Farthest North

y climbed with the facility of goats. This was indeed a cheerful prospect for men in so isolated a region and without fresh meat, and many of them started fort

ote all their energies, came into view. Discovery, however, was to be always subordinated to the duties of meteorological observations. As th

ly a few shots at long range, they followed the animals up the hill, over a steep ledge of rocks, and into a valley on the other side. Here the men halted, concealed from view, and arranged plans for their capture. The animals were covered by precipitous rocks on one side. Clay, Ryan, and Lockwood approached them simultaneously on the other three sides, and thus had them surrounded and at their mercy. Some depressions and other irregularities of the ground enabled the hunters, by crouching low down, to approach the game unawares. Clay firing first, the whole herd rushed toward Lockwood’s side, closing up as it came, and, seeing him, made a charge. Dropping on one knee, he threw his cartridges down and blazed away with great rapidity. Many shots te

ot finding it, they retraced their steps to the point where they entered the creek, and, finding it impossible to follow the bed, climbed the bank. Here they saw two more musk-oxen, which they slew by strategy as before, and, opening the carcasses with penknives, left them to be carried in. Coming near 90 the mouth of the creek, Lockwood saw indications of coal, and soon after reached the exposed seam of one hundred yards’ extent by twenty-five feet depth, distant about three fourths of a mile from the sea. This coal is said to equal the best of Welsh production. Near here, they saw another musk-ox, whose life they spared for the time, as they had so much meat in store. Lockwood found, and so reported, that, though Watercourse Bay had the merit of

d they selected a site facing the water, fifty feet from, and fifteen

m-launch, but failed, because of the rapid closing in of the great masses of broken ice and the wedging of small ice-masses into the screw and well. The launch battled manfully with her foe, the ice. Frequently he ran her under a full

owever, the sides were successions of slopes separated by precipices, growing greater with the ascent. What below seemed the top was only one of many that must be passed before the real summit or divide could be attained. They reached the summit marked by the English cairn, and from there viewed the scene below. How small the ship appeared! and yet it seemed as though they could t

out of this ca?on with difficulty over loose slate and other débris, they found themselves on the high backgrounds of the North Mountains. Thence moving west over loose rock and snow, and through pools

ng for foundation pier of transit, etc. He found the ground frozen after reaching thirty inches, which may be taken as the depth where perpetual frost begins. The ship being still detained, but with a prospect of soon getting off, Lockwood wrote more letters home in w

ng with the men, and although Lockwood advised Kislingbury not to make any further trouble, he decided to pack up, board the Proteus, and return home. In this, however, he was not successful, as the steamer got away before he could reach her, and the order for his relief was somewhat modified. After e

h more irksome than that he had experienced on the Western plains of the United States. It may be mentioned that the final opening of the house, or government station, was commemorated by the issuing of an order from Lieutenant Greely, that the exploring expedition along the northern coast of Greenland, which

ed from attending the service who had conscientious scruples. The supply of drinking-water having come up as an important question, demanded attention. The water was obtained from the ice-hummocks in the

t some doubt as to its identity, to settle which, they proceeded to explore a wide river-bed, followed by a deep ca?on, which led into the bay near its head. With this view, and to see the country to better advantage, they kept north along the steep rocky sides of the “hog-back,” over rocks, great and small, compact and loose, and generally covered with snow. After two hours of laborious travel, they found themselves high above the riverbed and in a position giving them a good view north and east. The main stream seemed to come from the north, with a branch from the west, the whole through lands of the most rugged description. Beyond the river to the east, the hills were more sloping, yet rising to an immense altitude between the river and the channel beyond. It seemed not difficult to descend into the bed of the river, walk up its frozen course, and, taking advantage of some break in the cliffs a few miles up, gain by a gradual ascent the high hills beyond, thus obtaining a view of Robeson Channel. The d

. Just east of the lake, they encountered Dr. Pavy and Rice, and soon after Ralston and Lynn, going to Lincoln Bay via St. Patrick’s Bay. Our par

he campaign. Discussing the subject of scurvy with Lieutenant Greely, they agreed in regarding the explorers much better provided against it, than was the 97 British expedition, in that their dietary

at his disability prevented his being one of those to carry out this important feature toward their future explorations. He took advantage of his non-active condition to figure out a design for an “ice-sledge,” which he thought would be an impr

omplain, the offense not being his first of the kind. The singular clearness of the atmosphere had enabled him

hore near Cape 98 Murchison. Lieutenant Greely with others, and Lieutenant Kislingbury as a guest, went upon a two-days’ trip to the Bellows in search of game and to view the land. They were

t four miles north of St. Patrick’s Bay. A party was at once sent for his relief, which brought him in, in a b

r, its level surface being thickly strewn with stones, while there are masses attached like shelves to the sides of the cliffs and slopes. For twenty miles, the valley preserves a width of nearly three miles; beyond this, it narrows and changes direction toward the 99 west. A small creek runs through its entire length, which generally they followed. The route was difficult, owing to the large number of stones imperfectly covered with snow, and hence all riding ceased after they entered the valley; for the dogs could scarcely pull the sledge and its lo

k dog rejoin them. The sledge-runners were rapidly wearing out, and they concluded to walk to the end

ving seen all there was to see, and Gardiner complaining of a game leg, they retraced their steps, reached the sledge at 10 P. M., and at once, supperless, turned into their sleeping-bags. Near

less washed down, but whence he knew not. Reaching Bleak Cape, they decided to make a détour west to a ca?on near the “Knife-edge,” where the musk-oxen were killed by Lieutenant Greely and party a few days before; but no musk-ox, dead

westward to a supposed fiord or sea connected with the waters leading through Behring Strait into the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, finding Lady Franklin

were the first seen by them; the English saw none here, nor do Kane, Hayes, or Hall 101 mention them. These wolve

leaving it near its head, they soon found themselves in a water-course running toward St. Patrick’s Bay. Turning westward, and going some distance, they came in sight of what they regarded as the United States Range; but, a heavy snow-storm coming on, they cut short the trip after traveling twenty-five

dge turned out a failure, for

men, giving more room. The Signal-Service men—the observers—had a little corner partitioned off, where they were to sleep and work. Another corner was fitted as a wash-room, 102 where warm water might be had, and where there was a bath-tu

tter himself undertook the task, and, after considerable difficulty, in which the sledge broke down, succeeded. On the 21st the sun presented a

Five of them bit the dust at one time, and by this means the party was able to get rid of these dangerous neighbor

oving with the noise of railroad-trains, would cut away the foot-ice and render travel impossible. Using the tent at Depot “A,” and the bedding, etc., there, they got supper over the spirit-lamp and crawled into their sleeping-bags. The cold, cramped position, and dropping of congealed moisture from the tent, robbed them of sleep; hence they rose at 5.20, little refreshed. Beautiful “sun-dogs” were noticed with the rising of the sun across the strait. Toward noon similar appearances, peculiar to the Arctic sun, were still more remarkable—rainbows on either side, and joined above the sun, while vertical and horizontal beams of white light pierced the sun. They passed St. Patrick’s Bay, and, after a hard and cold day’s work, reached Depot “B,” south of Mount Bufort and a little farther south of Cape Beechy, at 3 P. M., the 25th. On the following 104 day, dragging an empty sledge, they returned to the cache at St. Patrick’s Bay, loaded up with three hundred and fifty pounds, and returned to Depot “B,” tired, cold, and wet with perspiration, this last being, perhaps, the greatest obstacle to Arctic travel. The great exertion soon induces perspiration, which being c

. The party soon followed them, and, after stopping at St. Patrick’s Bay to take on a log of driftwood observed there, which gave them an additional pull of fi

consisted of the Esquimaux Jans, Whistler, and two dog-teams. His “constant weight” was two hundred pounds, and he took rations for twenty days. He counted upon other rations at Lincoln Bay left by the English, and those nearer home left by Greely’s men at Depot “B,” near Cape Beechy. He hoped with these to establish a depot near the place where the Alert h

the harbor westward. Then came the distant mountains, whose snow-capped summits reached into a sky of beautiful green; above, a line of go

gly laborious from want of snow—so much so, that they were six hours in reaching the steep, rocky bluffs which overlook St. Patrick’s Bay and the valley at the north of it, and they were two more before reaching the level of the bay. Indeed, this was only attained by carrying their load piece by piece down the cliffs and letting the sledge down by ropes. Here they put up their tent and went into

0

the bed of the stream, or along the mesa-like formations, which projected like shelves from the mountain-sides. Finally, the valley and mesas alike disappearing, the stream entered a narrow gorge. Gaining an eminence, the further course of the stream was indicated to them, and its probable terminus in table-lands of great elevation seen in the distance. Returning by the bed of the stream until the valley had attained a width of half a mile, they entered from the west a very picturesque ca?on thirty feet wide with walls one hundred feet high. Its walls were worn smooth, as though by the action of ice, and there were small, basin-shaped holes apparen

tenant Greely was putting in order a variety of reading-matter for the men. Sergeant Brainard was absent at the Bellows, with

-soup, biscuits, old sherry, Columbia River salmon with sauce sauterne, boiled ham, asparagus, sago, corn, lima-beans, cold br

book he considered of great value to any novice in Arctic sledging. He supposed that they themselves were much better off than any expedition that had wintered within 109 the Arctic Circle. The most serious difficulties—dampness, want of vent

most an equivalent. They had musk-ox meat almost every day, and a large store on hand. They also had a large supply of the best pork, lime-juice, cider, sour-krout, pickles, onions and cucumbers mixed, and other anti-scorbutics. The men were comfortable, seemed happy and cheerful, and found many sources of amusement—among others, from an anti-swearing society. Delinquents were fined five cents each, the proceeds to pay for a grand dinner on returning to the United States. Several members incurred such enormous