On the 17th of September, the party celebrated Whistler’s birthday by a dinner of his own selection—oyster soup, roast musk-ox, potatoes, corn, pear-butter, cake, etc., and a glass of grog in the evening. Two-story bunks were built for the men, giving more room. The Signal-Service men—the observers—had a little corner partitioned off, where they were to sleep and work. Another corner was fitted as a wash-room, where warm water might be had, and where there was a bath-tub, which all were expected to use every week. Other arrangements had been provided productive of comfort and health. Lockwood’s time was now chiefly occupied in drawing maps, making finished drawings from sketches, reading, and sledge-work.
Dr. Pavy, with a party, went to take provisions to the depots, but failed to get round Cape Murchison. Not satisfying Lieutenant Greely, the latter himself undertook the task, and, after considerable difficulty, in which the sledge broke down, succeeded. On the 21st the sun presented a remarkable appearance, having rainbows to the right and left, which nearly joined above; also radiating vertical and horizontal beams of light.
Lieutenant Kislingbury, after many futile efforts with arsenic, succeeded in poisoning many wolves with strychnine. Five of them bit the dust at one time, and by this means the party was able to get rid of these dangerous neighbors. This animal, as stated, is perfectly white, and is not unlike the Esquimaux dog, but larger and more formidable.
On the 24th of September, Lockwood started on a trip to Cape Beechy with Ellis, Fredericks, Ralston, Biederbick, and one large sledge, to provision Depot “A,” distant twenty miles. They started with two hundred and fifty pounds on the sledge, intending to take on other food left near Cape Distant. Their passage around this cape was accomplished only after cutting away masses of ice. Beyond this, and with their load increased to three hundred and fifty pounds, they struck masses of rocks over which the sledge and load had to be lifted. There they left the photograph apparatus for Rice, and took lunch. Afterward they passed Watercourse Bay, and the English wagon lying on the shore, and halted for the night at 6 P. M. at Cape Murchison, without any remonstrance on the part of the tired-out men, notwithstanding some of them, about noon, had proposed going on to Cape Beechy without a stop. Indeed, Lockwood observed anxious faces among them when he hesitated about stopping. Floe-bergs of every form and shape—square, oblong, round, and pyramidal—from ten to forty feet high, were scattered along the shore. Without the barrier afforded by these, the floating floe, moving with the noise of railroad-trains, would cut away the foot-ice and render travel impossible. Using the tent at Depot “A,” and the bedding, etc., there, they got supper over the spirit-lamp and crawled into their sleeping-bags. The cold, cramped position, and dropping of congealed moisture from the tent, robbed them of sleep; hence they rose at 5.20, little refreshed. Beautiful “sun-dogs” were noticed with the rising of the sun across the strait. Toward noon similar appearances, peculiar to the Arctic sun, were still more remarkable—rainbows on either side, and joined above the sun, while vertical and horizontal beams of white light pierced the sun. They passed St. Patrick’s Bay, and, after a hard and cold day’s work, reached Depot “B,” south of Mount Bufort and a little farther south of Cape Beechy, at 3 P. M., the 25th. On the following day, dragging an empty sledge, they returned to the cache at St. Patrick’s Bay, loaded up with three hundred and fifty pounds, and returned to Depot “B,” tired, cold, and wet with perspiration, this last being, perhaps, the greatest obstacle to Arctic travel. The great exertion soon induces perspiration, which being checked when labor ceases, you are at once sensible of cold water and ice at the same time. It was rare to have anything entirely dry after the first day of work. The sole resource was to use the heat of the body in the sleeping-bags at night. Mittens and socks were the most important to keep dry, and the most difficult. Their lamps being imperfect, they found a difficulty in preparing their chocolate. The alcohol took fire below and filled the tent with fumes quite as unpleasant as the cold. Having left their tin plates behind, they had to eat from one dish. Eating was simply cramming, that their benumbed fingers might give up the cold spoons and return to the warm pockets. Yet with all these discomforts they ate heartily, and with appetites unknown elsewhere than in the Arctic regions; and, notwithstanding dirt, cold, and alcoholic fumes, they had their jokes and songs while lying in their sleeping-bags, trying to keep warm and get to sleep. But their ills did not end there, for whenever the canvas was shaken, frost-like snow—condensed vapor—fell upon them, which melted with the lighting of the lamp in the morning. Truly, this was a rough road to glory and fame!
Two of the men, in consequence of the crowded tent, had to sleep outside with the thermometer at -15°, and left without breakfast, to return to the station. The party soon followed them, and, after stopping at St. Patrick’s Bay to take on a log of driftwood observed there, which gave them an additional pull of five miles, reached the station long after dark. Having taken something to eat and drink, they got into their warm and dry beds, which never felt more comfortable.
The next man to command a party was Dr. Pavy, who had in view a long-projected trip to Cape Joseph Henry, with the object of carrying out the wishes of the Navy Department, that a search should be made there for the Jeannette, and a signal placed indicating that help was near at hand; another object was to establish a depot for spring operations. His force consisted of the Esquimaux Jans, Whistler, and two dog-teams. His “constant weight” was two hundred pounds, and he took rations for twenty days. He counted upon other rations at Lincoln Bay left by the English, and those nearer home left by Greely’s men at Depot “B,” near Cape Beechy. He hoped with these to establish a depot near the place where the Alert had her winter quarters, and thus be ready in the spring to surpass Markham. Lockwood was inclined to think the doctor a little too anxious to retain personal comfort while exploring, to accomplish much. He had been convinced that sledge-journeys of any considerable extent in those high latitudes could be made only by the sacrifice of every personal comfort.
On the 2d of October, there was a remarkable and beautiful sunset. The lower part of the picture was formed by the clear white ice of the harbor westward. Then came the distant mountains, whose snow-capped summits reached into a sky of beautiful green; above, a line of gold, and then blue and gold alternating, and finally the deep-blue vault studded with masses of red—on the whole a most gorgeous spectacle.
Finding this inactive life monotonous, Lockwood started on an exploration of the streams which enter St. Patrick’s Bay from the north. Lynn, Bender, Saler, Henry, and himself constituted the party, and they proposed going by way of the gap through the mountains rather than around Distant Cape. They had not gone far before they regretted having taken this short cut, for they found the way exceedingly laborious from want of snow—so much so, that they were six hours in reaching the steep, rocky bluffs which overlook St. Patrick’s Bay and the valley at the north of it, and they were two more before reaching the level of the bay. Indeed, this was only attained by carrying their load piece by piece down the cliffs and letting the sledge down by ropes. Here they put up their tent and went into camp. Unfortunately, they had neglected to bring candles, and hence had to eat their meal in darkness. Lockwood and Saler occupied one sleeping-bag, while the others were in another. They passed the night cold and sleepless. There being a birthday dinner at the station, they had intended to walk back to it, a distance of seven miles, but, on account of the condition of the way, abandoned the idea.
Getting off at an early hour after a cold breakfast, and reaching the bed of the water-course, they made their way over its stony bed, so lightly covered with snow as to rapidly grind away the sledge-runners, up the cañon, as grand as the stream was insignificant. Finding their progress so much impeded, they left the sledge behind and made their way without it. The cold being intense, to keep up circulation they walked rapidly, but suffered greatly in their feet and hands. Having volunteered for this expedition, they were ashamed to give it up, though often disposed to do so. Thus, for three tiresome hours, they kept on their way, either following the bed of the stream, or along the mesa-like formations, which projected like shelves from the mountain-sides. Finally, the valley and mesas alike disappearing, the stream entered a narrow gorge. Gaining an eminence, the further course of the stream was indicated to them, and its probable terminus in table-lands of great elevation seen in the distance. Returning by the bed of the stream until the valley had attained a width of half a mile, they entered from the west a very picturesque cañon thirty feet wide with walls one hundred feet high. Its walls were worn smooth, as though by the action of ice, and there were small, basin-shaped holes apparently made by bowlders caught by glaciers. They also met with blocks of quartz much larger than could possibly be moved by the force of any body of water now passing through the cañon. Notwithstanding their exhausted condition, and the worn state of their foot-gear from the numerous stones and rough ice they had passed over, they concluded not to spend the night where they had left the sledge, but to go on to Depot “A,” near Cape Murchison. Adding their outfit to that of the depot, they had a night of less discomfort than usual. On passing Cape Distant, they noticed a broad channel of open water in the strait, preventing any passage at that time.
On reaching the station, they found that the temperature had been -16°, and it was probably 4° lower where they had been. Lieutenant Greely was putting in order a variety of reading-matter for the men. Sergeant Brainard was absent at the Bellows, with Rice and Bender, after musk-ox meat. They returned later, badly frosted, but brought the meat to within easy sledging distance.