The names of Scoresby and Clavering hold their own special interest in the long list of heroes of the north. A practical whaleman, of an intelligent and scientific frame of mind, Scoresby, as early as 1806, had penetrated to within five hundred geographical miles of the Pole. In 1817 he had made an excursion to Jan Mayen Island, and later ascended Mitre Cape, whose summit is estimated at three thousand feet above the level of the sea. But not until 1822 did his discoveries reach the greatest importance. In this year, while searching for better fishing grounds, he fell in with the eastern coast of Greenland, a shore almost entirely unknown, except where the Dutch colonies of Old Greenland were supposed to have been situated. Skirting this bleak and barren coast, Scoresby named inlets, bays, and capes as he discovered them, passing Jameson Land and finally reaching Scoresby Sound.
The coast of Jameson Land seemed especially fertile, and evidences of rude habitations were seen, but no human beings discovered. Proceeding northward, still following the coast-line, he was soon beset with ice, and though he named other points of land and inlets, he was obliged to return, not having run across the whales which it was his business to secure.
Good fortune, however, favoured him, for on the 15th of August numerous whales appeared round the ship; three were secured, and the ship now “full-fished” could make a happy return to England after a most successful year.
The following season, Captain Clavering, commander of H. M. S. Griper, conveyed a Captain Sabine to Hammerfest in Norway, where Sabine desired to make certain scientific observations on the comparative length of the pendulum as affected by the principle of attraction. Other northern points were to be touched for similar purposes, and Spitzbergen and the east coast of Greenland were designated, the latter point being reached early in August. “He landed his passenger and the scientific apparatus on two islands detached from the eastern shore of the continent, which he called the Pendulum Islands, and of which the outermost point is marked by a bold headland rising to the height of three thousand feet.” (“Arctic Adventures,” Sargent.) While waiting for Captain Sabine, Clavering reconnoitred the coast, and was more fortunate than Scoresby in running across some of the natives, who closely resembled those described by Parry. By the beginning of September, Sabine having completed his observations, the Griper made her way, not without difficulty and delays, by way of Drontheim, back to England.
MELVILLE PENINSULA
In 1824, Captain Lyon, commanding the Griper, was given the task of the survey of Melville Peninsula, adjoining straits, and the shore of Arctic America. Overladen and unseaworthy, the Griper was totally unfit for such an expedition, and upon reaching Roe Welcome, she was struck by a gale which threatened the destruction of both the ship and crew. After being battered around at the mercy of the storm for three days and nights, in which commander and crew had taken no rest or sleep, she was finally brought to anchor in a shallow bay, later designated as God’s Mercy. Here she was still in imminent danger of being grounded, and there seemed little hope of her surviving the high seas then running. The crew were ordered to prepare for the worst, and to this end each man was commanded to put on his warmer clothing. Of this scene, Captain Lyon writes:—
“Each, therefore, brought his bag on deck and dressed himself, and in the fine athletic forms which stood exposed before me, I did not see one muscle quiver, nor the slightest sign of alarm. Prayers were read, and they then all sat down in groups, sheltered from the wash of the sea by whatever they could find, and some endeavored to obtain a little sleep. Never, perhaps, was witnessed a finer scene than on the deck of my little ship, when all hope of life had left us. Noble as the character of the British sailor is always allowed to be in cases of danger, yet I did not believe it to be possible that among forty-one persons, not one repining word should have been uttered. Each was at peace with his neighbor and all the world; and I am firmly persuaded that the resignation which was then shown to the will of the Almighty, was the means of obtaining His mercy. God was merciful to us, and the tide, almost miraculously, fell no lower.”
As soon as the weather conditions permitted, they attempted to proceed up Melville Channel, but another storm overtook them, and, after consulting with his officers, it was decided to turn the crippled ship for home.
Another expedition that set out about this time (1825) was commanded by Captain Beechey. The Blossom was directed to round Cape Horn and enter the Arctic by way of Behring Strait. In describing this great gateway to the north, Captain Beechey writes:—
“We approached the strait which separates the two great continents of Asia and America, on one of those beautiful still nights well known to all who have visited the Arctic regions, when the sky is without a cloud, and when the midnight sun, scarcely his own diameter below the horizon, tinges with a bright hue all the northern circle.