TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 133 



was passed in Smith's Sound, and was memorable for attaining a more northern 

 point of land, in 81° 85' N., than had been reached by any previous navigator. 

 lie brought back valuable observations on the physical geography and hydrography 

 of this route into the unknown Polar Sea, with sanguine ideas of navigable waters 

 north of Greenland. 



Then sprang up the rage for Polar exploration and emulation for reaching the 

 Pole itself. Captain C. F. Hall, of the United States, an enthusiast for discovery 

 in the north, who was famed for his two prolonged residences among the Esqui- 

 maux to inure himself to the climate, living, and privations of that northern race, 

 was single-minded, and devoted to the perils of Arctic life and discovery. Supported 

 by public feeling and the President of the United States, he was appointed to the 

 ' Polaris,' for an expedition towards the Pole ; she was 387 tons, schooner-rigged, 

 and propelled by steam-power. In July 1871 Hall started for the north, visiting 

 the Danish settlements in Greenland, where dogs for sledging were procured. The 

 season was unusually favourable, which enabled the ' Polaris ' to enter Smith's 

 Sound with few obstacles, and reach the high latitude of 8l u 20' N. ; the naviga- 

 tion was persisted in, by struggling through formidable ice-floes, up to the high 

 position of 82° 11' N., and refuge was sought on the Greenland coast of the Robe- 

 son Strait, named Thank God Harbour, in lat. 81° 38' N., long. 61° 44' W. Here 

 the career of this devoted voyager was ended by his untimely death. He made a 

 reconnoitring journey in October, just at the approach of winter, in an 

 extreme low temperature : the severity of the climate and the exertion proved 

 too much for him ; on his return to the ' Polaris ' he was attacked with a severe 

 illness, and died in a few days. The death of Captain Hall was fatal to the object 

 of the expedition. To him is assigned the discovery of the Strait extending north- 

 ward from Kennedy Channel, and named by him Robeson Strait. The most 

 eventful crisis occurred in October 1872. During the drift of the ' Polaris ' out of 

 Smith's Sound, a severe nip in a gale threw the vessel on her beam ends ; 

 destruction was imminent ; the crew took to the floe of ice to save themselves. 

 Whilst in the operation of getting provisions out of the ship a disruption of the floe 

 took place ; suddenly the ' Polaris ' was drifted away a distance, leaving 19 souls on 

 the Hoe to their fate, exposed to the rigour of an Arctic winter ; thus at daylight 

 these unhappy people found themselves abandoned to their fate, with a very small 

 quantity of provisions and clothing, with slender materials to provide shelter, and 

 two boats. The chief officer of their party was Captain Tyson, and out of 19, 7 

 were Esquimaux. This awful separation happened near Lyttletou Island : influenced 

 by the southerly current the floe drifted away through the long dark Arctic 

 winter. The narrative of the privations and sufferings of these is unparalleled ; 

 how life was preserved seems miraculous, due entirely to the Esquimaux, who 

 were expert seal hunters. As they drew south of Davis Straits the floe reduced by 

 breaking away in a warmer sea, and they shifted about to different pieces of ice : 

 from day to day their condition became more hopeless. On the 30th April, in 

 lat. 53° 35' N., off Labrador, relief came to them jnst in time to save them from 

 starvation: the steamer ' Tigress,' employed in sealing, saved them. 



The ' Polaris ' suffered so much damage from the nip, that she was driven on to 

 the coast to save her from sinking. After the ffoe party had disappeared, Captain 

 Buddington and 14 men were found onboard; the 'Polaris' was abandoned, and 

 the party passed the winter in a house of their own construction. In the spring 

 of 1 873 they took to their boats, and after many perils were picked up near Cape 

 York by the whaler ' Ravenscraig,' of Kirkcaldy. 



Following upon the great discoveries so nobly made under the British flag by 

 naval officers in the Arctic seas northward of the American Continent, and the 

 failure of the United States Expedition to enter the Polar seas by way of Smith's 

 Bound, a strong feeling sprung up on the Continent to emulate our glorious feats 

 in the North, and under the advocacy of Dr. Petermann, the Swedes, Germans, and 

 Austrian.*, several expeditions have been conducted into the Spitsbergen seas and to 

 Novaia Zemblia since 18G5. Let us not omit to accord our praise to the spirited 

 yachtmen of this country, who have so nobly and ably encountered the perils of the 

 Polar seas, even to the north of Spitsbergen, in the cause of discovery, and returned 

 with valuable information. I refer to Lord Dufierin, Mr. Laniont, and Mr, Leigh 



