CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 13 



On the return trip of Lieutenant Herring- these letters were handed back to him by the chief, who 

 declined to have anything further to do with them, saying he was afraid they might contain "bad 

 marks" against him, although he had been very friendly and given Lieutenant Herring and party 

 all the assistance in his power. After completing our visit to Tapkan, and declining several press- 

 ing invitations to partake of boiled seal, entrails included, we returned to the vessel by the same 

 rugged pathway, and, thanks to the skillful management of the native driver, arrived without 

 accident. 



It is truly astonishing over what rough ice these people can travel with their loaded sleds. 

 The driver runs alongside, assists in pulling with the dogs when ascending the hummocks, holds 

 back in descending, steadies the sled at all times, by the handle or bale which is bent over the 

 center of the sled, and when on a level, no matter for how short a distance, jumps on the sled and 

 rides, urging on the dogs by shouting and rattling some rings attached to the end of a stick. The 

 whip is used very little by the Tchuktchis. When struck, the dog immediately turns and bites 

 his nearest neighbor, who treats the next in the same way, and so on until a general fight ensues, 

 which results in such a mixing up of the dogs that it is often found necessary to unharness them 

 before they can be extricated. 



Leaving Tapkan at 9 p. in., we steamed to the westward, following the shore ice. The blink of 

 the pack being in sight to the northward, showing that we were in a lead, although the pack itself 

 was beneath the horizon, I was anxious to land the party as far west as possible. The season being 

 so far advanced, the snow was rapidly melting and the surface of the ice becoming soft, would 

 render traveling by sledges exceedingly difficult. 



On the following day (June 1) at 5.30 p. m., in latitude 68° L>8' N., longitude 175° 10' W., we 

 came to solid ice ahead and on the starboard bow, showing that we had reached the end of the 

 lead. Owing to a thick snow storm, we had not seen the laud since early morning, and could form 

 no definite idea of our distance from it. Although I was very anxious to get our sledge party 

 started, I did not cousider it prudeut to embark them on the ice until we could get sight of the 

 land. The wind freshening up from the northward, we crossed over to the weather side of the lead 

 and hove to under sail, waiting for the weather to clear up, trusting to the vessel to drift fast enough 

 to avoid getting caught in the end of the lead, which we found to be rapidly closing. We con- 

 tinued under sail, holding on to the weather side of the lead, and, when necessary to avoid getting 

 entirely surrounded by the heavy ice, running off before the wind to clear it. 



At midnight the wind had increased to a moderate gale and the snow fell so thick that the ice 

 could not be seen more than the length of the vessel. Shortly after midnight we found ourselves 

 entirely surrounded by heavy ice, and were compelled to use the engine to work out of it. In 

 doing so the rudder was broken and unshipped, every pintle being carried away. The situation 

 was anything but pleasant, caught in the end of a rapidly closing lead, 120 miles from open water 

 in a howling gale and driving snow-storm and without a rudder. It at first appeared as if the 

 destruction of the vessel was inevitable. However, after several hours of hard work, steering the 

 vessel as best we could by means of the sails, and giving her a great many hard bumps and nips, 

 we succeeded in getting into the open lead again, and by 6 o'clock we had prepared a jury rudder, 

 using the swinging booms and studding sail boom. They were lashed side by side and weighted 

 with pig-iron, so that oneedge would sink. When ready it was put in the water, and, one end being 

 drawn up to the stern-post, was held in place by guys; a couple of guys from the after end of the 

 jury rudder were rove in through leading blocks secured to the ends of spars rigged out on each 

 quarter, and taken forward to the barrels of the steam-windlass, one end over and one under, 

 these guys having " hard over" and "midship" stops put on, for the guidance of the man who 

 worked the windlass. It was pronounced all ready. The bell was struck to go ahead, and I 

 waited with some anxiety to see how the improvised apparatus would function. It was found to 

 answer admirably, and although very much slower than before in answering the helm, the vessel 

 was now controlled without difficulty. It was readily worked by one man, the lever being moved 

 in obedience to a wave of the hand by the officer conning. As the wind was still blowing fresh 

 from the northward, and the lead still closing, we determined to work down towards the end of it, 

 and unless we could get hold of the land during the day so as to start our sledge party, to run 

 out of the lead entirely and wait for a change in the weather. Should the northerly wind continue 



