“After much suffering and danger, we at last reached the northern extremity of the island, and began to double it. Some of the men, who had been sent on shore to ascend a mountain, and report what was visible from it, surprised us with the joyful information that they believed the sea to be free from ice towards the east. But, alas, the next day showed how much they had been deceived; we 132 had not sailed but a few miles further, when we encountered a huge bank of ice, which rendered further progress in that direction impossible. As the snow storm every hour raged more fiercely, and the cold grew more intense, we determined to retrace our course along the eastern shore, in order to reach the continent, there in some secure harbor to wait for more favorable weather. But we had only gone a short distance in this direction, when the ice closed in all around us, and on the twenty-sixth of August we remained firmly fixed in it. All our endeavors to float our vessel again, were in vain, and we very nearly lost three of our best men in the attempt; the ice on which they were standing suddenly gave way, but fortunately they were near the vessel, and very active, so they seized hold of the ropes which hung down from the yards, and clambered on board. It was an anxious moment for all parties, for they would most assuredly have been driven away with the ice and lost, had they not been saved by the aid of God, and their own activity.
“The ice was often in motion, but did not break up; but masses of it piled themselves up in all directions. In consequence of this, our vessel was hoisted up as if by pulleys, and then thrown on its side with such a fearful crash, that we expected every moment to see it go to pieces. We found it necessary to bring the boat and shallop to land, as in case of the ship’s going to pieces, we depended on them for our safety. We also stored away, under a tent hastily constructed of sails, provisions, ammunition, and useful tools. The sea was now covered with ice as far as the eye could reach; part of it swam about 133 in huge masses, whilst the rest was smooth and firm as a frozen mill-pond. The cold was now so intense, that we found it impossible to keep ourselves warm under the upper deck, where the kitchen was, but were obliged to remove the stove to the hold, and were almost smothered by the smoke in consequence.
“Some of the men, who had been sent further into the country, to ascertain its character, brought back the welcome news that there was a stream of excellent fresh water not far distant, and that along its banks lay piles of drift wood. As we considered it possible, after this discovery, to pass the winter here, we gave up the desperate plan we had formed, of making our way back to the continent in our two miserable boats, and commenced erecting a roomy and substantial hut. While thus occupied, we were much troubled by the increasing cold, and the hungry bears, who lay in wait for us in every direction. In order to give you a correct picture of our hardships, and miserable life, I will endeavor to relate to you the most note-worthy events as they occurred day by day, and in this way to keep the thread of my narrative unbroken.
“September 1st.––This day we began to build our hut, and transported to it, on sledges, sufficient drift wood to be used for fires during the winter, which we piled up in convenient places. Whilst part of the men were occupied in this arduous task, the rest remained on board the vessel to prepare the meals, and keep a watch for the safety of those on shore. One day we received a visit from three huge bears; two of them came towards the ship, but the 134 third remained hidden behind a piece of ice. It happened that a tub of salt meat, which we intended to soak in fresh water, was standing on the shore; one of the bears ran up to it, and putting his muzzle in, was about to help himself to a piece, when a shot struck him in the head so cleverly that he fell dead without a groan. It was curious to see how the second bear stood gazing at his motionless companion, with a stupified look, and then walked round him, trying to discover what was the matter with him. When he found that he could make nothing of him, he left him, and went away. But we had no idea of trusting the fellow, and as we wished to go ashore, we armed ourselves with muskets and pikes, in case he should come back, which he pretty soon did. He raised himself on his hind legs, in a threatening manner, but one of us shot him in the stomach, which caused him to sink down with a howl on all fours again, and make off as fast as he could go. We now took out the entrails of the dead bear, and placed him on his legs, in order that he might be frozen, and so preserved until spring, when we intended to take him home with us. Some time afterwards, one of the men was chased by a bear, and happened to come by this spot. His pursuer was close on his heels, but as soon as he saw his immovable companion, who was covered with snow, his front paws alone being visible, he stopped short, and approached him. In this way the sailor gained sufficient time to reach the ship, and alarm us with the cry of ’a bear! a bear!’ We hastened on deck, but not one of us could see, so much had our eyes suffered with the thick smoke in which we had been obliged to remain during the 135 bad weather, in order to escape being frozen. Our aid, however, was not needed, as the bear, when he saw the number of his opponents, made off in great haste.
“September 24th.––On this day we began to put up the beams of our hut, as the idea of being obliged to pass a winter here, filled us with great anxiety; but as the vessel was now firmly embedded in the ice, and we saw no prospect of getting it free again until the return of fine weather, we were obliged to make a virtue of necessity, and submit quietly to our hard fate. We tore up a part of the deck of our vessel, and made a roof for our hut of it; then we plastered the walls with pitch, and when, on the second of October, the building was finished, instead of putting on the roof, as is customary, a pole or bush, we erected a kind of staff, made of hard snow. We now took our sleds, and drew tools and provisions to it; but the cold was so intense that the beer casks burst, and their contents became a solid mass of ice. After we had, for greater security, drawn the boats on shore, and turned them upside down, we betook ourselves to our hut, and arranged every thing within it as well as we were able.
III.
“With the beginning of November, the cold became so intense, that we could venture out into the air for a very short time only, long enough merely to collect what fuel we needed, and to set the traps which we had placed round the hut to catch foxes, which I assure you were considered quite a dainty by us poor wretches, greedy as we were after fresh meat. On the 4th of November, the sun was 136 no longer visible, and a long and dreary night set in. All the light we had came from the moon, aurora borealis, and the lamps which we hung around our hut, and fed with bear’s fat. The only consolation left us was that with the sun the bears had left us, and we could now leave the hut without danger of being devoured. The cold still continued to increase hourly, and we were obliged to distribute our stock of clothing among the men, in order to protect them better against the frost, yet in spite of every precaution, hands and feet which were wrapped up in thick furs and cloths, became stiff and numb, when only a few paces from the fire. The best protection against the cold, we found to be heated stones. We felt the want of spirituous liquors sadly; those we had, froze, and when thawed lost both strength and flavour. Our health, however, was much better than we had reason to expect, when our mode of life is taken into consideration; but this, I imagine was owing to the good advice of the surgeon to bathe daily, which we always did. One morning, towards the end of November, one of us wishing to leave the hut, found the door tightly closed by the snow, and was obliged to dig through it. This work we had to repeat daily, or otherwise we should have been completely buried. On the 16th of November, we found that we had used all the fuel that was in the hut, and were therefore, obliged to dig out of the snow the rest of what we had gathered for use, and bring it into our dwelling. We worked alternately in couples, and had to make all the haste we could, for in spite of fox-skins and extra clothing, we were not able to endure the cold long. Until the 29th of December, we 137 experienced dreadful weather; snow fell in abundance, and for three days we were unable to leave the hut. On the evening of the fourth day, it moderated somewhat, and one of the sailors ventured to make a hole through the wall, near to the door, and creep through it in order to see how things stood without. He came back pretty soon and told us that the snow was piled up higher than the hut, and that it was just as cold as ever; he said that if he had not returned, his ears would have been frozen. On the 29th of December, some of the men dug the door free again, and made a kind of a tunnel through the snow, out of which we emerged as from a cellar. But all our trouble was in vain, for the next day another fall of snow blocked up the door, and made us prisoners again. Stormy days were the more unendurable, as the fire would not burn, but filled the hut with smoke. At such times we commonly lay in our beds, which like the walls of the hut, were covered with a thick coating of ice, whenever the fire did not burn brightly. Whilst in this unpleasant situation, one of us happened to remember that there was a good store of coals on board the vessel, and the most hardy of the party immediately made an attempt to bring them to the hut, and after great exertions, succeeded in their attempt. We immediately kindled a good fire, and for the first time an agreeable warmth spread through the room. In order better to retain it, we stopped up the hole we had made to let the smoke escape, and merrier than usual, went to bed and began chatting together; but soon, giddiness and then stupefaction attacked us, and had not one of the party had the presence of mind to crawl to the 138 door and open it, we would soon have been suffocated by the poisonous gas which came from the coal. Thus ended the year 1596. The next year commenced with the same unpleasant weather, so that we were obliged to pass New Year’s day in the house. We had now used up all our split wood, and on account of the cold, were unable to go out to procure more. On the 5th of January, the weather at last moderated, and we got the door open, cleaned the house out, and split some more wood, as we were afraid that we should again be buried by the snow. After working hard all day, we began in the evening to talk about home, and it occurred to us that our countrymen were at that very moment celebrating one of their merriest festivals, namely, that of the Three Kings. We determined, therefore, to forget our sad lot for a while, and prepare a little feast. Each one of the men put by some of his biscuit, and the captain gave some wine. We now made a good wine soup, and prepared also some pancakes, which we made of a couple of pounds of starch which had been taken on board for the purpose of pasting cartridges, and some oil; the biscuits we soaked in wine. We now celebrated the evening in fine style, and for the time, forgot our sad lot, and imagined ourselves once more surrounded by our friends and relations. In this way we enjoyed our humble meal as much as if it had been a sumptuous feast. We got into such a good humor that we chose a king, as it is customary to do on such occasions, and saluted him by the title of “Lord of Nova Zembla,” a kingdom which though of considerable size, is not very well provided with either inhabitants or revenue.
“On leaving the hut next day, we found the air a little less keen, and felt that since the snow had ceased to fall, the cold had somewhat abated. We could now hope to see the sun before long, and on the 8th of January we really perceived a faint glimmering in the sky, at which we rejoiced not a little. Eight days later we perceived a reddish tinge, which we hailed as the harbinger of the near approach of the sun. We perceived, also, a slight warmth in the wind, which, joined to the heat of our fire, partially melted the ice on the walls of the hut, which, until now, had remained perfectly solid. As the glimmering light grew stronger every day, we at length ventured, well-armed, to the ship, which still remained in the same position as formerly, but had been frequently visited by bears, as their footsteps in the snow plainly showed. We took a light, and descended into the hold, where we found the water a foot in depth, and frozen perfectly tight.
“As the weather remained fair, we went out into the open air daily. Our usual resort was a hill about a half mile distant, from which we brought stones to our hut, and heated them, in order to warm our beds. It now grew brighter every day, and we were soon able to amuse ourselves by shooting with a cross-bow, using for a mark the top of our snowy flag-staff, which, until now, we had been unable to see. Indeed, we took exercise in any way possible, and endeavored by throwing, running, and other gymnastic sports, to restore strength and suppleness to our half frozen limbs. The foxes, in capturing whom we had formerly been so busily engaged, now suddenly vanished, a sure sign of the re-appearance of the bears. These dangerous 140 beasts soon visited us again, and the war against them was renewed; they evidently came from some more southerly climate, where they had been passing the long winter, as they were very fat. They often endeavored to break open the door of the hut, and one of them even clambered upon the roof, and endeavored to get inside through the hole we had made to allow the smoke to escape; it required the united energies of all of us to defeat his intentions.