“The soaked seal-skin clothing freezes at once in the air, and damp condenses on the hair in frost-blossoms. One or the other rubs his face with scraped snow to refresh his eyes—a novel kind of washing, in default of water, though with the slightest breath of wind his hands are in danger of freezing. After every snowstorm, tent and sledge have to be dug out, and the contents cleaned with difficulty.
“All this business occupies about two hours, when the traces are taken up with great satisfaction, as a long-looked-for release from the pain of the nightly couch. The sledge is loosened from its frozen position, and the journey continued, which, after twenty-three days, brought us to 77° of latitude, the most northerly point ever reached on the east coast of Greenland.”
The coast along which this sledge-journey was made was found to be much broken up, and the opinion was formed that the land might possibly resolve itself into a group of islands.
The ice having broken up, the Germania left its winter harbour on 22nd July, and steamed northwards. In 75° 29′ it was stopped by ice, and had to return to the south. Kaiser Franz-Joseph’s Fjord was afterwards explored; and on the 17th of August the return home to Germany was begun. By the 25th of August they were clear of the ice.
“On the 10th of September we were a few miles from Heligoland. A heavy storm blew from the south-west, but in the evening shifted to the north-west, enabling us to run in to shore. At daybreak, though we had seen no pilot, we recognised Langerooge, and steered along the Southwall to the mouth of the Weser. No sign of a ship! The Weser seemed to have died out. Where are the pilots hidden? Are they lying perdu on account of yesterday’s storm? Well, then, we must run into the Weser without them; the wind is favourable, the weather clear, the outer buoy will be easy to find; there is the church-tower of Wangerooge. Suspecting nothing, we steered on; the tower bears S.S.W., south-west by south, south-west, but no buoy in sight. The captain and steersman look at each other in astonishment. Can we have been so mistaken and out of our reckoning? But no! That is certainly Wangerooge; the depth of water agrees, our compass is correct. No doubt about it, we are in the Weser; something unusual must have happened! Still no sail in sight! But what is that? Yonder are the roads. There are several large vessels under steam; they at least can give us some information. So we make for them. We saluted the German flag, and soon the cry was heard, ‘War, war with France; Napoleon is prisoner! France has declared a Republic; our armies are before Paris!’ And then, ‘Hansa destroyed in the ice, crew saved.’ ”
CHAPTER V
VOYAGE OF THE POLARIS (1871−73)
Captain Charles Francis Hall, after having dwelt with the Esquimaux about eight years, during which he lived like one of them and acquired their language, returned to America in 1869.
He had a great ambition to reach the spot “where there is no North, no East, no West.” Early in 1870 he began his agitation for an expedition to the North Pole. He lectured in various parts of the United States, and received encouragement from the Hon. George M. Robeson, Secretary of the United States Navy. Ultimately a wooden river gun-boat of 387 tons, called the Periwinkle, was given to Hall, and was afterwards rechristened Polaris. Congress also granted 50,000 dollars.
Hall, who was not himself a seaman, engaged Captain S. O. Budington as sailing-master. Captain Budington had made thirteen whaling voyages to Baffin’s Bay, and was therefore an experienced ice-navigator. Dr. Bessels was naturalist, and Mr. Meyer meteorologist. Morton, of Kane’s expedition, also accompanied Hall. Mr. Grinnell, the munificent promoter of expeditions for the search of Franklin, presented Hall with the flag which, in 1838, had been with Wilkes to the Antarctic regions, and which had since been in the northern Polar seas with De Haven, Kane, and Hayes.
Hall’s first intention was to proceed up Jones Sound, but his opinion regarding this route changed before he left the States. He trusted chiefly to dogs for his sledge-travelling, and did not expect to reach a higher latitude than 80° during the first year.