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24 chapters
TRUE TALES OF ARCTIC HEROISM
TRUE TALES OF ARCTIC HEROISM
DR KANE'S MEN HAULING THEIR BOAT OVER ROUGH ICE. From a sketch by Dr. Kane. BY MAJOR-GENERAL A. W. GREELY, U. S. ARMY GOLD-MEDALLIST ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AND OF SOCIÉTÉ DE GÉOGRAPHIE ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Copyright, 1912, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Printed in the United States of America...
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PREFACE
PREFACE
From the dawn of history great deeds and heroic actions have ever fed the flame of noble thought. Horace tells us that The peace-aspiring twentieth century tends toward phases of heroism apart from either wars or kings, and so the heroic strains of the "True Tales" appear in the unwarlike environment of uncommercial explorations. One object of this volume is to recall in part the geographic evolution of North America and of its adjacent isles. The heroic-loving American youth is not always famil
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THE LOYALTY OF PHILIP STAFFE TO HENRY HUDSON
THE LOYALTY OF PHILIP STAFFE TO HENRY HUDSON
On the walls of the great Tate Gallery in London are many famous pictures, but few draw more attention from the masses or excite a livelier human interest among the travelled than does "The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson." While the artist dwells most on the courage of Henry Hudson, he recalls the loyalty of Philip Staffe and thus unites high human qualities ever admired. HENRY HUDSON'S LAST VOYAGE. From the painting by the Hon. John Collier. Consider that in barely four years Hudson made search fo
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FRANKLIN'S CROSSING OF THE BARREN GROUNDS
FRANKLIN'S CROSSING OF THE BARREN GROUNDS
Strange as it may now seem, a century since the entire northern coasts of North America were wholly unknown, save at two isolated and widely separated points—the mouth of the Coppermine and the delta of the Mackenzie. The mouth of the Coppermine was a seriously doubted geographical point, as Hearne's discovery thereof in 1771 was made without astronomical observations; though he did reach the sea we now know that he placed the mouth of the Coppermine nearly two hundred and fifty miles too far to
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THE RETREAT OF ROSS FROM THE VICTORY
THE RETREAT OF ROSS FROM THE VICTORY
Among the many notable voyages in search of the northwest passage, although less spectacular in phases of adventurous exploration than some others, there is none which deserves more careful examination than that of Sir John Ross in the Victory . Not only did this voyage make most important contributions to the various branches of science, but it was unequalled for its duration and unsurpassed in variety of experiences. It was fitted out as a private expedition, largely at the expense of Felix Bo
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THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE
THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE
Few persons realize the accompaniments of the prolonged search by England for the northwest passage, whether in its wealth of venturesome daring, in its development of the greatest maritime nation of the world, or in its material contributions to the wealth of the nations. Through three and a half centuries the British Government never lost sight of it, from the voyage of Sebastian Cabot, in 1498, to the completion of the discovery by Franklin in 1846-7. It became a part of the maritime life of
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THE TIMELY SLEDGE JOURNEY OF BEDFORD PIM
THE TIMELY SLEDGE JOURNEY OF BEDFORD PIM
For more than three centuries England made frequent and fruitless attempts by sea and by land to discover the northwest passage, and in 1818 the British Parliament offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds sterling for its passage by explorers. Although it is now known that the ill-fated expedition under Sir John Franklin first discovered the passage in 1846-7, the first persons to make the journey over a new and more northerly route, between 1849 and 1853, were the crew of her Majesty's ship I
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KANE'S RESCUE OF HIS FREEZING SHIPMATES
KANE'S RESCUE OF HIS FREEZING SHIPMATES
"Men in no particular approach so nearly to the gods as by giving safety to their fellow-men."— Cicero . In 1853 the United States co-operated a second time in the search for Sir John Franklin, and sent into Smith Sound an expedition fitted out through the liberality of Henry Grinnell and George Peabody. Doctor Elisha Kent Kane, United States Navy, commanded the expedition, and placed his brig Advance in winter quarters in Rensselaer Harbor, West Greenland, whence he planned by boats and sledges
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HOW WOON WON PROMOTION
HOW WOON WON PROMOTION
This tale recites one of the many stirring experiences of the crew of her majesty's ship Investigator , which, after having been frozen fast in the ice-floes of Mercy Bay, Banks Land, for two years, was abandoned, June 3, 1853. Owing to lack of provisions, the men, living on two-thirds rations for twenty months, were obliged to keep the field for hunting purposes so as to avoid death by starvation. The incidents herein related occurred in connection with the chase. The sun had been entirely abse
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THE ANGEKOK KALUTUNAH AND THE STARVING WHITES
THE ANGEKOK KALUTUNAH AND THE STARVING WHITES
"Every one hears the voice of humanity, under whatever clime he may be born, through whose breast flows the gushing stream of life, pure and unrestrained."— Goethe. As elsewhere noted, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, United States Navy, in the brig Advance , while in search of Sir John Franklin, was forced into winter quarters at Van Rensselaer Harbor, Greenland, in the Autumn of 1853. As the harbor ice did not break up the following summer, the question arose in August, 1854, as to the proper line of act
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DR. RAE AND THE FRANKLIN MYSTERY
DR. RAE AND THE FRANKLIN MYSTERY
"An age which passes over in silence the merits of the heroic deserves as a punishment that it should not bring forth such an one in its midst."— Forster. In 1845 Captain John Franklin, royal navy, in command of the ships Erebus and Terror , sailed with one hundred and twenty-nine souls to make the northwest passage. His orders carried him via Lancaster Sound and Cape Walker, and he was provisioned for three years. The ships were last seen by civilized men in Baffin Bay, whence they passed from
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SONNTAG'S FATAL SLEDGE JOURNEY
SONNTAG'S FATAL SLEDGE JOURNEY
The remarkable series of physical observations of Kane's expedition, the most valuable scientific contribution of any single arctic party in that generation, was almost entirely due to the scientific training and personal devotion of his astronomer, August Sonntag. While the nature of his duties lay in the observatory, his adventurous spirit sought field service whenever practicable. As shown in "Kane's Rescue of His Freezing Shipmates," Sonntag's prudence kept him from freezing in that terrible
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THE HEROIC DEVOTION OF LADY JANE FRANKLIN
THE HEROIC DEVOTION OF LADY JANE FRANKLIN
In "The Discovery of the Northwest Passage" and in "Pim's Timely Sledge Journey" there have been sketched various heroic phases connected with the last voyage of Sir John Franklin and the expeditions of the Franklin search. In the search there were employed thirty-three ships and nearly two thousand officers and men, whose utmost endeavors during a period of eight years, and at an expense of many millions of dollars, had failed to obtain any definite information as to the fate of the missing exp
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THE MARVELLOUS ICE-DRIFT OF CAPTAIN TYSON
THE MARVELLOUS ICE-DRIFT OF CAPTAIN TYSON
Only once in our history has the United States sent forth an expedition to reach the north pole, and that was under Charles Francis Hall, already distinguished for his daring arctic work in search of relics of the Franklin squadron. Hall sailed in the Polaris , and in a voyage of unusual rapidity, passing through Smith Sound, added to his fame by discovering Robeson Channel and its bordering lands. He broke the record in navigating his ship to 82° 11′ north latitude, in the Great Frozen Ocean, w
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THE SAVING OF PETERSEN
THE SAVING OF PETERSEN
"Only action gives life strength." — Richter. In 1875 the British arctic expedition steamed northward through Kane Sea in its attempt to reach the north pole. Its commander, Captain George S. Nares, R.N., thought it prudent to insure a safe retreat by establishing a southerly base of operations where one ship should remain. Nares, in the flag-ship Alert , chose the dangerous and exposed winter quarters at Floeberg Beach, an open roadstead of the ice-clad Arctic Ocean at the northern entrance of
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LIFE ON AN EAST GREENLAND ICE-PACK
LIFE ON AN EAST GREENLAND ICE-PACK
The second German north polar expedition sailed under Captain Karl Koldewey in 1869, with the intention of landing on the coast of East Greenland, near Sabine Island, whence by winter sledging the explorations of the northern coasts of Greenland and of the north polar basin were to be undertaken. The two ships of the expedition, the Germania and the Hansa , reached by the middle of July the edge of the great ice-pack, which in enormous and generally impenetrable ice-masses streams southward from
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PARR'S LONELY MARCH FROM THE GREAT FROZEN SEA
PARR'S LONELY MARCH FROM THE GREAT FROZEN SEA
Those grim fields which lie silent as night and uninhabited, and where no sound of human voice breaks the repose, where no dead are buried and where none can rise. — Klopstock. Centuries of efforts to attain the north pole, under the auspices of the government of Great Britain, had their final culmination in the arctic expedition of 1875-6. The squadron was commanded by Captain Sir George Nares, R.N., of Challenger fame, whose flag-ship, the Alert , wintered at Floeberg Beach, exposed to the ful
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RELIEF OF AMERICAN WHALERS AT POINT BARROW
RELIEF OF AMERICAN WHALERS AT POINT BARROW
After a long and dangerous besetment in the polar ice to the north of Bering Strait, the American whaling-ship Navrach was abandoned August 14, 1897. Twenty-one of her seamen perished on the moving ice-pack of the Arctic Ocean in their efforts to reach land across the drifting ice. Captain Whitesides with his brave wife and six of the crew intrusted their fortunes to the sea, and almost miraculously escaped by using a canvas boat, which was alternately hauled across the floes and launched where
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THE MISSIONARY'S ARCTIC TRAIL
THE MISSIONARY'S ARCTIC TRAIL
Among the heroic figures in the history of the human race there should be none to command greater admiration than the typical missionaries who, in foreign lands and among uncivilized tribes, have devoted their lives to the good of man and to the glory of God. Of the countless many through the ages may be named a few whose labors, actuated by a spirit of lofty endeavor, particularly appeal to the imagination and love of the people. Such men were Schwarz and Carey, in India; Livingstone, in Africa
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SCHWATKA'S SUMMER SEARCH
SCHWATKA'S SUMMER SEARCH
Among the startling and too-often believed stories of the polar regions are many which have their origin as whalers' "yarns." Spun for the purpose of killing time and of amusing hearers, by repetition and circulation they attain the dignity of "reliable personal accounts." Among such credited "yarns" in the early seventies was one to the effect that the missing records of the proceedings and discoveries of the lost squadron of Sir John Franklin were to be found in a cairn which was located near
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THE INUIT SURVIVORS OF THE STONE AGE
THE INUIT SURVIVORS OF THE STONE AGE
It is now well known that the first country of the western hemisphere to be visited by Europeans was Greenland—nearly a thousand years ago. The European settlement, the Christianization, and the abandonment of southern Greenland, covering a period of three centuries, has lately received interesting and exhaustive treatment by a famous arctic expert who has brought together all existing data. Foreign to these investigations are the facts associated with the discovery during the past hundred years
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THE FIDELITY OF ESKIMO BRÖNLUND
THE FIDELITY OF ESKIMO BRÖNLUND
The Mylius-Erichsen arctic expedition of 1905 sailed for the east coast of Greenland in the ship Danmark , commanded by Captain Trolle, Danish Royal Navy. Its purpose was to continue the remarkable surveys of the Danish government by completing the coast-line of northeast Greenland. From its winter quarters at Cape Bismarck, 76° 14′ N., autumnal sledge parties established advance depots of supplies in order to facilitate the travel of its surveying party the following spring. The field work was
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THE WIFELY HEROISM OF MERTUK, THE DAUGHTER OF SHUNG-HU
THE WIFELY HEROISM OF MERTUK, THE DAUGHTER OF SHUNG-HU
Rarely, if ever, has there been recorded in history a more varied and adventurous life than that of Mertuk, wife of Hans Hendrik, who came into literature through the magical pen of Elisha Kent Kane as the "pretty daughter" of Shung-hu, an Etah Eskimo. She was born (and reared) as a veritable Child of the Ice, being one of the members of the northernmost tribe of the world,—a people, in the last century, of absorbing interest as a surviving offshoot of the Stone Age. Mertuk married Hans Hendrik,
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THE SCRIBNER SERIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
THE SCRIBNER SERIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
EACH WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS [1] While the north magnetic pole constantly changes its position, yet such movements are very slow, and while at present its exact situation is not known, its locality is quite near this. [2] These details as to the life of the squadron are drawn from various accounts of the hut, fireplace, pools, vegetation, bird-remains, and other domestic refuse discovered by the officers and men under Ommaney and Penny in August, 1850. Three graves wi
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