Chapter 10 KENNEDY CHANNEL.

2nd Keeper.-"I'll stay above the hill so both may shoot."

1st Keeper.-"That cannot be: the noise of thy cross-bow will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost. Here stand we both, and aim we at the best."-Henry VI.

"Within a long recess there lies a bay,

An island shades it from the rolling sea,

And forms a port secure for ships to ride,

Broke by the jutting land on either side."

Virgil.

Sunday, August 22nd.-The rapidity of the changes that take place in these icy seas is almost inconceivable. In a few hours from being helplessly imprisoned by a dense pack of ice, we were actually plying, under steam and sail, in a vast expanse of water containing only a few loose streams of ice, through which we had no difficulty in penetrating. Our predictions were indeed realized, and to a greater extent than we had even anticipated. We had reached a "North Water," in which we were sensible of a very perceptible motion on board the ship. It is true that the pack, apparently as solid and as impenetrable as ever, extended along the west side of Kennedy Channel; but to the northward and along the east side was a clear and open sea, free of ice, with its surface agitated by the fresh northerly wind that was blowing, and rising and falling with true oceanic undulations.

Unfortunately for us, at least so far as making headway was concerned, the wind was not only very strong but directly ahead, compelling us to beat to windward under steam and fore and aft sails. We consoled ourselves, however, with the hope that the same wind would blow all the ice to the southward, and thus enable us to make good progress. The temperature being some six or seven degrees below freezing point caused us to feel the sharp wind in a very unpleasant manner, and made both the crow's-nest and bridge very disagreeable places of resort. The pleasure of feeling that we were really doing good work was, however, sufficient compensation for the discomfort that was felt.

Stretching over to the eastern side of the channel we passed close to Crozier Island, having Cape Constitution full in view. Its appearance coincides exactly with the description given by Morton.

This cape is the northern extreme of a bay called, by Kane, Lafayette Bay. It is steep and precipitous, and has no ice-foot adhering. Indeed, the base of the headland, as well as the adjacent one, Cape Independence, has the appearance of having been partially undermined by the action of the sea, thus forming an overhanging terrace, up which it would be impossible to ascend. Morton found its ascent totally impracticable, on account of the steep and rugged nature of the cliff. We were unable to detect any signs of a mer de glace over this land, although a light tinge along the summit to the southward of Lafayette Bay would lead one to suppose that it existed. This, however, was the only indication of an ice-cap that was perceived, and it was one on which little or no reliance was placed.

The positions of the various points along this coast are very fairly correct, being as nearly as possible in the latitudes ascribed to them by Dr. Bessels of the "Polaris," affording a striking contrast to the places on the opposite side of the channel, where the positions are so egregiously inaccurate. The deep inlet on the American chart called Carl Ritter Bay was not to be seen. The only indentation in the land in its assigned position was Richardson Bay, which we must naturally conclude was the one seen and named Carl Ritter by Dr. Hayes.

It was a curious fact that, whereas the land on the west side of the channel was completely covered with snow, the land on the east side was entirely free. This was not the only peculiar feature in which the two sides of the channel differed. Although apparently of the same geological formation, there was a great dissimilarity between the physical appearance of the land on either side. That on the east was flat and table-topped, rising to the height of about one thousand feet, separated into hills by broad valleys, whilst the stratification of the cliffs was regular and horizontal. That on the west side was, on the contrary, composed of conical-shaped hills, rising to an altitude of from two to four thousand feet, and intersected by deep ravines, whilst the stratifications were so distorted that the dip varied as much as from 10° to 45°.

Whilst the land on the east side appeared to have undergone a regular and steady upheaval, that on the west seemed to have been raised suddenly, the deep ravines between the numerous hills resembling the beds of ancient and extinct glaciers.

Monday, August 23rd.-A glorious run has been made during the last twenty-four hours, assisted, for a short time, as we have been, by a strong southerly wind; but alas! by 10 A.M. we arrived at the end of our tether!

Passing the entrance to Bessels Bay, we reached Cape Morton, from whence extended right across Hall Basin our implacable enemy, the ice-solid floes of immense area stretching to the northward as far as the eye could reach, with no opening, no outlet of any description, and no indications of water.

Polaris Bay was ahead of us, and we could plainly discern the position of the Americans' winter quarters; but with no hopes, for the present, of our reaching so far. We must again, as we have so often had to do before, exercise our patience, and wait for a more favourable opportunity for pushing on. The strong southerly wind now blowing will, in all probability, be succeeded by a calm or a breeze from the northward, either of which will have the effect of opening the ice. The "Discovery" having landed a small dep?t of two hundred and forty rations at Cape Morton, for the use of travelling parties that will hereafter be dispatched for the purpose of exploring Petermann Fiord, both ships made sail and beat back to Bessels Bay, where we dropped anchor in seven fathoms, just inside, and under the protection of Hannah Island.

Bessels Bay is a long and narrow indentation in the land, extending in a N.W. and S.E. direction, having numerous small glaciers on either side, the majority of them discharging ones. The bay is in consequence nearly choked with small bergs.

This bay or fiord gives one the idea of having been originally the bed of some large glacier, now extinct, whilst Hannah Island, which lies directly across its mouth, has every appearance of having been its terminal moraine, not only from its position, but also from its composition, for it consists of an immense heap of pebbles and drift, possessing apparently no determined basis, no underlying rock.

We were also able to observe here the undoubted mer de glace under which Greenland is supposed to be buried, and whose outpourings in this locality find their escape in Petermann Fiord and Bessels Bay.

A few eider-ducks, a seal, and some dovekies, with an ivory gull, were seen to-day.

Captain Feilden and Mr. Parr landed on the northern side of the bay, and, ascending a high hill, obtained a good and unobstructed view to the northward. Their report was very desponding-ice, nothing but ice, as far as they could see.

From what we can now observe, the land on the western side of Hall Basin appears to end abruptly somewhere about Cape Union, and does not continue to the northward, as represented in the last American Chart. I put no belief in the land reported to have been seen by some of the men of the "Polaris," and named President Land. Should the land terminate, as I anticipate, in about lat. 83° N. our chance of reaching a high latitude will of course be much reduced, although we shall have a grand field of exploration to the eastward and westward.

In the evening the captain and myself visited Hannah Island, and erected a cairn, in which a record detailing our movements was deposited, on its summit, in the most conspicuous place about the centre of the island. Here we had an uninterrupted view to the northward; but what we saw only confirmed the report brought on board in the earlier part of the day. The western side of the channel appeared free of ice as far as Cape Lieber, and a lane of water was visible extending from us as far as this cape. By this stream of water appears our only chance of getting on.

Tuesday, August 24th.-The captain left the ship early this morning to ascend the hill immediately above Cape Morton (two thousand feet in height), in order to ascertain from the nature of the ice what our prospects of pushing on were likely to be. During his absence a haul with the dredge was obtained, but with unimportant results: the continual movement of icebergs in the bay, all more or less aground, would hardly admit of much organic life at the bottom. Fossils abounded in the limestone on shore, and a large collection of specimens was made.

At noon the captain was observed, in his boat, off Cape Morton, with the signal flying for the ships "to weigh."

His orders were speedily executed; and, having picked him up, we were soon running quickly across to the western side. He gave us the very pleasing information that from the summit of Cape Morton he had observed a magnificent lead of water along the west coast, and extending in all probability as far as Cape Beechey. This was indeed delightful intelligence, and served to raise the social barometer many degrees.

Our coal was rapidly diminishing, and we knew that many more days of steaming such as those we had lately had would reduce our fuel to such an extent that we could hope to do little more; for without steam a vessel in these latitudes would indeed be helpless.

11 P.M.-Oh, the hopes and disappointments that we poor Arctic explorers have to endure! First of all a confiding anticipation in the future makes us joyous and expectant, and then we are plunged into the lowest depths of despondency.

Two hours ago we were steaming through a grand expanse of water, looking forward with confidence to reaching, in a few hours, Cape Beechey, or perhaps even Cape Union, both being distinctly visible ahead, whilst Capes Brevoort, Sumner, and Stanton were in sight on our starboard bow.

Passing Cape Baird, however, we were again met by our insatiable enemy, the ice, which defied all our efforts to penetrate it.

We are now slowly picking our way across Lady Franklin Strait towards Cape Bellot, in the hope of being able to reach some place of security where we can remain patiently until a northerly wind shall have cleared a passage for us. Whilst crossing Kennedy Channel we obtained a magnificent view up Petermann Fiord. It is an extensive opening, with no land visible at its head. This is a geographical problem which we hope we shall soon be able to solve. It is difficult to determine at present whether Lady Franklin Strait is really a strait or a deep inlet. We are inclined to the latter belief. This is another question we hope will soon be satisfactorily settled.

Wednesday, August 25th.-At one o'clock this morning, whilst threading our way amongst the ice-floes that bordered the coast, a herd of musk oxen was observed browsing quietly on an adjacent hill. Such an opportunity for obtaining fresh meat was not to be disregarded. A shooting party was quickly organized, and, whilst the boats were being prepared and the hunters getting ready their rifles, the ships were taken into a beautifully snug and land-locked harbour, protected at its mouth by a large island, situated on the northern coast of Lady Franklin Bay.

Here the anchors were let go, and the sportsmen despatched in quest of the game.

Separating into three distinct parties on landing, we advanced cautiously towards the spot where they were last seen grazing, hoping to be able to surround and capture the entire herd. Not only did we all enter keenly into the sport, but our mouths watered at the prospect of again indulging in fresh meat. We pictured to ourselves smoking-hot beefsteaks and savoury calf's liver, dainties that we had for some time been strangers to, being prepared for us after our return to the ship, never even dreaming of a chance of returning empty-handed.

The disposition of our force was well calculated, for the musk oxen being alarmed, in all probability by the blowing off of steam from one of the ships, started in full flight in the direction of a deep ravine. Here they were met by a couple of the hunters, who discharging their rifles dropped two of the herd. The remainder turned and dashed up the side of a steep hill, but only to be met by two more sportsmen, who made such good use of their time and weapons, that they succeeded in shooting the remainder, seven in number.

One of the first brought down was the bull of the herd, a noble fellow; but so tenacious of life that several shots had to be expended, at a very short range, before he bit the dust.

Elated with our success, and having sent back to the ship for assistance in conveying the meat on board, we commenced skinning, cleaning, and cutting up the animals, so as to guard against the possibility of any delay in doing so being the means of tainting the flesh with the disagreeable musky odour. This, in consequence of the scarcity of knives amongst the party, was a long and tedious process; however, by nine o'clock we had the satisfaction of seeing our "morning's bag" safely on board, amounting altogether to 2,124 lbs. of good fresh meat. Not a bad morning's work!

MUSK OXEN.

These animals, from peculiarities they possess, are placed in a genus between the sheep and the ox, and are called ovibos moschatus. They are only met with in high latitudes, although traces of them, it is reported, have been seen as far south as 59° N. lat., but they are rarely seen in any numbers lower than 67° N. lat.

They have been seen, and shot, in large numbers, by the various search expeditions wintering at and about Melville Island, and they were also obtained on the opposite side of Kennedy Channel by the "Polaris" in 1872. The crew of this latter vessel succeeded in shooting twenty-six during the twelve months they passed in this latitude. They are gregarious, usually wandering in small herds, although occasionally single specimens are found. The herd just obtained by us consisted of one old bull and four old cows, and two young bulls and two young cows. They subsist on the scant vegetation of these regions-principally grasses and lichens-which they scrape up from under the snow, when the ground is covered. They hardly give one the impression of being very quick and agile, yet they ascend hills and climb over rocks and rough surfaces with great ease. They are reputed to be very irascible, and have frequently been known, when wounded, to attack a hunter and seriously endanger his life. The horns are very broad, covering the brow and crown of the head, and meeting at their base. Our bullets appeared to have no effect when fired at the head. From the bull we obtained no less than 385 lbs. of meat!

Finding that the harbour in which the ships were anchored possessed all the necessary qualifications for rendering the winter quarters of a vessel in the Arctic Regions comfortable and secure, Captain Nares selected this spot as the place in which he would leave the "Discovery." It appeared in every way adapted for this purpose. A secure harbour, possessing two narrow entrances, with the water so shallow as to effectually prevent the larger and heavier pieces of ice from drifting into it, with a neighbourhood covered with a more luxuriant and richer vegetation than had hitherto been seen, and giving evidences of being well stocked with game-for, in addition to the musk oxen, numerous and recent traces of wolves, foxes, hares, and lemmings had been observed-the place seemed especially suited for passing the winter in; and its selection as the winter quarters of our consort was never regretted.

We all feel that the navigable season is rapidly drawing to a close, and that very few more days are left us. During the last week the temperature has never been above the freezing point; and the young ice has been forming to an alarming extent, even at midday. An advance, if farther advance is to be made, will be better and more speedily accomplished with one ship only, than by having two to look after. The responsibility is lessened, whilst the knowledge that there is another ship to fall back upon, in case of accidents, removes all anxiety.

When the decision that the two ships were to part company was promulgated, it was received with satisfaction, although we were all sorry to lose the companionship of our numerous friends. The evening was spent in an interchange of visits, and many a sincere and fervent "God speed," with a silent but expressive squeeze of the hand, was exchanged between the officers and the men of the two Arctic ships.

In order to strengthen our force on board the "Alert," and to have an extra sledge party for the purpose, if required, of communicating with our consort, an officer, Lieutenant Rawson, and seven men were received from the "Discovery;" the only thing that we were able to give in exchange being 900 lbs. of the musk oxen just procured-a by no means despicable offering!

Everything having been satisfactorily arranged, the "Alert" steamed away from Discovery Harbour on the morning of the 26th, exchanging hearty cheers with her consort as she passed; she hoisting the signal "May Providence prosper your efforts," to which we replied "Happy Winter;" and thus we separated, happy in the knowledge that a safe refuge was established in our rear, with the unknown before us, fervently praying for a successful issue to our undertaking.

            
            

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