The Frozen North: An Account Of Arctic Exploration For Use In Schools

THE FROZEN NORTH

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PREFACE

While abundant material has been put before children with the purpose of making them familiar with the history and industrial development of various parts of the known world, very little has been written to inform them of the work which is now being done in the comparatively unknown regions of the north, or of the history of the early discoveries which have led to it. The importance of the present determined search for the North Pole is admitted by all thoughtful people, and the subject is one w

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I. INTRODUCTION

The north polar regions lie within the Arctic circle, and at their center is the North Pole. The distance from the circle to the pole is more than fourteen hundred miles. Intense cold and the hardships of ice navigation have made the discovery and exploration of this region very slow and hazardous. It is believed that Norsemen from Norway and Sweden, after colonizing Iceland, made settlements on the Greenland coast and carried their seal hunting beyond the Arctic circle, far into the polar regio

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II. SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 1818

Sir John Franklin was one of the greatest explorers the world has ever known. We owe to him most of our knowledge of the northern coast of America and of the far North. Sir John Franklin. Franklin was born in 1786 at Spilsby, a small town in Lincolnshire, England, about ten miles from the coast. As a boy, he one day visited the seaside, which so delighted him that he then and there made up his mind to be a sailor. Franklin’s parents wished him to become a clergyman, and in the hope of curing him

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III. FRANKLIN’S FIRST LAND JOURNEY 1819–1821

The next year the British government again decided to send two ships northward. One of these ships was put in command of Lieutenant Parry and was ordered to Lancaster sound. From this place Parry was told to sail westward and seek the northwest passage. He did not find the northwest passage, but he succeeded in sailing inside of the Arctic circle farther west than any one had gone before. For this achievement he received a prize of £5000 from the government and on his return to England was highl

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IV. FRANKLIN’S SECOND LAND JOURNEY 1825–1827

After Franklin had been at home about two years, he began to feel restless and to long for action. About this time the English government decided to send Parry, for the third time, in search of the northwest sea passage. Franklin advised that another land party be sent at the same time to the mouth of the Mackenzie. There, he thought, the party should divide, one branch of it to explore the coast of North America east to the Coppermine river, the other to go westward to Icy cape. Then the entire

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V. THE EREBUS AND THE TERROR 1845

At this time, 1827, England, under the rule of George IV, was occupied with her own troubles. The disputes between Catholics and Protestants engaged the attention of the English people so that interest in exploration waned. After a short rest at home, Sir John Franklin was sent in command of her Majesty’s ship, Rainbow , to the Mediterranean sea. The Greek war of independence was closing, and Franklin distinguished himself by the judgment and skill he showed in following out the work intrusted t

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VI. ELISHA KENT KANE 1853

One of the most famous efforts to find Sir John Franklin was made by an American, Mr. Henry Grinnell, of New York City. From his own private means he furnished ships and most of their equipment for two separate expeditions. The first Grinnell expedition, under the command of Lieutenant De Haven, was sent out in 1850. It reached Beechey island on August 27 of the same year, and assisted in the examination of Franklin’s winter quarters there, but returned without wintering. Elisha Kent Kane. The s

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VII. WINTER IN RENSSELAER HARBOR 1853–1854

The Arctic winter had set in. By the middle of September the thermometer had fallen to 14° and the ice was thickening fast. The long Arctic night was upon the explorers. During that first winter in Rensselaer harbor, the sun was below the horizon one hundred and twenty days, and ninety of these days were totally dark; for the remaining thirty days a faint light like our twilight glimmered during a part of every twenty-four hours. During the time of darkness little exploring can be done. Explorer

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VIII. THE ESKIMOS 1854

One morning in the spring, the deck watch ran into Dr. Kane’s cabin, crying, “People hallooing ashore!” Dr. Kane hurried to the deck, and through the gloom saw strange figures all around the harbor. Though it was April, the sun had not yet risen high in the sky, and in the twilight these odd figures seemed to be waving weapons. Kane soon found that these people were the native Eskimos, and that they were tossing their arms wildly about, as if in great excitement. It is no wonder that they were e

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IX. HUNTING IN THE ICY NORTH

The walrus has been called “the lion of the seas.” He is a huge animal, often eighteen feet in length. His head is square, and his cheeks and lips are covered with quills like bristles. From his face also extend the tusks, which on the larger animals are often thirty inches in length, and are prized as ivory. Altogether the walrus is a fierce-looking creature, with a tough hide and an ugly temper. Like the seal, the walrus has to come to the surface of the water to breathe. So Dr. Kane and his E

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X. HOME AGAIN 1855

Dr. Kane and his companions passed two winters in the ice regions, living in a place farther north than any explorers had ever lived in before. Few Arctic explorers at that time had passed two winter seasons in the ice. During the cold months the average temperature at Rensselaer harbor stood at -29°, during the summer months at 33°. When you consider that the summer was colder than the average winter in the vicinity of New York City, you will understand in part what were the severities of the c

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XI. NORDENSKJÖLD AND THE NORTHEAST PASSAGE 1878–1879

The next man to journey into the frozen North was Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld. [2] He was born in Finland and educated at its university; but when he was about twenty-two years of age he fell under the suspicion of the Russian government and was compelled to leave his native country. Nordenskjöld then took up his residence in Sweden, and in 1858 began his career as an Arctic explorer by going on a journey to Spitzbergen. Five voyages in the Arctic regions followed, during one of which Nordenskjöld v

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XII. VOYAGE OF THE JEANNETTE 1879–1881

During the same month, July, 1879, that Nordenskjöld completed the northeast passage by sailing through Bering strait into the Pacific ocean, an expedition sailed from San Francisco northward through Bering sea on a voyage of discovery in Arctic regions. This expedition was sent out by Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the owner of the New York Herald . Mr. Bennett bought and equipped a vessel, which he called the Jeannette . By special act of Congress, the Jeannette was conducted by the United States N

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XIII. GREELY IN GRINNELL LAND 1881–1883

Interest in the Frozen North became so great, that a conference of nations was held in Hamburg, Germany, in 1879, to discuss plans by means of which knowledge of that part of the world might be advanced. Eleven countries were represented, and it was decided to send out expeditions and establish stations for the purpose of making scientific observations. Fifteen expeditions were sent out by different countries, and fourteen stations were established. These stations were known as the International

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XIV. FARTHEST NORTH OF THE GREELY PARTY 1882

While Greely was exploring Grinnell land, another party from Fort Conger, under Lieutenant Lockwood, had forced its way across Robeson channel to the Greenland coast. Lockwood’s party proceeded northward in the face of many severe trials. The thermometer registered 81° below the freezing point; add to this rough ice and severe winds, and we may faintly imagine the suffering endured. During a snowstorm the men were obliged to dig a hole in a snow bank and crawl into it for protection. But the ope

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XV. LIEUTENANT SCHWATKA IN ALASKA 1883

Alaska was purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867. It was supposed to be a barren region of ice and snow, and many people thought that the price of $7,200,000 was an amount far in excess of the value of the land. For many years no attempt was made to form a territorial government in Alaska, and the country remained in charge of the military forces of the United States. In 1883, Lieutenant Schwatka determined to conduct an exploring expedition into the interior, for the purpose of gai

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XVI. NANSEN CROSSES GREENLAND 1888

Schwatka had explored the interior of Alaska, but the interior of Greenland remained as great a mystery as ever. The only man who had attempted to cross the inland region was Nordenskjöld, who had penetrated only a few miles. In 1888 a young Norwegian named Fridtjof Nansen determined to cross the ice cap of Greenland. Nansen was an expert in the use of the ski. Ski are Norwegian snowshoes. They consist of long, narrow strips of wood, which are fastened to the shoes in about the same way in which

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XVII. THE VOYAGE OF THE FRAM 1893–1896

Nansen had not been at home very long before he began making preparations for a second voyage to the icy North. This time he meant to find the North Pole if possible. Nansen believed the theory that a current in the Arctic ocean passes over the pole. His plan was to work his way through the ice to the New Siberia islands, and then allow his vessel to be frozen in the ice pack. He believed that the vessel would be carried with the drift across the pole, to the east coast of Greenland. It was a da

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XVIII. PEARY CROSSES GREENLAND 1891–1897

While Nansen was busily exploring, Robert E. Peary, a civil engineer in the United States Navy, determined to make an attempt to cross the inland ice of Greenland. Peary was making his plans for this journey when the news came that Nansen had succeeded in crossing the ice cap from the eastern coast of Greenland to the western. Upon hearing this, Peary changed his plans and decided to try to reach the northern point of Greenland overland. This journey would take him across the inland ice by a rou

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XIX. ANDRÉE’S BALLOON EXPEDITION TO THE POLE 1897

One of the most hazardous attempts to reach the pole was that made by S. A. Andrée in his balloon. Andrée was born in Sweden in 1854, and was carefully educated. He became a mechanical engineer, and held an important position under the Swedish government. In 1876 he visited America to attend the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. While crossing the ocean he noted the regularity of the trade winds, which led him to believe that balloon voyages might be made across the Atlantic. Some years lat

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XX. EXPEDITIONS OF 1902

During the spring of 1902, several expeditions were at work in the Northern regions, each hoping to be the first to reach the pole. One of the most important was the Ziegler-Baldwin expedition, equipped by Mr. William Ziegler of New York, and commanded by Mr. Evelyn Briggs Baldwin. This was the largest and probably the best equipped expedition sent out. Baldwin had two ships, four hundred Eskimo dogs, and fifteen Siberian ponies. His flagship, the America , was a stoutly built whaler and carried

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XXI. THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH POLE BY ROBERT E. PEARY 1909

The struggle to reach the North Pole was still waging. Robert E. Peary was not a man to give up until he had reached the goal. The Peary Arctic Club again gave him financial assistance, and a vessel was constructed that could be forced through dense ice. Theodore Roosevelt was then President of the United States, and Commander Peary called his ship the Roosevelt , because, as he said, the name stood for strength and determination. In June, 1905, he set sail, and reached the north coast of Grant

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