30 



ARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION. 



My outfit for this voyage,* and for the whole of my expedi- 

 tion, consisted of 



The boat, already described ; 1 sledge ; | ton of pemmican ; 200 lbs. Borden's 

 meat biscuit ; 20 lbs. " Cincinnati cracklings"— pork scraps ; 1 lb. preserved quince ; 

 1 lb. preserved peaches ; 250 lbs. powder ; a quantity of ball, shot, and percussion 

 caps ; 1 rifle ; 6 double-barreled guns, covers, and extra fittings ; one Colt's revolver 

 complete; glass beads, a quantity of needles, etc., for presents to the natives; 2 

 dozen pocket knives and choppers ; some tin-ware, 1 axe, 2 picks, files, etc. ; a 

 good supply of tobacco and pipes ; wearing apparel for self, and red shirts for pres- 

 ents ; a supply of stationery and journal books, etc. ; 1 common watch ; 1 opera- 

 glass; 1 spy-glass; 1 common sextant and 1 pocket sextant; 1 artificial horizon, 

 with extra glass and mercury ; 1 azimuth compass ; 1 common compass ; 2 pocket 

 compasses ; 3 ordinary thermometers and two self-registering ones. Some naviga- 

 tion books and several arctic works, with my Bible and a few other volumes, formed 

 my library. 



This list, with a few sundries, constituted all the means and ma- 

 terial I had to carry out the great undertaking my mind had led 

 me to embark in. How far I accomplished aught commensurate 

 with the ideas I had formed, let the sequel show ; but, even had 

 I wholly failed, assuredly it would have been excusable under 

 such circumstances. 



With regard to myself personally, now that the excitement of 

 preparation was over, and I had time to think more and more of 

 my task, a reaction took place, which produced that depression of 

 mind always to be found in similar cases. This was soon in- 

 creased by the horrible sensation of sea-sickness which I experi- 

 enced for several days after our departure. What my feelings 

 were may be judged by the following extracts from an irregular 

 diary, the only work I could at that time perform. Writing on 

 the fifth day out, I find myself saying, 



" More miserable days than these past few have been to me it 

 would be difficult to imagine. And why ? Because of sickness 

 — sea-sickness. And what is sea-sickness ? Can any one tell un- 

 less they have experienced it ? I imagine not ; nor, perhaps, can 

 many describe it who have come under its infliction. I know 

 that / can not well do so. I have felt myself swung, tumbled, 

 jammed, knocked, struck, rocked, turned, skewed, slewed, warped, 

 pitched forward and backward, tossed up and down, down and 

 up, this way and that way, round and round, crossways and kit-a- 

 cornered, in every possible manner. On the ocean, fresh from 

 civilized life, this may be called sea-sickness, but elsewhere I should 



' * For particulars, see Appendix, No. 2. 



