Taking Observations at Lockwood Island.

They took advantage of this to bring out hand-gear, foot-gear, bags, and rubber blankets to dry, everything having been damp or wet for nearly a week. Lockwood and Brainard got but a few short naps after supper, for it was necessary for one of them to be awake to insure their getting up at the right time to take “double altitudes,” etc. They secured a complete set of observations, thirty-six in all. A few hours later, Lockwood and Brainard started to make the ascent of the cliffs and of the height beyond. They gained a considerable elevation, and stood on a little plateau overlooking both sides of the promontory, the sea, and a large extent of mountainous country to the south thickly covered with snow. Lockwood unfurled Mrs. Greely’s pretty little silk flag to the breeze, and felt very proud that, on the 15th day of May, 1882, it waved in a higher latitude than was ever before reached by man. By careful astronomical observations under peculiarly favorable circumstances, they found themselves in latitude eighty-three degrees and twenty-four and a half minutes north, longitude forty degrees and forty-six and a half minutes west of Greenwich, thus surpassing the English, who sent the Nares Expedition of 1875-’76, costing upward of a million dollars, for the express purpose of reaching the north pole, and which expedition sent its chief sledge-party directly north over the ice for the purpose of making latitude alone. The view from their lofty station was grand beyond description. At their feet, toward the east, was another of those innumerable fiords, a bald headland forming its farther cape, bearing northeast. Seemingly projecting from its foot was a low point of land, doubtless separated from another by still another fiord. This was as far as Lockwood could see in that direction—probably fifteen miles. Thence round toward the north and in the direction of Cape Britannia lay the vast Polar Sea, covered with ice and desolate in the extreme. Toward the south lay a vast panorama of snow-capped mountains, so overlapping and merging one into another that it was impossible to distinguish the topography of the country. They stayed on the top only twenty minutes, and at 4.50 reached camp again, greatly to the delight of Frederick. He had seemed a good deal “down at the mouth” of late, which Brainard thought was caused by their long distance from home and the absence of dog-food and “skaffer.” Hastily packing up their small load, they started on their return at 5.30 P. M. Though taking a more direct course across the first fiord, they met with soft snow, which was very tiresome to pass through. The weather now commenced to cloud up again, threatening another storm. It was very fortunate that they reached their farthest just in time to take advantage of the thirty hours of fine weather. However, they were now homeward bound, and did not care for storms or anything else, provided they could “move on,” nor did they require any policeman to help them in that particular.

And now that Lockwood is returning from his special expedition in safety and good health, a few additional facts and a passing reflection on his exploit will not be out of place. Lieutenant Lockwood’s motives in undertaking this special expedition, in which he was so successful, he explained in these words: “My great wish is to accomplish something on the north coast of Greenland which will reflect credit on myself and on the expedition. But there are many ifs in the way—many visible contingencies on which success depends, as well as many invisible ones which have never suggested themselves. Among the former, scurvy stands like a giant, and if this giant attacks us, far from accomplishing anything, we may not ourselves get back.” As we think of Lockwood, at the end of his journey, with only two companions, in that land of utter desolation, we are struck with admiration at the courage and manly spirit by which he was inspired. Biting cold, fearful storms, gloomy darkness, the dangers of starvation and sickness, all combined to block his icy pathway, and yet he persevered and accomplished his heroic purpose, thereby winning a place in history of which his countrymen may well, and will be, proud to the end of time. Of all the heroic names that have blossomed on the charts of the Arctic seas during the present century, there is not one that will hereafter be mentioned with more pride and enthusiasm than that identified with Lockwood Island, memorable as the nearest point to the north pole ever reached by man.

XII
FROM LOCKWOOD ISLAND TO LADY FRANKLIN BAY.

When returning to Lady Franklin Bay, Lockwood and his companions reached Shoe Island shortly after midnight. They deposited a record in the cairn there, and proceeded to the cape west of the island, where they went into camp, after a retreat of twenty miles in eight hours. Lockwood suffered much from his eyes, having evidently strained them while endeavoring to see the sun during the late stormy weather. The cold food, upon which alone they could depend, seemed to weaken the stomachs of all the party, and yet they plodded on. At Storm Cape, they left the grand line of cliffs behind, and took a compass course across the great fiord, amid a storm as before when they crossed that inlet. As usual, the dogs thought they knew best, and Frederick thought he knew best, so the compass received little consideration, and they inclined too much to the left, being three hours and twenty minutes in crossing. They stopped at a cairn and deposited a record. In another hour they reached Pocket Bay, and in another, Dome Cape, and then, crossing the inlet, went into camp. “Skaffer” was soon ready, cold chocolate, and a stew with lumps of ice floating round in it, particularly unfortunate after a march which was perhaps the most uncomfortable of the trip. It had been blowing and snowing all day directly in their faces—very severe on snow-blind eyes, which it was necessary in crossing the fiords to keep open in order to see the way. In addition to this, strange to say, Lockwood suffered with cold hands. Generally, while traveling, they were warm enough, and only got cold when stopping; but on that day they were aching with cold a great part of the time. The dogs had eaten up his seal-skin mits some time before, and the woolen ones gave little protection against the storm, with the mercury 30° below zero. They found the ice-foot now generally covered with snow, but they retreated twenty-seven miles in eight hours and forty minutes. Left camp shortly after 5 P. M., and, passing Cape Surprise, struck directly across the fiord for Distant Cape. When opposite their old camp at Low Point, a glacier was seen in the interior, a green wall of ice lying at the foot of what looked like a low, dome-shaped hill, but which must have been a mass of ice covered with snow, as is all the interior of this country. The travel over the floe was quite good, but when just beyond Distant Cape, they found themselves in the deep snow of the wide fiord to the west of it, a part of the route they had been dreading for some time. They finally, however, reached the farther side. The dogs must have smelled the pemmican in cache there, for, during the last two hundred yards, they bent all their energies to the work and seemed wild to get ashore. They pulled the sledge through a fringe of hummocky ice at the coast in a way that proved how they could pull when they set their hearts on business. The weather during the day was variable. When they started, it was quite thick, and the wind blew strongly in their faces, making the traveling very disagreeable; but toward the latter part of the march, the wind died away and the sun appeared. The traveling was better than when outward bound, the late storm having improved it very much. Brainard did all the cooking, Lockwood chopping the ice and assisting in various ways. They got off a little after six, and in two hours were at Black Cape. Here they stopped awhile and built a cairn, and at Blue Cape stopped again. The next four and a half hours they pursued their monotonous course across the floe, Lockwood indulging in these reflections: “What thoughts one has when thus plodding along! Home and everything there, and the scenes and incidents of early youth! Home, again, when this Arctic experience shall be a thing of the past! But it must be confessed, and lamentable, it is, as well as true, that the reminiscences to which my thoughts oftenest recur on these occasions are connected with eating—the favorite dishes I have enjoyed—while in dreams of the future, my thoughts turn from other contemplations to the discussion of a beefsteak, and, equally absurd, to whether the stew and tea at our next supper will be hot or cold.”

They next camped some miles from North Cape, opposite the immense fiord there, which runs inland an interminable distance without visible land at its head. Lockwood had intended going up this fiord to what seemed like the opening of a channel on the south side of Cape Britannia, but the uncertainty and their fatigue finally induced him to continue the way they had come, the weather being delightful. Ritenbank went about all day with his head and tail down, perhaps repenting his numerous thefts. Advanced seventeen miles in eight hours.

Left camp at 6 P. M., and in about three hours reached North Cape, where they stopped some time to take a sub-polar observation, making its latitude 82° 51′. Cape Britannia was reached without event, and there they stopped long enough to get the rations left in cache, and deposit a record in the cairn; then continued on the floe a half-mile to get out of the shadow of the mountain. At the cairn they got the snow-shoes left there, and the spare sledge-runner. They also collected some specimens of the vegetation and rocks, and saw traces of the musk-ox, showing that these animals wander even this far north. They saw also some snow-birds. They had thought that when they reached Cape Britannia they would feel near home; but now having reached it, the station seemed as far off as at any point they had left behind, and they could not rest until Cape Bryant was reached.

The sun was very bright and warm when they left camp at 9.50 P. M., but a heavy fog hung like a curtain on the horizon, and shut out the land all around. They were, in fact, traveling on the Polar Sea, out of sight of land. Shortly after starting, Lockwood put on snow-shoes to try them, and found immense relief at once. He blamed himself every day for a week for not having tried them during the journey out, and thus saved himself many hours of the most fatiguing travel through deep snow. Brainard, seeing the advantage, put on the other pair, and from that time there was nothing about which they were so enthusiastic as the snow-shoes. They afterward wore them more or less every day. At 6 A. M. they went into camp on the floe. The fog by this time had disappeared, and everything was singularly bright and clear. Advanced sixteen miles in eight hours, and got off again a little after 8 A. M.

It was a beautiful day, calm and clear, and the sun was really too warm for dogs and men. They got along very well, however, on the snow-shoes, and one of the men keeping ahead to encourage the dogs and make a straight course, they finally reached, at the place they had crossed before, their old friend, the tidal crack, now frozen over. They lunched regularly every day on pemmican and hard bread, and rested whenever tired. A beautiful parhelion was seen, one of the most complete yet observed, in the perfection of its circles and the brightness of its colors. The blue, yellow, and orange were very distinct. They went into camp after four, the weather cloudy and threatening snow, having advanced sixteen miles in eight hours. They left again at 8.40 P. M. Snow falling, and no land being in sight, they kept near the right course by means of the compass. Their course was north-west (magnetic), the variation being in the neighborhood of ninety degrees. Went into camp near St. George’s Fiord at 4.40 A. M., suffering a good deal from snow-blindness afterward. During the march were troubled very little, strange to say. Rations were now getting low. The snow was very soft, and, owing to this and the warm sun, the dogs “complained” a good deal. Advanced sixteen miles in eight hours. Started off again at 8.40 P. M., reached shore shortly after twelve, about three quarters of a mile short of Cape Bryant, and, following the coast, pitched tent at the old camping-ground. After visiting the cairn on the hill, they determined to make up arrears by having a royal feast—anticipated for many days. “How nice that English bacon must be! How superior that English pemmican to the abominable lime-juice pemmican!” Brainard made a generous stew out of the aforesaid, with a liberal allowance of desiccated potatoes, etc., and they “pitched in!” But oh! what disappointment! Before eating a half-dozen spoonfuls they came to a dead halt, and looked at each other. Even Frederick stopped and gazed. The dish was absolutely nauseating. “Oft expectation fails, and most where most it promises.” Fortunately, there was left there a tin of frozen musk-ox meat, with other stores rendered surplus by the supporting party being able to go no farther. After this feast on the English stores, they confined themselves to the musk-ox. The English pemmican, though a little musty, when eaten cold was quite palatable. This and the bacon were each put up in metallic cases. The bacon they subsequently found to be inclosed in tallow, and this it was that made their feast so disappointing. After this they all went to look for Lieutenant Beaumont’s cache, left here when his party was disabled by scurvy. The search was unsuccessful, although they traveled the coast for two miles and a half, advancing twelve miles in four hours. Getting up at twelve, Lockwood and Brainard went out to the tide-crack about half a mile from shore, and, by means of a rope and stone, undertook to get a set of tidal observations. They kept up the observations for nearly twelve hours, and then becoming satisfied that their arrangements did not register the tide, owing to the depth, currents, etc., gave it up, much disappointed. All their work went for nothing. These observations made their eyes much worse, and both suffered with snow-blindness all the rest of the way.

While thus occupied, the dogs took advantage of their absence to visit the cache and eat up part of a sack of hard bread and half a dozen shot-gun cartridges—the shot and the brass being rather indigestible. They left camp after midnight and a beautiful morning followed, calm and clear, the sun unpleasantly warm; and no wonder, since Lockwood was wearing three heavy flannel shirts, a chamois-skin vest, a vest of two thicknesses of blanket (double all round), a knitted guernsey and canvas frock, besides two or three pairs of drawers, etc.