26 



NATURE 



\Nov.(^, 1876 



During the stay of the Discovery at Cape York the 

 natives were communicated with through Christian 

 Petersen, interpreter, and Hans the Esquimaux, but as 

 the brother of the latter was absent on a hunting excur- 

 sion for an uncertain period, Capt. Stephenson wisely 

 gave up the hope of obtaining his services for the benefit 

 of the expedition, and pushed on for the Carey Islands, 

 where he joined company with the Alert j the two ships 

 arriving there at midnight on July 26, 



A depot of 3,600 rations and a boat were landed on the 

 south-east point of the south-east island, and a record 

 deposited in a conspicuous cairn on the summit. The " Ex- 

 pedition" then proceeded, steaming with as much economy 

 of coal as possible, northward through a calm sea, with 

 bright clear weather. With the exception of the many 

 scattered icebergs there was no ice in sight from the 

 summit of Carey Islands. Passing between Hakluyt and 

 Northumberland Islandr, the ships were abeam of Cape 

 Robertson, by 8 P.M. of July 27. Ice apparently fast to the 

 shore, completely closed I nglefield Gulf, east of Cape Acland, 

 but both entrances to the gulf were clear. At 8 A.M of 

 July 28, five days and a half from leaving the anchorage 

 of Upernivik, I had the satisfaction of seeing the " Expe- 

 dition " at anchor near Port Foulke, with the entrance of 

 Smith's Sound perfectly clear of ice, and none coming to 

 the southward with a fresh northerly wind. 



While Capt. Stephenson explored the head of Foulke 

 Fiord to ascertain its suitability as a station for winter 

 quarters for any relief vessel coming to our assistance, 

 Commander Markham and myself proceeded in a boat to 

 Littleton Island and Life Boat Cove, tne scene of the 

 wreck of the Polaris. The cache mentioned by Dr. 

 Emil Bessels and Mr. Bryant of the " United States 

 North Pole Expedition " as the depository of certain in- 

 struments and boxes of books was very readily discovered, 

 but contained nothing. Articles of clothing and nume- 

 rous small caches containing seal and walrus meat were 

 scattered about all over the small peninsulas in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the late winter quarters, and near the ruins 

 of the house, but apart from each other and without any 

 protection, were found four or five boxes, each covered 

 with heavy stones to prev^ent the winds moving them, and 

 having the lids secured on by a rope. Besides one thermo- 

 meter, unfortunately not a self-registering one, they con- 

 tained scraps of skin clothing, old mitts, carpenter's tools, 

 files, needles, and many small articles of the greatest use 

 to the Esquimaux, but apparently they had not been dis- 

 turbed since the abandonment of the station. A few 

 books were found in the ditilerent boxes, and a copy of 

 the log, or the actual log itself, from the departure of the 

 vessel Irom the United States up to May 20 the following 

 year. No pendulum, transit instrument, or chronometer 

 was found. Three skin boats left on the shore, weighted 

 down with stones, were in fair order. The smallest one 

 was taken for conveyance to Cape Sabine. 



On returning to the Alert we landed at Littleton Island, 

 and on the south-west brow erected a cairn, and deposited 

 a notice containing a short account of the movements and 

 prospects of the expedition up to that time. There was 

 no ice in sight from a high station on Littleton Island ; 

 but the sportsmen roaming over the higher grounds on 

 the mainland reported oa their return that they had dis- 

 tinguished an '• ice-blink " to the northward. 



Port Foulke is at present the best known station for 

 winter quarters in the Arctic regions. A warm ocean 

 current, combined with the prevailing northerly winds, 

 acting at the narrow entran^.e of Smitn's Sound, keeps 

 the ice constantly breaking away during the winter, causes 

 an early spring and a prolific seal and walrus fishery. 

 The moisture and warmth imparted to the atmosphere by 

 the uncovered water moderates the seasons to such an 

 extent that the land is more richly vegetated, and there- 

 fore attracts to the neighbourhood and supports Arctic 

 life in greater abundance than other less favoured locali- 



ties. In addition to this great advantage — of obtaining 

 an ample supply of fresh meat — connected as its waters 

 are with the " north water" off Cape York, it can readily 

 be communicated with every summer without more than 

 the usual risks attending Arctic navigation. 



On the morning of the 29th the two ships sailed 

 across the strait for Cape Isabella, with fine weather ; 

 but as we approached the western shore a snow 

 storm worked its way over the land from the in- 

 terior, and reached us just as we arrived at the Cape. 

 As the weather was so thick that no one on board 

 the ships, except those employed in establishing the 

 cairn and small di'pot of provisions, could see its posi- 

 tion, and there being therefore no reason for delaying the 

 Discovery, Capt. Stephenson proceeded. The cairn was 

 built on the summit of the outer easternmost spur of the 

 Cape, at an elevation of about 700 feet from the water. 

 On the boat returning on board at 5 P.M., I steamed to 

 the northward for Cape Sabine, the wind having died 

 away, but the weather continuing misty with snow. By 

 8 P.M., when we were fifteen miles north of Cape Isabella, 

 ice was sighted between us and the shore, and necessitated 

 our keeping well out from the land. 



Early in the morning of July 30, having run our distance 

 for Cape Sabme I stopped steaming, and at 5 A.M., the mist 

 clearing off, I observed the Discovery near the land appa- 

 rently beset with a close pack five or six miles broad ; no 

 ice in sight to seaward. As I did not wish the two ships 

 to separate, and the calm weather being favourable, I 

 bored through the pack, which, although apparently clv'>se, 

 opened sufficiently to admit of the slow progress of the 

 ship until we gained the land in company with the Dis- 

 covery, and secured the ships in a convenient harbour, 

 named after Lieut. Payer, the successful and energetic 

 Arctic traveller, two miles to the southward of Cape 

 Sabine. A depot of 240 rations was established on the 

 southernmost of the islets in a convenient position for 

 travelling parties, a cairn being built on the summit of the 

 highest and outer one, and a notice of our movements 

 deposited there. 



The pack in the offing consisted of floes from 5 to d 

 feet thick, with occasionally much older and heavier floes 

 10 to 12 feet thick intermixed with it, but all was verj 

 much decayed and honeycombed ; still it could not be 

 treated with the same impunity as the ice in the middle 

 passage through Baffin's Bay. 



I may here draw attention to the deceptive impressions 

 inexperienced people naturally receive when from a lofty 

 look-out station they observe a sea unbordered by ice 

 The distance from Littleton Island to Cape Sabine is 

 only twenty-five miles. On a clear evening, from ar 

 altitude of 700 feet, with the land and horizon distinctly 

 visible, no ice was in sight from the first-named place, and 

 the prospects of the expedition as to attaining a highei 

 latitude without trouble appeared to be precisely the 

 same as when I looked over a boundless sea from the 

 summit of one of the Carey Islands lOO miles to the 

 southward, and yet the ships were twenty-four hours after- 

 wards locked up by ice in a harbour near Cape Sabine, 

 From Littleton Island the inexperienced observer would 

 conclude that there was an open Polar Sea ; from out 

 present position he would as certainly conclude that hi; 

 farther progress was for ever stayed, and that the soonei 

 he looked for winter quarters the better. 



The ships were detained at Payer Harbour for three 

 days watching for an opening in the ice, getting undei 

 weigh whenever there appeared the slightest chance ol 

 proceeding onwards, but on each occasion being unable 

 to pass Cape Sabine, were forced to return. Their resting- 

 place proved to be an excellent station, well protected 

 against the entrance of heavy floes, possessing a lofty 

 look-out, and deep navigable channels to the north and 

 south through which to proceed to sea immediately the 

 ice opened with a favourable westerly wind. Being ad- 



