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Schwatka\'s Search

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[Frontispiece: LIEUTENANT SCHWATKA]

SCHWATKA'S SEARCH

SLEDGING IN THE ARCTIC IN QUEST OF THE FRANKLIN RECORDS

BY

WILLIAM H. GILDER
SECOND IN COMMAND




INTRODUCTION.


On the 25th of September, 1880, the leading English newspaper published
the following words:--

"Lieutenant Schwatka has now resolved the last doubts that could have
been felt about the fate of the Franklin expedition. He has traced the
one untraced ship to its grave beyond the ocean, and cleared the
reputation of a harmless people from an undeserved reproach. He has
given to the unburied bones of the crews probably the only safeguard
against desecration by wandering wild beasts and heedless Esquimaux
Which that frozen land allowed. He has brought home for reverent
sepulture, in a kindlier soil, the one body which bore transport. Over
the rest he has set up monuments to emphasize the undying memory of
their sufferings and their exploit. He has gathered tokens by which
friends and relatives may identify their dead, and revisit in
imagination the spots in which the ashes lie. Lastly, he has carried
home with him material evidence to complete the annals of Arctic
exploration."

The record of Schwatka's expedition is written in these pages. Much of
it has already been published in detached letters by the 'New York
Herald', which engaged the author to act as its correspondent during
the journey. Other hands than his have reduced it to its present shape,
for his restless energy has again driven him toward the North, and has
enlisted him among the crew of the 'Rodgers', which is seeking the
lost 'Jeannette'. Beyond a mere concatenation of the chapters it
has been nowhere altered with a view to literary effect or sensational
color. The notes from which it is drawn were made from day to day; and
if critics find in it facts which are either improbable or unpalatable,
they may, at least, have the satisfaction of knowing that it is a
faithful narrative of carefully sifted evidence.

This needs to be said because the statements of the writer have already
been questioned in one or two details. He says that the party
experienced such cold weather as was almost without precedent in Arctic
travel, the temperature falling to seventy-one degrees below zero. He
says that the party killed more than five hundred reindeer, besides
musk-oxen, bears, walrus, and seal, in regions where Rae and McClintock
could scarcely find game at all, and where the crews of the
'Erebus' and 'Terror' starved to death. He says that of the
last survivors of Franklin's party the majority were officers, arguing
that the watches and silver relics found with their skeletons go far to
prove their rank. These statements have been doubted. The accuracy of
the thermometers being questioned, they were tested and found to be
curiously exact. The facilities for procuring game were assisted by the
use of improved weapons; and besides, as Sir Leopold McClintock has
justly shown, it was merely a tradition, not an ascertained fact, that
these sub-arctic regions were destitute of animal life. The method by
which the official position of the bodies was determined is
indisputably open to objection. "Watches and silver relics," writes
Vice-admiral Sir George Richards, "do not necessarily indicate a
corresponding number of officers. Such light valuable articles would
naturally be taken by the survivors."

But the point which has provoked more criticism than all the rest is
the native evidence that the distressed crews were in the last resort
reduced to cannibalism. This is set down just as it was heard, being
worth neither more nor less than any testimony on an event which
happened so many years ago. Between the risk of giving pain to living
relatives, and the reproach of having suppressed essential parts of the
story, no traveller should hesitate for an instant. Dr. John Rae, the
veteran of Franklin search parties, writes to the author in the
following words: "As my name is mentioned in connection with the
subject of cannibalism, I must state that when I came home in 1854 I
felt bound to report in as condensed a form as possible all the
information given us by the Esquimaux, including the most painful part.
I would have felt it my duty to do this even had my dearest friends
been among the lost ones, for had I withheld any part of the sad story,
it would have come to light through my men, and I should have been
accused, with some show of justice, of garbling my report. I consider
it no reproach, when suffering the agony to which extreme hunger
subjects some men, for them to do what the Esquimaux tell us was done.
Men so placed are no more responsible for their actions than a madman
who commits a great crime. Thank God, when starving for days, and
compelled to eat bits of skin, the bones of ptarmigan up to the beak
and down to the toe-nails, I felt no painful craving; but I have seen
men who suffered so much that I believe they would have eaten any kind
of food, however repulsive."

On the other hand, Sir George Richards shows strong reasons why the
Esquimaux should not be believed. "They are said to give as their
reasons," he writes, "that some of the limbs were removed as if by a
saw. If this is correct, they were, probably, the operators themselves.
We learn from the narrative that they were able to saw off the handles
of pickaxes and shovels. At all events the intercourse between the
natives and such of Franklin's crews as they met is surrounded by
circumstances of grave suspicion, as learned from themselves, and this
suspicion gathers strength from various circumstances related on
Schwatka's journey. Be this as it may, I take my stand on far higher
ground. Of course such things have happened. Strong, shipwrecked
mariners, suddenly cast adrift on the ocean, have endeavored to extend
life in this way when they were in hourly expectation of being rescued.
But how different the case in point! The crews of the 'Erebus' and
'Terror', when they abandoned their ship, were, doubtless, for the
most part, suffering from exhaustion and scurvy; death had been staring
them in the face for months. The greater part of them probably died
from exhaustion and disease long before they got a hundred miles from
their ships, and found their graves beneath the ice when it melted in
summer, or on the beach of King William Land. It is possible that no
more than half a dozen out of the whole crew ever reached the entrance
to the Great Fish River. We need not call in starvation to our aid. I
fully believe that by far the greater portion perished long before
their provisions were consumed. The only thing that would have restored
men to convalescence in their condition would have been nursing and the
comforts of hospital treatment, not a resort to human flesh."

Apart from these objections, of which the reader is only forewarned,
the importance of the results achieved by Lieutenant Schwatka's
expedition has not been gainsaid by any one possessing the least
acquaintance with Arctic matters. It made the largest sledge journey on
record, having been absent from its base of supplies for eleven months
and twenty days, and having traversed 2,819 geographical, or 3,251
statute miles. It was the first expedition which relied for its own
subsistence and for the subsistence of its dogs on the game which it
found in the locality. It was the first expedition in which the white
men of the party voluntarily assumed the same diet as the natives. It
was the first expedition which established beyond a doubt the loss of
the Franklin records. McClintock recorded an opinion that they had
perished: Schwatka recorded it as a fact.

The success of this latest Arctic journey has been attributed to small,
as well as to greater causes. The advantages of summer exploration were
manifest. The Esquimaux of the party gave invaluable aid, building
snow-huts with the skill to which none but natives attain, coating the
sledge-runners with ice according to a method which only natives
understand, and by their good offices enabling the expedition to hold
communication and have dealings with the wild tribes with whom they
came in contact. The dogs were chosen with the utmost circumspection,
and justified this care by their wonderful endurance. Game was
abundant. Such minor devices as the use of blue lights proved
efficacious in the dispersal of wolves. Woolen foot gear, made by
friendly natives, supplied a need which has often proved fatal in the
Arctic. Good management kept all the Esquimaux loyal, and Schwatka's
strong will helped the travellers to live while the dogs were falling
exhausted and dying by the way.

Among the relics that were brought home was the prow of the boat seen
by Sir Leopold McClintock in Erebus Bay, the sled on which it had been
transported, and the drag-rope by which the sled was drawn. There were
also two sheet-iron stoves from the first camp on King William Land, a
brush marked "H. Wilkes," some pieces of clothing from each grave,
together with buttons, canteens, shoes, tin cans, pickaxes, and every
thing that could in any way tend to identify the occupants of the
different graves or those who died without burial. They were offered to
the British Admiralty, and, having been gratefully accepted, were added
to the relics already deposited at the Museum in Greenwich Hospital,
and at the United Service Institution in London.




CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I. NORTHWARD

CHAPTER II. THE WINTER CAMP

CHAPTER III. OUR DOGS

CHAPTER IV. IN THE SLEDGES

CHAPTER V. NATIVE WITNESSES

CHAPTER VI. THE MIDNIGHT SUN

CHAPTER VII. RELICS

CHAPTER VIII. IRVING'S GRAVE

CHAPTER IX. ARCTIC COSTUMES

CHAPTER X. OVER MELTING SNOWS

CHAPTER XI. AMATEUR ESQUIMAUX

CHAPTER XII. WALRUS DIET

CHAPTER XIII. THE RETURN

CHAPTER XIV. FAMINE

CHAPTER XV. ESQUIMAU HOME-LIFE

CHAPTER XVI. HOMEWARD

CHAPTER XVII. THE GRAVES OF THE EXPLORERS




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


LIEUTENANT SCHWATKA
CAMP DALY IN SUMMER
ESQUIMAUX GOING TO THE HUNTING-GROUND
A CAIRN
CAIRN MARKING DEPOSIT OF PROVISIONS
THE SHIPS IN WINTER QUARTERS
ESQUIMAU PLAYING THE KI-LOWTY
CAMP DALY IN WINTER
DOWN-HILL WITH THE SLEDGES
HUNTING MUSK-OXEN
THE GREAT BEND IN HAYES RIVER
THE SOURCES OF THE HAYES RIVER
MEETING WITH THE OOKJOOLIKS
THE NETCHILLIK AMBASSADRESS
THE COUNCIL WITH THE NETCHILLIKS
SNOW-HUTS ON CAPE HERSCHEL
CROSSING EREBUS BAY
CURIOUS FORMATION OF CLAY-STONE
CLAY-STONE MOUNDS
THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE
THE MARCH SOUTHWARD
SCHWATKA'S PERMANENT CAMP
HENRY KLUTSCHAK'S CAMP
VIEW ON BACK'S RIVER
THE DANGEROUS RAPIDS, BACK'S RIVER
THE MARCH IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER
VIEW ON CONNERY RIVER
ESQUIMAUX BUILDING A HUT
SECTION AND PLAN OF ESQUIMAUX HUT
ESQUIMAU WOMAN COOKING

[Map: THE OVERLAND ROUTE OF THE Exploring Expedition of
Lieut. Schwatka to and from KING WILLIAM'S LAND. 1879-1880.]

* * * * *


SCHWATKA'S SEARCH.


CHAPTER I.

NORTHWARD.


"Haul in the gang-plank;" "Let go the tow-line," shouted the captain of
the 'Fletcher'. Then he signalled the engineer to go ahead, and
the little schooner 'Eothen' was abandoned to her own resources
and the mercy of the mighty ocean. The last frantic handshaking was
over, and only wind-blown kisses and parting injunctions passed back
and forth as the distance between the voyagers and their escort kept
continually increasing, until nothing could be heard but the hearty
cheers that wished for us a pleasant journey and unbounded success.
There was no time now for regrets, for if we would be comfortable we
must direct our thoughts seaward and get our bunks ready for sleeping.
So we were paired off and went immediately to work. As Lieutenant
Schwatka was not only the senior officer of the expedition, but at the
same time taller than I by several inches, I willingly yielded him the
top bunk of our state-room, and waited patiently outside until he had
prepared his lair, for it would be impossible for two to work at the
same time in such very narrow space. He at last arranged his two
buffalo robes to his perfect satisfaction, and I soon spread my humbler
blankets to the best advantage. So much accomplished we retired to our
first sleep on shipboard.

We had left New York on the 19th June, 1878, a party of five, none of
us unaccustomed to hardship and adventure. Lieutenant Frederick
Schwatka, of the Third United States Cavalry, Polish by descent,
American by birth, had been distinguished in the war; and I, who was
second in command, had seen a good deal of active service. Henry
Klutschak, a Bohemian by birth, a civil engineer by profession, brought
us the advantage of his previous experiences in the Arctic; Frank E.
Melms was an experienced whaleman; and Joseph Ebierbing, well known as
"Esquimau Joe," had been with Captain Hall and Captain Hayes in their
journeys, and with the 'Pandora' expedition from England. The
'Eothen', that carried us, was commanded by Captain Thomas F.
Barry. Her crew included a first, second, and third mate, a carpenter,
blacksmith, cooper, steward and cook, three boat-steerers, and twelve
men before the mast. To prepare her for encounters with the ice, the
hull had been overlaid to the chain-plates with oak planking an inch
and a half thick, and the stem had been covered with oak about two feet
thick, over which was iron plating to the depth of three-quarters of an
inch. She was a stout vessel of one hundred and two tons. The stock of
provisions laid in on board of her for the use of the party included
hard bread, Indian-meal, flour, molasses, pemmican, canned meats,
preserved vegetables, preserved fruits, coffee, tea, and chocolate.
Horseradish was taken as a preventive against scurvy, and tobacco was
stored in abundance for the use of such Esquimaux as might have stories
to tell or assistance to offer. Arms and ammunition had been generously
presented to us by several manufacturers, and to individual bounty we
also owed many of our books, night-signals, instruments, and the timber
for our sledges.

The commander of the 'Eothen' was, indirectly, the originator of
the expedition. Everybody knows that for more than twenty years
explorers had been sailing from English and American ports in search of
the bodies or the papers of Sir John Franklin and his party. The
partial success which attended the investigations of Sir Leopold
McClintock had served to whet the public appetite. A story which
Captain Barry brought home from the Arctic made the curiosity still
greater. He said that in 1871-73, while on a whaling expedition, he was
frozen in with the 'Glacier' in Repulse Bay, and was there visited
by several Esquimaux who brought their families on board his vessel.
They had lost their way while hunting, and were anxious to see the
ships of white men. While on board the 'Glacier' they spoke of a
stranger in uniform who had visited them some years before, and who was
accompanied by many other white men. All of the party had afterward
died, but the chief had meanwhile collected a great quantity of papers.
He had left these papers behind him in a cairn, where, among other
things, some silver spoons had since been found. In the winter of 1876,
while the captain was with the bark 'A. Houghton' before Marble
Island, another set of Esquimaux visited him, and while looking at his
logbook said that the great white man who had been among them many
years before had kept a similar book, and having told him this one of
them gave him a spoon engraved with the word "Franklin."

This was enough to arrest the attention and stir the adventurous spirit
of Lieutenant Schwatka. He became eager to organize a search party and
find the cairn where the papers were supposed to be still buried. He
obtained leave of absence, went to New York, and proposed to Judge
Daly, of the Geographical Society, to take charge of an expedition.
After listening to the lieutenant's offer, Judge Daly gave him all the
information in his possession concerning the whereabouts of the
supposed cairn, so far as its site could be ascertained from the
history of the relics already said to be found, and commended him to
General Sherman, indorsing his application to be detailed to command
the exploring party. The lieutenant also conferred with Messrs.
Morrison & Brown, the shipping merchants of South Street, New York, who
owned the whaling vessel on which the supposed clew was brought home,
and they readily accepted his offer, and with the help of private
subscriptions fitted out the 'Eothen'. Their instructions to
Lieutenant Schwatka were as follows: "Upon your arrival at Repulse Bay
you will prepare for your inland journey by building your sledges and
taking such provisions as are necessary. As soon as sufficient snow is
on the ground you will start for King William Land and the Gulf of
Boothia. Take daily observations, and whenever you discover any error
in any of the charts you will correct the same. Whenever you shall make
any new discoveries you will mark the same on the charts; and important
discoveries I desire to be named after the Hon. Charles P. Daly and his
estimable wife, Mrs. Maria Daly. Any records you may think necessary
for you to leave on the trip, at such places as you think best, you
will mark ''Eothen' Franklin Arctic Search Party, Frederick
Schwatka in command;' date, longitude, and latitude; to be directed to
the President of the American Geographical Society, New York, United
States of America. Should you be fortunate in finding the records,
remains, or relics of Sir John Franklin or his unfortunate party, as I
have hopes you will, you will keep them in your or Joe's control, and
the contents thereof shall be kept secret, and no part thereof
destroyed, tampered with, or lost. Should you find the remains of Sir
John Franklin or any of his party, you will take the same, have them
properly taken care of, and bring them with you. The carpenter of the
'Eothen' will, before you start on your sledge journey, prepare
boxes necessary for the care of relics, remains, or records, should you
discover the same. Whatever you may discover or obtain you will deliver
to Captain Thomas F Barry, or whoever shall be in command of the
schooner 'Eothen', or such vessel as may be despatched for you.
You are now provisioned for eighteen months for twelve men. I shall
next spring send more provisions to you, so that in the event of your
trip being prolonged you shall not want for any of the necessaries of
life. You will be careful and economical with your provisions, and will
not allow anything to be wasted or destroyed. Should the expedition for
which it is intended prove a failure, make it a geographical success,
as you will be compelled to travel over a great deal of unexplored
country."

Thus manned, equipped, and instructed, we sailed from New York. It was
nearly a month before we saw our first iceberg. During the night of
July 11th I heard the order given to wear ship, and was called on deck
to see an iceberg dead ahead; but so great was the distance and so
foggy the weather that it was some time before I could make it out, and
then it appeared only as a thin, faintly bluish line. The eagle eyes of
the second mate had discovered it in time to avoid any danger of
collision; but the captain thought it more prudent to heave to and wait
until dawn before continuing on our course. The following morning a
regular old veteran berg could be seen from the deck, about twenty
miles away. It was apparently about a mile long, and could have
supplied the city of New York with ice for many years, were there any
way to preserve it for that purpose. During the 13th we saw four large
icebergs, which passed close by the ship. While writing in the cabin,
about eleven o'clock of the 15th, the mate on watch called me on deck
to see a magnificent aurora, the first we had seen. It was truly a
grand spectacle. At the same time the moon was shining brightly and the
sea was as smooth as glass. Near by an immense iceberg looked black
against the red twilight along the horizon, while in the distance
another berg was white in the light of the full moon. The air was
filled with the voices of wild-ducks, who could be heard, but not seen.
On Friday, the 19th, in latitude 59 deg. 54 min. north, and longitude
60 deg. 45 min. west., thirteen icebergs were to be seen during the
morning, and were of the most varied and picturesque description. One
appeared like a huge circus tent, with an adjoining side-show booth;
while near by another was a most perfect representation of a cottage by
the sea, with gables toward the observer, and chimneys rising at proper
intervals along the roofs. On the other side of the vessel a huge
monster presented a vast amphitheatre, with innumerable columns
sparkling in the sunlight and dazzling the spectator with their intense
brilliancy. I made a few sketches of the most remarkable in view; but
as twenty-three could be seen from the deck at three o'clock I gave up
in despair. At six o'clock thirty-three were in sight, and the sun set
beautifully, eight minutes past nine, surrounded by fourteen of these
monsters of the deep. On the night of the 19th I went on deck to see an
iceberg, which was a perfect counterpart of Newstead Abbey. One could
almost fancy he saw the ivy creeping over its sides, so deceptive were
the shadows that fell upon it from pinnacles and horizontal projections
innumerable.

At half-past seven o'clock in the evening we sighted a brigantine off
the weather beam, while thirty-one icebergs were around us. The vessel
was going the same way that we were bound, and was about fifteen miles
away. Sunday night, the 21st, was a splendid night. One could read
distinctly on deck throughout the entire night. There were plenty of
icebergs around. Those in front and on both sides of the ship were
black against the sky, the moon being on the other side of them, while
those we passed shone in all their virgin beauty in the bright
moonlight. The red twilight still lingered along the horizon,
graduating through a pale yellow tint to orange, and then deepening
into intense blue that was almost black. The picture was fierce in
color and startling in the contrasts it presented.

At a quarter before nine o'clock the next night we sighted Resolution
Island in the dim distance. Spy-glasses were at once brought into
requisition, and we could see that the mirage had fooled us, though
there seemed little doubt of the land's being visible. The next morning
the land was in plain sight, about thirty or thirty-five miles off the
weather beam, and the water filled with small and dangerous pieces of
ice. The land was covered with fog, and looked desolate enough, but
nevertheless seemed acceptable after a tedious journey against head
winds and calms. The wind was still directly out of the straits, and we
had to beat backward and forward from Resolution to Button Island, and
it seemed as if the straits were unapproachable. Toward night the wind
blew a perfect gale, and added to the usual dangers was the risk of
running upon the innumerable pieces of loose ice which appeared on
every side, many of them having sharp points projecting below the
surface of the water, and heavy enough to pierce the sides of any
vessel going at the speed we were compelled to make in order to keep
sufficient headway to steer clear of such obstacles as could be seen.
The captain and first mate, who were on deck most of the night, said
that disaster was imminent; that the danger was constant, and that the
night was withal one of the most terrible ordeals they had ever
experienced. I was tired and slept soundly, and consequently knew
nothing about it until morning, which dawned brightly and with a light
breeze, under which we passed up to the first ice-pack I had ever seen.
While engaged in conversation an inexperienced hand at the wheel
brought us so close to a small cake of ice, about the size of a
schooner, that collision was inevitable. A long projection beneath the
water had a most dangerous look, but fortunately was so deep that the
keel of the 'Eothen' ran up on it and somewhat deadened her
headway. Long poles were got out at once, and, all hands pushing,
succeeded after a while in getting her clear without damage; but it was
a perilous moment.

We worked over toward the south side of the straits, and found a
channel through which we could make but slow progress. The wind
increased and blew terrifically all night, forcing the vessels to beat
back and forth in the mouth of the straits, and we had a similar
experience on the night of the 22d, running the gauntlet under reefed
mainsail and jib through loose ice and in imminent danger of shipwreck.
Next day the ice appeared somewhat open, and Captain Barry concluded to
venture into the pack. When we got into clear water we worked up to the
bulkhead of ice and passed Resolution Island. We were almost as glad to
get rid of it as we had been to see it, nearly a week before. All the
icebergs we saw were aground, and several of them had arches cut into
their sides, which looked as if our vessel might safely sail inside and
secure a harbor. We worked up beyond the Lower Savage Islands, and in
sight of the Middle Savage and Saddleback Rock.

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