The lands of silence

by Sir Clements R. Markham

Mikkelsen

The quest of any further information respecting the Erichsen expedition was a worthy object, and it called forth the zealous enthusiasm of Einar Mikkelsen, the gallant young explorer who had already served in the expedition of Captain Amdrup, and had later won fame from his fine effort in the Beaufort Sea. He received the warm encouragement of his former chief Amdrup, of Captain Holm, and others; a Committee was formed, a fund was raised, half contributed by the Danish Government, and the Alabama of Stavanger (only 40 tons) was bought, strengthened, equipped, and supplied with 18 months’ provisions. Dogs were obtained in Greenland. Mikkelsen had with him Lieut. Laub of the Danish Navy, Lieut. Jorgensen of the Danish army, Iver Iversen, a naval engineer, Olsen and Paulsen, mates, and the carpenter, Carl Unger.

The Alabama sailed from Copenhagen on the 20th of June, 1909, and after many difficulties and much danger from the ice arrived safely off Shannon Island. An autumn journey was made to the place where Brönlund died, which proved a most dangerous undertaking. It was indeed a race for life against water, thin ice, and darkness. The body was found, a grave was built over it, and memorials were deposited. The party returned on December 18th, 1909, after an absence of 95 days, one of the most remarkable autumn Arctic journeys on record.

During the first winter, in the hope of finding documents, Mikkelsen resolved to undertake a journey to Danmark Sound by crossing the glacial land, a novel and hazardous undertaking. He made direct for the head of the fjord, and for part of the way was accompanied by Lieut. Laub with another dog sledge. Mikkelsen had only one companion, the engineer Iver Iversen, a good cook, an expert dog driver, and a man of many accomplishments. The two sledges carried respectively 600 and 650 lb. of provisions and were drawn one by nine and the other by eleven dogs.

Greenland

On April 1st Mikkelsen and Laub found that they were by observation no less than 15 miles south of their dead reckoning, much to their surprise and dismay—only another proof of the uselessness of dead reckoning unless checked by astronomical observations. It was intended that Laub should travel round the west side of the large nunatak called Dronning Luisa’s Land and then return round the south end. At the north end of the land there was a little moss here and there, but no sign of any living thing. Bad weather, excessively difficult marching, and shortage of provisions obliged Laub and his two companions to return by the way they came, and on reaching the winter quarters they found that the Alabama had filled and sunk, and their shipmates were in a tent. Eventually, however, they were able to build a house with some of the ship’s timbers.

Meanwhile Captain Mikkelsen and his companion Iversen continued their march, making a very remarkable and difficult journey across the inland ice direct to the head of the Danmark Fjord which, it will be remembered, had been discovered by Erichsen. On May 18th they reached the head of the fjord. Several remains of Erichsen’s party were found, then a record, and ultimately a second record. Erichsen recorded this discovery of the long fjord, at the head of which was Peary’s furthest point, with two fjords branching from it. He had also found that Peary’s strait across Greenland had no existence. This information was important, as Mikkelsen had intended to return by the imaginary channel and the west coast of Greenland, in which case he and his companion would probably have perished. As it was, the return by the coast with the dogs worn out, deep soft snow, and much surface water, was a sufficiently dangerous undertaking. Mikkelsen was for some time unable to walk, and the explorers went through great hardships.

At length, after terrible sufferings, the two men returned to the winter quarters, only to find that their ship had sunk and that all their companions had gone home in a vessel that arrived in the summer. A house, needing much repair and full of snow, had been built out of timber from the wreck, and there were provisions. In view of the paucity of game, their companions considered that they would serve the absent men best by returning when there was a chance, thus avoiding the consumption of the remaining provisions. “They were all persuaded that Captain Mikkelsen would succeed in fighting his way through, armed as he was with iron energy and great Arctic knowledge, and with a companion who would stick to him through thick and thin.”

At last a vessel arrived to rescue them, after three winters, and the two heroic explorers were brought safely back to Copenhagen. This expedition, with its aspirations accomplished and its valuable results, stands high in the polar record. Mikkelsen’s reward was the appreciation of his work by the scientific geographers of all countries. His interesting narrative is contained in the Story of the Alabama Expedition, 1909–1912.