SLOW PROGRESS THROUGH THE ICE.
| “He rose, the coast and country to survey, Anxious and eager to discover more. It looked a wild uncultivated shore, But whether human kind or beast alone Possessed the new-found region was unknown.” Virgil. |
Thursday, August 12th.—Early this morning, the floes opening slightly, an attempt was made to proceed; but it was a futile one, the ice remaining perfectly impenetrable. This delay is naturally causing anxiety, as our fuel is rapidly disappearing, from the constant demand for steam, and the navigable season is also as rapidly waning, young ice forming alongside the ship nearly an inch in thickness. Patience, combined with caution and perseverance, is an indispensable qualification for an Arctic navigator. At the same time he must be prepared, when occasion offers, to make a bold dash. Quick determination and an ever-ready eye to seize upon any available opportunity are also necessary attributes of the explorer who hopes to achieve success in ice navigation. Without them failure is inevitable.
In the forenoon both ships were slightly nipped. We succeeded in unshipping our rudder in time; but the “Discovery,” receiving the squeeze more astern, had her rudder very severely injured. She was enabled, however, to patch it up sufficiently for temporary use and thus avoid the necessity of shifting it. In the afternoon the ice began to move to the eastward, enabling us once more to make a start. Hastily shipping our rudders we got under weigh, and having bored through a few streams of ice emerged into a fine lead of water extending between the land and the pack. Passing Cape D’Urville, we opened a large inlet. At its head was a deep ravine, containing two large glaciers which, running respectively from N.E. and N.W., met and formed one terminal face. At 9 P.M. the southern extreme of Dobbin Bay, called Cape Hawks, was passed. This is a magnificent promontory, which has, with some propriety, been compared, in appearance, to the Rock of Gibraltar.
It was a beautifully calm night as both ships silently rounded this bold headland, the water so still and unruffled that it was actually used as an artificial horizon for the purpose of taking an astronomical observation. The Cape itself towered over our heads as we steamed past, its reflection in the still quiet water being clearly visible, whilst deep ravines on either side stretched away apparently for miles into the interior, until lost amid the snow-shining mountains in the far distance. A large glacier at the head of the bay showed out prominently as it glistened in the light of a bright midnight sun, the bay itself being covered with an icy sheet, broken only by a few long low bergs, generated, in all probability, from the selfsame glacier. The few clouds that were visible in the almost cloudless sky presented an exquisite iridescence rarely witnessed, exhibiting clearly defined bright colours, extending in bands in a horizontal direction, the reflection of which in the clear pellucid water materially enhanced the beauties of the landscape. Such a scene, with all its surroundings, could scarcely be equalled in beauty, certainly not surpassed, even in sunny Italy.
| CAPE HAWKS. |
Making the ships fast to an iceberg, preparations for landing a large depôt of provisions, similar to the one established at the Cary Islands, were immediately commenced. A jolly-boat, obtained from the “Valorous,” was also deposited here. We have now two large depôts, besides boats, established in our rear, sufficient to sustain a large party for many days, should any untoward accident befall our ship.
Whilst engaged in these operations, an adjacent island—Washington Irving Island—was visited, and a large cairn erected on its summit. Our surprise may be imagined when, on reaching the top, the remains of an old cairn were discovered. At first its origin was attributed to Hayes, who visited the island in 1860, but on closer inspection evidences of a construction at a much earlier date were palpable, the stones of which it was composed being covered with lichen, denoting great age. Hayes, in the published account of his voyage, makes no mention either of having seen this cairn or of having built one on the island. It was, undoubtedly, the work of white men’s hands; the object and necessity for building cairns is unknown, and therefore not practised, by the Eskimos. How then came this structure in such a remote and desolate part of the world? Can it be the work of some obscure navigator of years gone by, who erected this monument as a memento of his visit, but who never returned to relate the results of his adventurous voyage? This must for ever remain a mystery!
Of course it was quickly demolished and its site subjected to a very careful search, in the hopes of discovering some record or clue by which its history might be ascertained; but nothing was found, and we were forced to content ourselves with reconstructing it on a larger scale, and depositing a record at its base detailing the movements of the expedition.
The depôt having been landed, the ships were moved a little farther up the bay, although, to effect this, we were compelled to have recourse to powder, in order to “blast” a passage through the ice. The recent tracks of a bear were observed on the floe, being the only indications of the presence of these animals that we had observed since leaving Melville Bay. It naturally caused a little excitement amongst our sportsmen and would-be bear slayers.