metek, and drove to another settlement eighty- five miles from Etah, where I negotiated for a load of provisions ; and on my return to Etah^ I sent Hans again to the ship with these new supplies. On this trip Hans was accompanied by Metek. In the mean- w^hile I remained at Etah, living with the Esquimaux, and adapting myself as much as possible to their habits and customs. Our usual food was dried walrus-meat and blubber. I made myself useful to my kind friends of this settlement, hunting with them, and assisting them in their various domestic occupations. Among 196 Godfrey's narrative of the the ladies I was a great favorite ; they would give me one of the strongest expressions of their regard, by biting off pieces of raw meat and presenting them to me from their own mouths. Such delicate attentions flattered me, of course ; but all the affectionate treat- ment I met with did not quite reconcile me to my pre- sent mode of life. I felt home-sick ; and several times I had almost resolved to start off on foot for Uper- navick, from whence I might obtain a passage to my own country. I had no books with me, and nothing to relieve the monotony of my existence except smoking a pipe. I had no pipe, until I made myself one of the marrow-bones of a seal. With my last remaining knife, and a few other articles which I could scarcely spare, I purchased an- other sledge-load of provisions, and sent them to the brig by two Esquimaux, Miuke and Metek ; the latter having returned with his sledge, leaving Hans at the brig. Thus I constituted myself a purveyor for my comrades on board, and kept them constantly supplied with wholesome victuals. When I sent the last-men- tioned load by Miuke and Metek, I walked ten miles behind their sledge, and saw them fairly started. When I parted from them, I requested them to tell Mr. Brooks to send me some articles suitable for traffic with the natives, that I might have the means of purchasing food for the use of the brig's company. Either this message was not delivered, or no attention was paid to it. At the end of five days Metek returned, bringing GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 19t Dr. Kane with him, and leaving Miuke to return with Hans. I was standing at the door of a hut when the sledge, with Metek and Dr. Kane on board, came in sight. Metek hallooed to me and informed me, in the Esquimaux language, that " nally-gag" {i, e, the white captain) had a pistol. He also bawled out to the women and children who were gathered about the hut, and ordered them to keep out of the way. He evidently considered ''nally-gag" as a very dangerous person. I approached the sledge and saluted Dr. Kane in a very respectful manner, inquiring if he were fatigued. He replied, ''Very much fatigued and very cold." In fact, although he was well wrapped up in furs and wool- ens, and had traveled very rapidly in the dog-sledge, he appeared to be half-frozen. I got him into a hut, chafed his benumbed limbs, and having borrowed a cooking utensil from one of the Esquimaux women, I prepared the Doctor some warm broth. He had brought some ship-biscuit with him, and I broke several of these up and put them in his soup, to make the mess more palatable. After he had eaten, he still complained of fatigue. I helped him off with some of his clothes and put him to bed, where he slept soundly for several hours. When he awoke, in answer to my inquiry how he felt, he replied that he was very much refreshed, and he thanked me for my attentions. He then asked me what were my reasons for staying away so long from the brig, where my services were required. I re- plied that I had several reasons for keeping away ; but the principal reason was that I could be more useful to 17^ 198 Godfrey's narrative of the my companions by remaining where I was and sending them food at every opportunity. "Ay," said the Doc- tor, " but you are setting them an example of disobe- dience and mutiny/' Said I : " They will not so under- stand it. Dr. Kane, if you explain to them that I was once dismissed from the Adva^ice^ with permission to go home. My engagement was thus dissolved ; and when I re-entered the brig, it was on a new footing. You might have considered me as your guest, or as a workman temporarily employed on board, but you had no right to subject me to the rigid discipline of the naval service.'' He answered: ''These are questions for lawyers to decide ; but until a legal decision is given, you are bound to obey my orders ; and your refusal to come on board when I command you to do so, is mu- tiny." I told him that I could not consider myself under obligation to be any man's slave, and to remain in a slavish condition, until the laws should decide that I was a freeman. He replied : " I am not bound to consider nice points of law in a case of this kind. It is enough that the law has put it in my power to en- force obedience to my orders." '' If the law kas given you such power," said I, ''why do you not use it?" " This is setting me at defiance," said the Doctor, " but you forget that I can send a force from the brig that will be sufficient to arrest you ; and if I do so, it will be necessary to administer a severe pimishment." "When you have arrested me," said I, "it will be time enough to speak of punishment. You have no right to command me, and I will not obey you. If any of your GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 199 men think that they can arrest me, let them come and try the experiment." After a pause of several minutes, the Doctor, who had become a little excited toward the end of the dia- logue just reported, became more calm, and inquired, " What do you intend to do ?" I replied, that I had partially made up my mind to go to Upernavick with my Esquimaux friend Metek, who was inclined to visit that place and had offered to convey me thither in his dog-sledge. From Upernavick, or some other southern port of Greenland, I hoped to obtain a passage in some vessel to the United States. The Doctor answered; " You had better abandon this project, the execution of which will be both diflBcult and dangerous. I am now making preparations to return to our own country, and I find that your assistance is indispensable. It will be much better for you to go home with your comrades, and I now ask you, as a friend, to accompany me back to the brig." I answered without hesitation, " Dr. Kane, since you ask me as a friend, I will go with you." He appeared to be not only pleased, but surprised at my acquiescence; but if the Do'ctor had been better acquainted with human nature in general, and my na- ture in particular, he would not have been amazed to find that kind and gentle words were more effective than angry threats and reproaches. The ever-accommodating Metek, (who, by the way, was the most amiable person, savage or civilized, that ever I met with,) was now summoned ; and the Doctor negotiated with him for the use of his sledge and team 200 GODFREYS NARRATIVE OF THE to convey us to the vessel. Metek, who was afraid that there was something wrong between the Doctor and I, wished to go with us. He took me apart and told me that he was afraid that ''nally-gag" might take a notion to shoot me on the way, and that his object in going was to keep a watch on the Captain's movements. I told him that my quarrel with the Captain was all over, and that we were as good friends as ever. "No, no," said Metek, shaking his head, ''it's not all right yet ; I see it in his eye!" And Metek proved to be a more accurate observer than myself. I obtained several pieces of meat on credit, promising to send some small articles from the brig to pay for them. This meat I placed in the sledge ; and, as the dogs had not yet recovered from the fatigue of their late journey, I told the Doctor that I should walk, in order that the animals might not be too heavily laden. Dr. Kane and Metek rode in the sled, and I ran behind. In this way we traveled twelve miles, when I became tired of running, and told the Doctor that he and Metek might go forward with the sledge, and that I would walk the rest of the way. The Doctor told me that Hans was going to the settlement in another dog-sledge, that I should meet him on the way, and that he would furnish me with food and any other necessaries that I required. I told Dr. Kane that I did not need any thing, that I had traveled on this route twice without provisions, and believing that I could do so again, I would not deprive Hans of the articles which had been GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 201 provided for his own comfort on the way. Kane and Metek then drove ahead ; I followed at my leisure, and reached the brig a few hours after their arrival. I met with a cordial reception from the whole brig's company. A magnificent banquet of bean-soup, (the best entertainment that the vessel could afi'ord,) was prepared to celebrate my return. When the feasting and jollification were over, I went below and took a long sleep. I found that the fresh meat which I had sent on board had been extremely useful in restoring the men to health and renovating their good spirits. I assisted my comrades in making preparations for our homeward travel, as it had been decided that we should abandon the brig early in the spring, and attempt a boat and sledge journey to Upernavick. Dr. Kane treated me well enough ; and I had no reason to suppose that he harbored any unkind feelings toward me, until the mention made of me in his book convinced me that I had not quite succeeded in gaining his friendship. 202 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE CHAPTER XXII. DR. Kane's unfavorable notice of Godfrey — charge OF desertion and mutiny — GODFREY'S DEFENSE — COMMENTS OF THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW — THAT PERIODICAL CONDEMNS DR. KANE AND EXCULPATES GODFREY — GODFREY SUBMITS HIS CASE TO THE ARBI- TRATION OF PUBLIC OPINION — A WARNING TO OP- PRESSORS. The incidents detailed in the last two or three chap- ters have been somewhat differently related by Dr. Kane in his published volume. The Doctor's memory appears to have been defective in some instances. Among other curious assertions, he states that he had reason to suspect that those two "bad fellows," God- frey and Blake, had contemplated desertion and escape to the Esquimaux ; and that they intended to waylay Hans, rob him of his dog-sledge, and proceed southward. Deeply do I regret that Dr. Kane died before I had an opportunity to ask him what reasons he had for any such suspicions as these? He says, "these men were watched, handcuffed, and after protestations of better behavior they returned to their duties." This is all purely imaginative. Blake and I were never handcuffed; GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 203 and never made any protestations of better behavior, because our behavior was always as good as any body had a right to expect. Dr. Kane says that I told him that I had resolved to spend the rest of my life with the Esquimaux. I never told him any thing of the kind ; and the filthy habits of these savages were so disagreeable to me, that nothing but the sternest neces- sity could have compelled me to remain among them for a single week. This pious Commander says that he induced me to come on board by " means of a strata- gem." When he said, " I ask you, as a friend, to come on board," — was this profession of friendship a strata- gem ? If so, it was a very unworthy one ; and such a stratagem as no man who makes the least pretensions to honorable feelings could use. But the most absurd statement of all is, that he brought me '' a prisoner to the brig." Dr. Kane, in physical constitution, was the feeblest man on board of the Advance. I should have defied any two of the strongest of the brig's company to make me " a prisoner." This preposterous statement, therefore, needs no denial. In order to show that the Doctor is condemned on his own confession, and that his account of this matter carries its own refutation with it, I will quote the de- cision of an impartial authority ; an authority which was not likely to be influenced by any feelings of favor or prejudice. The extract I give below is taken from a notice of Dr. Kane's book in the '' North British Re- view." It will be observed that the writer here quoted had no knowledge of the facts of the case, except what 204 Godfrey's narrative of the he derived from Dr. Kane's own statements; and these, as I have shown, are made as favorable as they could be to the Doctor's side of the question : " In this emergency, (says the Reviewer, with Dr. Kane's volume before him,) an event occurred of so serious a nature that if, in one of ita results, it threat- ened evil to the Expedition, in another it might have justly withdrawn from it that high protection which they daily sought. (Here the Reviewer alludes proba- bly to Dr. Kane's frequent petitions to the Throne of Grace.) On Sunday, the 18th of March, it is recorded in Dr. Kane's journal, that he had on board ' a couple of men, William Godfrey and John Blake, whose former history he would like to know — bad fellows, both of them, but daring, energetic and strong.' He had reason to think that they contemplated desertion and escape to the Esquimaux — an act doubtless of trivial delinquency, when we consider that these two men, with six others were formerly allowed to withdraw, with half the stores of the Expedition, and that Dr. Kane took credit for receiving them back again, though an incum- brance to his party. Dr. Kane, however, viewed the act through the eyes of his imagination. He conjectured that the intention of the deserters was to rob Hans of his sledge and dog-team and proceed southward. The men were watched, handcuffed, and after protestations of better behavior they returned to their duties. An hour after, Godfrey escaped, and Blake remained true to his post. " Hans had now been many weeks absent, and Dr. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 205 Kane, anxious for his return, set out in.searcli of him. Hans is found ! Godfrey had urged him to drive off with him to the south, ' and so to leave the Expedition sledgeless ;' but, upon Hans* refusal, Godfrey consented to take a sledge-load of fresh meat to the brig ! On the morning of the 2d of April, Bonsall ' reported a man about a mile from the brig, apparently lurking at the ice-foot!' Dr. Kane and Bonsall went forward and discovered their dog-sledge with a cargo of walrus-meat, which had been brought by Godfrey, ' and was such a God-send,' that Dr. Kane declares, ' one may forgive the man in consideration of the good he has done for us all.' Godfrey advanced to meet Dr. Kane, and told him that he had resolved to spend the rest of his life with the Esquimaux, and that neither persuasion nor force would prevent him. After forcing him back to the gang-way by presenting a pistol, and leaving him under Bonsall's charge. Dr. Kane went on board for irons, but he had hardly reached the deck when God- frey ' turned to run.' Bonsall discharged his pistol at him, which ' failed at the cap.' Dr. Kane 'jumped at once to the gun-stand ;' his first rifle went off in the act of cocking ; and the second, aimed in haste at a long but practicable distance, missed the fugitive. ' He made good his escape, before we could lay hold of an- other weapon.' " This attempt to take the life of William Godfrey, which no law, human or divine, can justify, was, fortu- nately for Dr. Kane, over-ruled. When, in a formei* Arctic expedition, its leader shot a ferocious Indian of 18 206 Godfrey's narratiye of the his party, the world viewed it as an act of stern neces- sity and personal safety ; but Godfrey was neither a madman nor an enemy. He approached the brig to intimate his resolution to live with the Esquimaux : as if to claim a friendly acquiescence, he brought with him a load of food, without which his shipmates might have perished. Were we disposed to argue this question at the bar of our readers, we would say that the previous permission, which was offered and accepted, to with- draw with half the crew, had dissolved the original obligation; but no argument is required. Dr. Kane tells us that ' the daily work went on better in God- frey's absence, and that the ship seemed better when purged by his desertion ; but thinking the example dis- astrous, he resolved, cost what it might, to have him back.' A month had nearly elapsed, when a report arose that Godfrey was at Etah, with the Esquimaux ; and the moment Dr. Kane heard it, he 'resolved that he should return to the ship.' He accordingly set off to Etah, caught him by a stratagem, and brought him ' a prisoner to the brig.' A prisoner, indeed ! Dr. Kane had been without food in his man-hu^t of eighty miles, and when the filth of the walrus-steaks offered him by an Esquimaux 'rendered it impossible for him to eat them," William Godfrey, who must then have been at large, administered to his wants by 'bring- ing to him a handful of frozen liver-nuts.' This ' strong and healthy man,' too, neither handcuffed nor foot- cuffed, ran peaceably by his captor's chariot ; and dur- ing the future toils and trials of the Expedition, we find GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 20T him placed in situations of trust, and performing all the duties of his station. " We have presented this singular story fully to our readers. It is pregnant with instruction ; and if it is not fitted to ^ adorn a tale,' we may use it to ' point a moral' touching a theme of duty which, however deeply engraven on the tablets of Christianity, has not yet been apprehended by the Christian community. The chief of an expedition, apprehensive of inconvenience to his party from the desertion of an individual, de- mands the forfeit of his life ! Is not this a true type of what a Christian tolerates as defensive war, a type in- structive in its individuality, and more instructive still in its results ? A monarch, like an expedition chief, takes offense at an act of real or supposed aggression. He assumes that the safety of his throne demands re- taliation. His armies march into the field, and his ships quit their moorings. His subjects become pirates ; and passion and self-interest, under the guise of patriot- ism, rush with their fiery cross into peaceful and happy communities, and hurry into eternity millions of souls unshriven, and unfit to die." The article from which the above extract is made, was published originally in the "North British Eeview," and was republished in the " American Eclectic Maga- zine of Foreign Literature, Science and Art," for April, 1857 : being the leading article of that number. The " Eclectic Magazine " is published by W. H. Bidwell, No. 6 Beekman street. New York. The reader will perceive that Dr. Kane has admit- 208 Godfrey's narratiye of the ted, in his own journal, almost enough for my justifi- cation ; but there are, in his book, references to myself -which do me great wrong, and which the Reviewer quoted above, for want of any knowledge of the facts, has not contradicted. I never persuaded Hans to run away and " leave the expedition sledgeless/' I sus- pect that Hans invented that story to ingratiate himself with the Commander, by making a display of his own fidelity. I was not a fugitive from the brig; for I made no secret of my intention to leave her, and I walked away boldly. I did not " attempt to run" when Bonsall kept guard over me ; and if I had wished to make my escape in that craven-like manner, the ice about the vessel was too rough to admit of running. There are many other errors in Dr. Kane's account ; but not wishing to cast any unnecessary obloquy on the character of the deceased, I will now submit my case to the judgment of the public. I would not have presumed to obtrude my private wrongs on the atten- tion of the public, with such a prolixity of detail, were I not assured that this case involves several questions of general interest. And I wish, by the exposure I have made, to give a wholesome warning to persons "dressed in a little brief authority," who may be tempted to ^^play fantastic tricks before high heaven." I would teach them the useful lesson that the victims of oppression, however abject may be their state, may find a tongue to speak ; and by proclaiming their injuries in tones which the world cannot refuse to hear, obtain redress for their wrongs, even at an earthly tribunal. GEINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 209 CHAPTER XXIII. THE AUTHOR GOES ON ANOTHER PROVISIOl^-HUNTING EXPEDITION — HE CHASES A BEAR — MUTINY AMONG HIS DOGS — HE SHOOTS A SEAL AND SATISFIES THE DEMANDS OF THE CANINE MUTINEERS— SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS AT ETAH — THE AUTHOR EXTENDS HIS JOURNEY TO ANOTHER SETTLEMENT — MEETS WITH THE MEN WHO TOOK ^' GODFREY'S CORDIAL" — THEIR APPRECIATION OF THE JOKE — A BEAR FIGHT — VA- RIOUS ADVENTURES — GODFREY RETURNS TO THE BRIG WITH A LOAD OF FRESH MEAT. Before I had been on board two wee^s, our stock of fresh provisions again gave out ; for our men " eat like threshers ;'* as people generally do when they are recovering from a spell of sickness. Mr. Brooks, who acted as first officer, desired me to take a sledge and dog-team, provide myself with such small articles as I thought would answer for trading with the Esqui- maux, and go to some of the native villages where there was any likelihood of obtaining more meat. As I ob- served once before, our supplies of beads, knives, and other marketable articles, had become very scarce. I had observed, however, that the Esquimaux set a very 18^ 210 Godfrey's narrative of the high value on pieces of wood of any kind; in fact, among them there is no better currency than old barrel staves, scraps of pine plank, broken boxes, &c. I broke Tip a number of old pork barrels, and ladened my sledge with the fragments, confident that I should find very ■willing customers for this kind of merchandise. In addition to my wooden-ware, I had a small lot of nee- dles and two knives ; the last that could be spared from the brig. I traveled alone with a team of four dogs, proceeding southward. When about thirty miles from the brig, I discovered a bear on the ice, and imme- mediately gave chase. My dogs, who were considera- bly more than half starved, became almost frantic and unmanageable at the prospect of a feast. Though obliged to drag the heavily laden sledge after them, they darted off in pursuit of the bear, running at a sur- prising rate, considering their incumbrances. When the chase had lasted for about an hour, I saw that it was all lost labor, as the bear, having nothing to carry but his own weight, left us further behind him every moment. I therefore held in my dogs, and attempted to turn their heads in the direction I wished to travel ; but the brutes, made desperate by hunger, showed a determination to resist my authority. They were much to be pitied, indeed, on account of their cruel disap- pointment ; but necessity, " the tyrant's plea,'' com- pelled me to use severe measures to make them tracta- ble. When they found that I would not allow them to follow the bear, they threw themselves on their haunches and filled the air with the most diabolical howling. I GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 211 cut away with my whip, right and left, but this had no effect on their obstinacy. I got out of the sledge and seized one of the leaders by the collar to drag him along, but the rascal gave me a pretty bad bite on the arm, and so compelled me to relinquish my grasp. The contest lasted for half an hour, and not until the SEALS AT PLAT. bear was quite out of sight could I induce my team to move forward. The ravenous propensities of the dogs often occasion vexatious delays in this kind of travel- 212 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE ing. Having proceeded about ten miles further, I saw a party of seals playing on the ice. Before I left the brig, I had taken care to provide myself with a rifle, which was loaded and deposited in the sledge ready for use. I snatched it up, and while the dogs bounded for- ward, I took aim at one of the amphibious animals and fired. My shot took effect, disabling the seal and pre- venting him from making his escape through an open- ing in the ice, which was very near him, and into which all the other seals plunged, as soon as they heard the report of the gun. My starving dogs pounced on the "wounded seal with remorseless fury. In less than five minutes, I believe, the creature was torn to pieces and completely devoured. My poor dogs having satisfied their hunger for the present, went on their way with great alacrity. I made a very quick trip to Etah, but found the inhabitants of that place unprepared for a trade. We had made so many draughts on their provision department, that they had scarcely enough left for their own use ; and although they cast many eager glances at my load of old barrel-staves', they had no eatables which they could afford to barter for that desirable commodity. What a speculation it would be for some Yankee sea captain in the merchant service to carry a load of pine lumber to the Esquimaux settlements ! Every square foot of pine plank would command its weight in costly furs, and ten times its weight in seal and walrus-blub- ber, which yield more than their whole bulk of good lamp-oil ! If Smith's Sound were only navigable, the GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 213 Greenland trade would deserve the attention of our enterprising countrymen. Finding that there was no market at Etah for my valuable merchandize, I refreshed myself a little at the residence of my friend Metek, and started again, with the intention of proceeding to the next settlement. Metek and his wife harnessed up their dog-team, and accompanied me to the nearest Esquimaux village, where we found a party of native hunters, among whom were the two men whom I had physicked with '^ God- frey's Cordial," as related in a former part of this volume. That adventure was humorously narrated by one of my patients to the whole party, and all of them regarded it as a most excellent joke, though I could never recall it to my memory without some twinges of conscience. I remained with these hunters for several days ; and while sojourning with them I participated in a bear- hunt, or rather a he^LY-Jight, the result of which, for some time, was quite doubtful. Our ursine antagonists were only two in number, but they were large and pow- erful fellows, and very ferocious. We chased them five miles, when they turned to bay. The Esquimaux hunt- ers were armed with spears ; I had my rifle. Our dogs began the attack ; several of them were snatched up by the bears, who took them in their arms, gave them an affectionate squeeze, and pitched them to the distance of twenty or thirty feet. Two dogs were killed by this process, and three or four others were badly hurt. The plan of attack was for two spearsmen to apply 214 GODFREY'S NAURATIVE OP THE themselves to eacli bear. One of them would give the bear a wound behind the shoulder, and when the bear turned to execute vengeance, the other hunter would stab him on the opposite side. This plan worked very well for a while ; but a bear who had received a wound was too quick for the aggressor. He turned suddenly, and gave the Esquimaux a bite in a very fleshy part of the body ; this successful repulse made the whole party of assailants stand back for a few minutes. I took this opportunity to use my rifle, no great skill in gunnery being required, as I could place the muzzle of my piece within two feet of my victim's nose. The ball pene- trated to the animal's brain, and killed him instantly. The other bear was soon after dispatched by my com- panions of the hunt. According to the Esquimaux rule of sportsmanship, the game was equally divided among the members of the party. I obtained nearly two hundred pounds of bear's meat as my share of the spoils. I likewise traded away my barrel-staves to very good advantage, receiving about four hundred and fifty pounds of walrus-flesh in exchange for the lot, out of which I reserved some twenty or thirty pieces to re- ward Metek and his wife for the assistance they had given me, and for the many acts of kindness and char- ity they had, at various times, done for our brig's com- pany. Having now as much meat as I could conveniently carry on my sledge, I took the nearest route to the brig, making but few pauses, and very short ones, on the way. Metek carried my load part of the way on GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 215 his sledge, to save the strength of my dogs for the re- mainder of the journey. When I came within fifty miles of the brig, the dogs began to give out, as the load was too heavy for them. About the same time a heavy storm of wind and snow commenced, and I was obliged to make an excavation in a snow-drift to shel- ter myself. I gave my dogs a luncheon ; then, wrap- ping myself up closely in a buffalo-skin, and burying myself under the snow, leaving only a breathing-hole, I took a comfortable nap while the storm continued. When I awoke, I found that my dogs were so worn out by hard travel, that they would not be able to drag their heavy load to the vessel. I applied all my strength to the back of the sledge and pushed it along, while the exhausted quadrupeds walked in front. In this way we proceeded some three or four miles, when, by a very lucky chance, an Esquimaux hunter in an empty sledge overtook me. His dogs were tolerably fresh, and I bargained with him to convey my load to the brig. For this service I agreed to give him a piece of pine board, about three feet and a half long and four inches broad, which I tore from the back of my sledge. You may judge from this circumstance that pine boards are very good currency among the Esquimaux. On this journey, my only food was raw walrus-meat, in a frozen condition. I ran behind my sledge for the greater part of the way, in order to lighten the labor of my dogs, as the poor brutes were completely wearied out. At one place, while passing over some very rough ice, the sledge which carried the load was upset ; this 216 GODFREY ^S NARRATIYE OF THE accident made it necessary for us to unload, place the sledge in its right position, and then load up again. I performed all this labor with uncovered hands, having never accustomed myself to wear gloves. My Esqui- maux companion expressed his astonishment at my hardihood. The Esquimaux themselves do all their out-door work with hands closely covered with fur mit- tens. My arrival at the brig with this fresh supply of meat occasioned another jubilee. Mr. Brooks was much pleased with my success, and warmly commended me for my quick performance of the duty. From Dr. Kane himself, I seldom or never received any words or signs of approbation or encouragement. He had set me down as a "bad fellow," and a bad fellow he was determined to have me to the end of the chapter. GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 219 CHAPTER XXIV. FINAL ABANDONMENT OF THE BRIG ADVANCE — HER PROBABLE FATE — COMMENCEMENT OF A SLEDGE AND BOAT JOURNEY — HERCULEAN LABORS AND SLOW PROG- RESS — ELOPEMENT OF HANS CHRISTIAN — FATAL AC- CIDENT — DEATH AND BURIAL OF MR. OHLSEN, THE CARPENTER — SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS — ROBBERY OF DUCK NESTS — SLAUGHTER OF SEA-FOWL — WE MEET A DANISH BOAT — ARRIVAL AT UPERNAVICK — OUR RE- CEPTION — EMBARKATION FOR THE UNITED STATES — • ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. By the 15th day of May, 1855, all the preparations for our homeward journey were completed. The mode of traveling which had been decided on was by boat and sledge conveyance. Our three boats had been fixed on sledge-runners, so that they might be easily transported over the ice which surrounded the brig. While making our adieus to the poor old Advance, we could not help observing that there was not a great deal of her left to receive our valedictories. We had used much of her wood-work for fuel during the two hard winters which we had passed in this inhospitable climate, and many pieces of board and timber had been taken from the hull of the vessel to construct store- 220 Godfrey's narrative op the houses, observatories, &c., on shore. The brig looked very much like a wreck when we left her; and as the Esquimaux value wood more highly than gold, I think it is likely that they have completely demolished her. Both Kane and Sonntag seem to regard our boat journey to Upernavick as a stupendous undertaking. I look at it in a somewhat different light. It was, in- deed, a tedious and troublesome enterprise ; but during the whole time that we were on the route, we experi- enced less suffering, and were exposed to less danger, than had been attendant on some of our previous jour- neys along the shores of the Sound and in the interior of Greenland. We were now favored with daylight, and an atmospheric temperature which might be con- sidered almost pleasant, when compared with that which our people had endured on former occasions. The last scene on board of the brig was a very so- lemn one. Dr. Kane made a prayer for Divine favor and protection, a duty which the Doctor seldom omit- ted at the commencement of important undertakings. He appeared to have the organ of religious veneration exceedingly well developed. The beginning of our journey was very slow and la- borious. The three ice-boats (or boats on sledge-run- ners,) were heavily laden with provisions, tent-fixtures, cooking apparatus, bedding, scientific instruments, and some sick people. To the bow of each ice-boat was affixed a rue-raddy, or long strap made of canvas, by which the men dragged the boat along. This operation, GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 221 on account of the roughness of the ice, was not only difficult, but almost an impossibility. After one hour's hard toil, we found that we had advanced but half a mile ! The strength of our whole party was required to drag a single boat ; when we had hauled one a little way, we returned for another ; and so the work pro- ceeded. But the rough hillocky nature of the ice oc- casioned less trouble than its fragility in some places. The sledges, with all their loads and the men who hauled them, broke through repeatedly, and then the labor of extricating them was immense. It appeared to me that our course might have been made less toil- some by a few simple mechanical contrivances ; but as I was only '^ one of the men,'' I did not feel authorized to make any suggestions. I had been taught by expe- rience that advising superior officers in the naval ser- vice is a hazardous business, even if your advice is un- questionably good. We passed the Esquimaux settlement called Etah, which has been so often mentioned in this narrative. The inhabitants of that village gave us a great deal of assistance, and supplied us with some additional provi- sions. But soon after we left Etah, Hans Christian, the special favorite of the Commander, whose sublime virtues have been paraded before the whole civilized world, was reported among the missing. Diligent search was made for him, but to no purpose. He was never seen afterward by any of our company. Dr. Kane, who imagined that Hans loved him more than all the world, was afraid that he had been sucked in by some 19^- 222 GODFREY ^S NARRATIVE OF THE fissure in the ice ; but, in a metaphorical sense, the Doctor himself was ''sucked in." Hans had gone off to be wedded, and to enjoy the sweets of domestic fe- licity. The Esquimaux of Etah aided his escape, and they concealed him afterward. Hans had been very useful to the Expedition ; being a native of Greenland, and accustomed from infancy to the severity of the cli- mate, he could endure more cold than any of our party, except Morton, Blake, and myself. 'i^"^J54'«:^^«C3L. BURIAL OF MR. OHLSEN, Our course was nearly due southward ; but so slow was our progress that, at the end of eight days, we GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 223 found ourselves only fifteen miles from the brig. Be- tween Etah and Littleton Island a very melancholy ac- cident took place. One of the sledges having broken through the ice, the strength of all hands was required to lift it out. Mr. Ohlsen, the carpenter, while lifting at the bow of the boat, ruptured himself, and either for want of proper treatment, or because his hurt was very bad, he died two days afterward. We buried him on Littleton Island. He was an excellent mechanic, a kind-hearted and conscientious man, and indefatigable in the performance of his duty. His services to the Expedition have never met with the acknowledgment they deserved. He left a wife and children ; and the thoughts of their destitute situation very much disturbed the tranquillity of his last moments. Mr. Ohlsen was the third person of our company who perished in Greenland. His death left but fifteen sur- vivors of the original eighteen who had embarked at New York. As a testimonial of respect to the memory of Mr. Ohlsen, his name was given to a cape opposite to Littleton Island. As we had but a short allowance of provisions, we were obliged to rely pretty much on hunting and shoot- ing for our maintenance during this boat journey. On some of the little islands we found an abundance of the eggs of the eider-duck, and we succeeded in shoot- ing loons and other water-fowls in great number. Near Hakluyt Island we joined a party of natives, who were engaged in a walrus-hunt ; and two of these animals being killed, the meat was fairly distributed among our 224 Godfrey's narrative of the combined forces, each man having an equal share. Walruses appear in herds on the ice, and may be ap- ^m^ w% /^^f ' WALRUSES ON THE ICE preached with little difficulty, as they are not much afraid of the human species. They often make des- perate resistance when attacked, and they are very hard to kill, as their skins are thick and hard, and, in some places, impervious to a rifle-ball. The Esquimaux GUINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION 225 slaughter them by striking them with spears in some vulnerable parts of their bodies. While the men were engaged in hauling the boats along by the tedious pro- cess I have described, Dr. Kane, Petersen, and I made a number of trips in the dog-sledges io several Esqui- maux settlements, for the purpose of obtaining provi- sions, which we deposited at different points on our intended route:. Having passed over eighty miles of ice, we reached open water about the middle of June. We now took the runners from the boats, to prepare them for a new mode of travel ; but as the breaking of the ice made the navigation too perilous for any present attempt, we remained at Cape Alexander for several days, to wait for a favorable change in the condition of the water. During the greater part of the journey over the ice we were accompanied by some of the inhabitants of Etah. When our arrival at open water made a separation ne- cessary, they took leave of us with every appearance of sorrow. As soon as the water became practicable for boating, we embarked and steered southward, until we passed Hakluyt Island. The water now became very much embarrassed with ice, and we were obliged to beat about in every direction to avoid the floes. In the meanwhile, provisions became very scarce, and con- tinued so until we reached Dalrymple Island, lat. 76° 10^, where we laid in a capital supply of duck eggs, on which we feasted for the next six or eight days. At Cape Dudley Digges, the cliffs are resorted to by my- riads of aquatic birds, loons, little auks, &c. They ap- 226 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE peared in large flocks, so densely packed together, that six or eight were sometimes killed at a single shot. We fared luxuriously on these delicate birds, and salted some of them for future use. We pursued our course by the edge of the land ice, along the shore of Melville Bay. On the 4th day of August, we were surprised at the sight of a large boat, with masts, which was lying among some small islands. Soon after, we saw the boatmen, three in number, on one of the islands. They were Danes from Upernavick, who had come to this locality for the purpose of trading with the natives. These men were the first civilized persons, (except our own company,) that we had seen for about two years. The sight of them occasioned some emotions, making us realize the fact that we were approaching our homes. The Danes, who were engaged in cooking on shore, invited us to partake of their din- ner, and treated us to two almost forgotten dainties, beer and tobacco ; in requital, we gave them a history of our adventures. We arrived at the Danish settlement, called Uper- navick, on the 6th of August, eighty-three days after we left the Advance. At this place the family of our Danish interpreter, Mr. Petersen, resided. The meet- ing between him and his wife and children was ex- tremely affecting, and was calculated to give the bachelor portion of our party an impression favorable to matrimony. Petersen invited us to his abode, and his consort feasted us on hot cakes and coffee. The authorities of Upernavick gave us the use of an old di- I GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 221 lapidated store-house as a lodging-room. Some of the inhabitants, especially Mr. Craig, a clergyman, attended to our wants, and treated us in a Christian-like manner. We continued at Upernavick for about twenty days, awaiting the arrival of a vessel which visits that port once every year. When this vessel came. Dr. Kane engaged a passage for our whole company, with the understanding that we should be landed at the Shetland Islands ; but we were fortunately saved from such a roundabout voyage homeward. The Danish brig Ma- rianna^ in which we embarked, had occasion to stop at Godhaven, on Disco Island. We went on shore at this place, and were well received by the Governor and the inhabitants in general. After a stay of several days, we received intelligence from some Esquimaux that there were two American vessels outside. We manned our boat and reached one of the vessels, which proved to be the propeller Arctic^ which was towing the brig Release. Both of these vessels were commanded by Capt. Hartsteine, who had come in search of Dr. Kane. The reception of the Doctor on board was enthusiastic. Our men likewise met with a hearty welcome from the officers and crews of the two American vessels. The propeller towed the Release and the Danish ship out of the harbor. We had a prosperous voyage to New York. No incident worthy of particular mention occur- red to us while on our passage to that city. 228 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE CHAPTER XXV. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS — THE AUTHOR'S UNFORTU- NATE POSITION — RESULTS OF THE GRINNELL EXPEDI- TION — WHAT WAS DISCOVERED — EXPLORATIONS OF THE COAST — IMPORTANT ADDITIONS TO GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCE — METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS — THE OPEN POLAR SEA — SUGGESTIONS BY THE AUTHOR — HE EX- PRESSES HIS WILLINGNESS TO JOIN ANOTHER EXPE- DITION. In the composition of the preceding pages, circum- stances compelled me to be as brief and concise as pos- sible ; I have therefore omitted the particular mention of many of my labors and adventures in the polar regions ; but I can conscientiously say, in general terms, that no man labored more constantly and zealously than I did in the service of the last Grinnell Exploring Expedi- tion. If I had merely been unrewarded for my services, and merely refused the credit which I thought I had deserved, I should have made no complaint ; but I have received such positive injuries as might have justified a resort to still more vindictive measures than the pub- lication of this narrative. Since my return to the United States, I have felt the effects of the stigma which Dr. Kane had aflSxed to my character. The de- GKINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 229 iiunciations of such a high authority were well calculated to "take the bread out of mv mouth." The reader will not be surprised, therefore, when I inform him that I have found it very diflBcult to' obtain employment in a country where Dr. Kane's book has been extensively circulated ; and, for some time, I was reduced to the necessity of earning my livelihood by driving an omni- bus in the city of Philadelphia ! A mere reference to these facts would be a suflScient apology for the publication of this volume. It is through no fault of mine that the book was not pub- lished sooner. If it could have appeared before the decease of Dr. Kane, I should have been much better satisfied ; but every man who has any experience in the writing and publishing of books, will know that a poor and obscure author must encounter many obsta- cles in the attempt to bring a literary production before the public. I am indebted to the liberality and enter- prising spirit of Messrs. Lloyd & Co. for the oppor- tunity I now have to give publicity to my work ; and I hope the sale of the book will be suflScient to remune- rate those gentlemen for their generous exertions in my behalf. While bringing this narrative of the Grinnell Ex- ploring Expedition to a conclusion, it may be proper to inquire what that Expedition accomplished. It is scarcely necessary to remark that the enterprise failed in its main object, viz. the search for Captain Franklin. Dr. Kane and the persons under his command suc- ceeded in making some important additions to the geo- 20 230 GODFREY'S NARRATIVE OF THE graphical accounts of Greenland, by the discovery of the great Humboldt Glacier and the extension of the East coast of BaflSn's Bay or Smith's Sound to within 8° 38'; and the West coast to within 7^ 30' of the pole. Our meteorological observations likewise must have some interest for the public ; but it is to be regretted that, among other deficiencies in the fitting out of the Expe- dition, no adequate provision was made for the conduct- ing of scientific research. The discovery of an open polar sea, (if admitted to be a genuine discovery,) would, indeed, be an achieve- ment of very great importance. I do not say that there is any thing intrinsically improbable in the supposed existence of such a sea at the northern extremity of Smith's Sound ; but, for various reasons, I suspect that no such discovery was made by any member of our party. My own experience and observations in the polar climes have convinced me that exploration might be carried much further than the 7th degree of North lati- tude. I have scarcely a doubt that the pole itself might be reached, if it is accessible by land travel or by sledge-journeys over the ice. When I made the north- ward journey with Dr. Hayes, spoken of in my narrative, I would have proceeded much further, if my supplies of provisions and the condition of my companion's health had not prevented me. In all future journeys of the kind, I should prefer traveling alone, so that I might have nobody to take care of but myself. Now I think that if I were landed at Cape Isabella, near the entrance GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 231 of Smith's Sound, and provided with a sledge and good dog-team, a sufficiency of provisions and some necessary equipments, I could travel along the land-ice, (which generally affords a tolerably smooth and practicable track,) to a point very far beyond any which has hitherto been reached. My former experience in this kind of travel would enable me to avoid many difficul- ties which an inexperienced traveler might encounter. I should be quite willing to try this experiment, making my remuneration depend on my success. Such an ex- periment, fairly and fully tried, would either confirm Morton's account of the open sea, or prove that account to be erroneous. Possibly the experiment might lead to other results of still greater importance. If another Arctic Expedition should leave the United States, I am willing to be one of the party, provided I am not placed in a situation of abject slavery, and am assured of such good treatment as any American freeman, however poor and unfortunate he may be, has a right to expect. THE END OF GODFREY'S NARRATIVE. i "^Hg PORTRAIT OF DR. KANE. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE, COMMANDER OP THE GRINNELL EXPLORING EXPEDITION. The life of a brave and adventurous man will always abound-with incidents. Whoever takes up this volume, therefore, with the expectation of finding a record of many striking and surprising events, will certainly not be disappointed. Elisha Kent Kane, son of Judge John Kintzing Kane, was born in the city of Philadelphia, on the third day of February, 1822. While yet a boy, he received a part of his education at the University of Virginia ; and even at this early period, though evincing a great aptitude for instruction, he was for a time led away from his regular course of study by an irresistible longing after new fields of discovery. Almost as a truant, the active lad, under the superintendence of Pro- fessor Rodgers, made a tour of the Blue Mountains of Virginia for the purposes of geological exploration. Thus, unlike many American youths, whose ambition leads them to ignoble if not disorderly pursuits, the (235) 236 BIOGRAPHCAL SKETCH OF very frolies of Elisha's boyhood tended to the acquisi- tion of scientific. information. His academical studies were scarcely retarded by this apparent intermission, and he completed them with as much honor as a more constant application could have achieved. Returning to his native State, he, in due course of time, graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, first in the collegiate and then in the medical depart- ment. His favorite studies were those of chemistry and surgery ; and his preference for the latter may be explained by that devotion to whatever requires daring and self-denial, that impulse to brave those things which the weakness of our natures is most inclined to shrink from, which he always exhibited. The seeds of knowl- edge fell in a fertile soil ; and, in 1848, young Kane left his Alma Mater an accomplished classical scholar, a good chemist, and a skillful surgeon. His attention was now turned toward the sea ; partly from an extraordinary fondness, (we may almost call it a mania,) for adventure, and partly because he hoped that a sailor's life might strengthen a physical organi- zation whose fragility was a serious obstacle to all his designs. He applied for and obtained an appointment in the United States' Navy ; and immediately after his admission, demanded to be placed in active service. He was accordingly appointed surgeon to the first Ameri can embassy to China. While thus engaged, leave*of absence was ofi'ered him, and he readily availed himself of the opportunity to travel over a considerable portion of the Chinese Territory. He extended his journey to DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE- 237 the Phillipine Islands, which he explored, traveling principally on foot. He visited Ceylon, and penetrated to the very interior of India. On arriving at the volcano Tael, of Luzon, he could not resist the temptation to explore its crater ; an un- dertaking which was certainly as novel and perilous as the romantic daring of our youthful adventurer could have desired. But one man had attempted it before, and he had failed in a manner which was not calculated to invite any body else to finish the exploit. When Dr. Kane made known his intention to descend into the fiery gulf, he was heard by his companions with mingled fear and amazement, and every argument was used, but in vain, to dissuade him from this enterprise. His inclination to try this curious feat was as strong as the partiality which some young gentlemen show for the recreations of the ball-room or opera-house. Finding him inflexible in his resolution, a bamboo rope was pro- cured and fastened around his waist by the persons who accompanied him ; and, with misgivings of the most painful nature, they lowered him into the crater to the depth of more than two hundred feet. Not satisfied w^th this, he clambered down seven hundred feet further, over masses of volcanic fragments, scoriae, &c. He had provided himself with drawing materials, and now, with as much coolness as was ever displayed in so hot a situation, he proceeded to make a topographical sketch of the interior of this terrible furnace. He then filled a bottle with sulphurous acid from the very vortex, as it were, of the volcano, and collected some geological 238 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF specimens. Had his stay been prolonged a very little while, the cause of his death would have been far differ- ent from what it eventually was ; but he was drawn up just in time to avert the catastrophe. However, the hot and sulphurous air of the volcano had nearly stifled him ; and, after he was dragged up, with unavoidable roughness, over jagged fragments of rocks and harden- ed lava, his companions, for a time, were obliged to support his almost senseless form, while he gasped con- vulsively for breath. He soon recovered himself ; but it seems to have been Dr. Kane's destiny never to be out of danger. The natives of this region were accus- tomed to worship the presiding genius of Tael, whom they regarded with the utmost degree of awe, as a being not to be thought of without fear, or approached rashly and without reverence. It may be imagined, then, with what feelings they looked on the conduct of Dr. Kane, who had presumed to penetrate into what they considered to be the inviolable sanctuary of their deity. At first, they seemed paralyzed by the audacity of the youthful stranger ; but these feelings were quickly succeeded by those of fierce resentment. Seeing, with increased wonder, that Kane was not stricken dead by their insulted divinity, they resolved, with their own hands, to make his life an expiatory sacrifice for his supposed impiety. The savages accordingly attacked the Doctor and his little party with a rage proportioned to their ignorance, and a desperate strug- gle ensued. But the natives discovered that the man who had been too much for Tael was too much for themj DOCTOR ELTSHA K. KANE. 239 and the same intrepidity which had prompted Dr. Kane to explore the volcano, saved him from the conse- quences of that feat. This adventure was followed by a similar one with the Ladrones, who likewise attacked him, and over whom he was likewise victorious. At this time, Dr. Kane's traveling companion was Baron Loe of Prussia ; and in visiting the Ladrone Islands, &c., their hardships were so great that the Baron lost his life in consequence. While on the same journey, Dr. Kane ascended the Himalaya Mountains ; after which he directed his course toward Egypt. Here he formed an acquaint- ance with the learned Lipsius, who was then employed in prosecuting his archseological researches, and who was greatly pleased to find so much love of science in so young a mind. In company with Lipsius, the Doctor ascended the Nile as far as the borders of Nubia, and in- spected all the most wonderful relics of Egyptian anti- quity. From the Pyramids/' forty centuries looked down, upon him ;" and, as he surveyed those inanimate piles of stone, which are more immortal than the skill which planned and the power which executed them, he re- solved to leave for himself a monument built of deeds which have nothing to do with time and mortality, and whose foundation should be in the love and esteem of every elevated mind that should come after him. In Egypt he met with a hostile attack similar to that which he had received at the hands of the natives of India; but in this contiict the Doctor was severely wounded and narrowly escaped with his life. He next 240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF visited Greece, 'v\'hich he triangulated on foot, and made the scenes and objects immortalized in classic verse and history as familiar to his eyes as they had long been to his imagination. He now felt a strong desire to revisit his home and relatives, and accordingly set out on his return, passing through Italy, France, and England. He reached his native land in 1846, at the time when the Mexican war had just broken out. Dr. Kane re- quested that he might be sent to Mexico ; but the government was pleased to disregard his wishes, and to give him a more dangerous and a far more disagreeable mission, which ultimately contributed to shorten his life. He was ordered to the coast of Africa, whither he sailed in the frigate United States^ on an expedition whose object was the suppression of the slave-trade* Da Sourza, the notorious agent of the African chiefs and of the Brazilian slavers, to whom those chiefs are in the habit of selling their subjects, furnished the Doctor with a pass, by means of which he obtained access to the baracoons of Dahomey, and surveyed scenes of tyranny and misery which were hidden by a vail of politic mystery from the rest of the world. He also inspected all the slave-factories from Cape Mount to the river Bonny, and might have carried his re- searches still further had it not been for an unforeseen prevention. The coast-fever seized upon that agile and indefatigable frame, and reduced him almost to a dying condition. His commanding officer, Commodore DOCTOR ELISHA K. KANE. 241 Reed, sent him home on the sick list, as the only means of saving his life. On reaching home, Dr. Kane soon became convales- cent ; but the disease had so prostrated his constitution that he never recovered from its eifects. He came to the conclusion that his health was irretrievably wrecked ; and, as all his previous thoughts had been bent on shaping for himself a useful and exalted course of life, nothing now remained but to consider how he could most gloriously die. His mind reverted to Mexico as presenting the most favorable field for the acquisition of speedy renown, and for the performance of those services which he wished to render to his country. Though now scarcely strong enough to walk, he called in person on President Polk", and expressed his wishes to be actively employed in the struggle which was then in progress between Mexico and the United States. The President, perceiving that the applicant was no ordinary man, resolved to assign him a duty of no ordi- nary magnitude. Our national Executive had been laboring under a serious embarrassment, in conse- quence of a temporary suspension of its intercourse with General Scott, the commander of the American forces. While the President wished to transmit to General Scott some dispatches of great urgency and importance, he had not hitherto been able to find any means of sending them safely by a route so long and so much beset by the enemy. With these documents, Dr. Kane, (though an untried volunteer,) was entrusted;i 21 242 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF and we need not speak of the alacrity with which he executed the mission. Arriving at Puebla, the Do<5tor found there Colonel Dominguez and his celebrated spy company, a band of Mexicans who had joined the American cause, and not being willing to incur any delay by waiting for traveling companions of a better reputation, he took them for his guide and escort. Near Nopaluca, they received the startling information that a large body of Mexican troops, much superior to their own party in force, had been sent out for the express purpose of intercepting them, and that they were now quite near. On the re- ception of this news, Dominguez declared his intention to make a timely retreat ; but Dr. Kane, aroused by the very mention of this design, informed Dominguez that if he executed his purpose, he (the Doctor,) would take care that the vengeance of the American govern- ment should deal with the recusant. His arguments prevailed ; Dominguez was induced to advance ; and they soon encountered the Mexican troops, who were commanded by some officers of distinguished reputation for valor. Dr. Kane ordered a charge, which he led in person, and the daring manner in which he threw himself upon the enemy at once surprised them and stimulated his own party. Among the opposing officers were General Gaona, a distinguished veteran, who had defended the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa against the French ; and his son, who bade fair to achieve an equally honorable career. DOCTOR ELTSHA K. KANE. 245 The battle commenced in an inauspicious manner for Dr. Kane's party. Dr. Kane's horse received a mortal wound and fell, carrying its master to the ground. The Doctor, however, quickly disengaged himself from the dead animal; and, no wise daunted, commenced fighting on foot. The younger Gaona, <