LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 322, 24 June 1875, Page 3

LITERATURE.

A CRUISE TO BAFFIN’S BAY. ( Concluded.) The witnessing of a fish being flinched, however, does not appear to be especially disgusting. One chief reason for the excitement of whale-fishing soon palling upon our author was, that his heart and thoughts were really in the regions beyond those in which the Arctic lingered in the first part of her 'voyage. His imagination went out to the vast unknown Avaters farther north, on the confines of which he was now sailing, and a somewhat nearer approach to which he hoped for, even in his present voyage. By-and-by, he got nearer. The Arctic made an unusually rapid passage through the ticklish Melville Bay, and emerged into the region known as the ‘ North Water,’ on the other side; and Captain Markham was ‘ only eight hundred and fifty miles from the north pole!’ It seemed to him no distance. Meanwhile, he busied himself, Avhenever the weather permitted, in taking sights and bearings, and in making observations relative to the nature and position of the land, the depth of the water, and the accuracy of the existing charts of these regions.

Captain Adams, still pursuing his mammoth prey, pushed on through Barrow’s Stait to Port Leopold. Lauding at Port Leopold, Captain Markham found interesting traces of former Arctic explorers—of Sir James Ross, Kennedy, and M ‘Clintock: stores and gear left by these gallant navigators for the benefit of those who might follow in their track; and besides these, written records of Sir Leopold M'Clintock’s voyages in the Pox in 1848 and 1859. Farther on, at Fury Beach, other relics of Sir James Ross, and also of Parry, Avere discovered; all of which, naturally, had a deep interest for Captain Markham. Close to Port Leopold, off Cape Craufurd, the Arctic met the Ravenscraig, another steam-whaler, and in this way occurred the most interesting incident in the voyage of the former vessel, and a not unwelcome one in that of the latter, for it Avas discovered that the RaA T enswing had on board a number of the ci ew of the American expedition ship Polaris, who had been picked up from their boat. It was arranged between the captains of the Ravenscraig and the Arctic that the latter should take on board a portion of the Polaris’ crew, including the doctor and the first mate ; and from these, Captain Markham obtained much information in regard to the voyage of the Polaris, of a kind likely hereafter to be useful to him.

The expedition of the Polaris was in manyway remarkable, and deserves to be remembered as one of the most daring and successful feats of recent maritime enterprise. It was carried out under anything but favourable circumstances. The Polaris was a small vessel, of weak steam power. The leader of the expedition, Captain Hall, was not a trained seaman, and had, in fact, hardly any knowledge of navigation, almost his only recommendations for the post being great courage, energy, and enthusiasm. His crew was a hastily selected, miscellaneous, and oddly assorted one. Yet the Polaris penetrated to a farther point north than had yet been reached—as far as eighty-two degrees sixteen minutes, which is not much more than three hundred miles from the pole. Captain Hall started from America in the summer of 1871, and sailed uninter ruptedly up Baffin’s Bay and part of Smith’s Sound, where his further progress was stopped by loose ice-floes. In Smith’s Sound, Captain Hall wintered, and there, sad to relate, died. Some of his companions expressed to Captain Markham their belief that had their leader lived, the expedition would have been in all respects a success, so impressed had they become with his gallantry, energy, and endurance. After Hall’s death, however, his comrades thought only of getting back as soon as possible. They were progressing favorably on their homeward way, when their |vessel was ‘ nipped ’ by the ice, whereby a portion of the crew were swept away on the floe, the remaining part being left on the ship. The former were rescued by a vessel engaged in the sealfishery. Those who had been left on the ship ran her aground near Lyttelton Island, Smith’s Sound, took to the boats, and were ultimately picked up by the Eavenscraig. From Dr Bessels, who was really the only man [of any scientific attainments attached to the Polaris expedition, Captain Markh un gathered many valuable hints regarding Arctic navigation. Dr Bessels was a remarkably ingenious man, whose services any exploring expedition Avould be fortunate in obtaining. Of his inventive powers he gave numerous proofs, both on board the Polaris and the Arctic, one of which was, when Captain Markham lost his hydrometer, to replace it by a novel one of his own construction, which admirably supplied the place of the lost instrument. Dr Bessels’ voyage in the Polaris had impressed him strongly with the opinion that the real way to reach the north pole was by Smith’s Sound.

After taking on board, from the Ravenscraig, Dr Bessels and such of his companions as it was arranged should accompany him, Captain Adams continued his voyage, the Arctic being not yet quite so full as to satisfy that energetic skipper. Captain Markham now found a congenial companion in Pr Bessels, and the two pursued their scientific observations with keen interest and mutual benefit. At Cape Garry, they made a short exploring sally together on land, meeting with several adventures of a sufficiently exciting kind, getting some good sport in the shape of reindeer shooting, and

returning to the vessel thoroughly tired out, but well satisfied with the success of their expedition. During his sojourn on board the Arctic Captain Markham had many offers of assistance from the crew, in the event of his one day making a polar expedition. While the preliminary arrangements for the present Government expedition were in progress, the captain went to Dundee, for the purpose of enlisting the services of a number of icemasters ; and we have no doubt that, in seeking what he wanted, he did not forget his stalwart and stout-hearted shipmates of the Arctic.

Captain Adams’ luck, though it had been at first a little long in coming, when it had set in, continued with him to the end. At length the ship was almost full, with hardly room for another fish. We may here notice, in passing, that the phraseology of whalers, like nautical phraseology generally, sometimes reverses the meanings which words have on land. Strictly speaking, a whale is not a fish, being a marine mammal; but, with the northern fisherman, nothing else is a fish but a whale. With, him, no other creature is worthy of that name. One day Captain Markham, in the early part of his voyage, having noticed an appearance on the water, at some distance from the ship, which looked to him like some kind of large fish, intimated this to a north country sailor standing by, who answered— ‘ Na, na, sir; nae a fish, only a unie ;’ unie being the whaler’s name for the narwhal. The Arctic had now on board the largest cargo of blubber and whalebone that had ever been taken in Baffin’s Bay ; the hearts of all in the ship, to use a Scriptural figure, which is, however, no figure here, but a literal truth, were glad with marrow and with oil. When the skipper put it to the crew, whether they should try for yet another fish, or at once set their faces homeward, the men unanimously declared for the latter course. It was with mingled pleasure and regret that Captain Markham heard the decision. He could not, of course, be otherwise than glad at the thought of getting home : but he had a vague wish that he could have seen more before returning. Captain Adams, too, would have liked to oblige his passenger in this respect ; but his ship, owing to her heavy cargo, was now so low in the water, that he feared to risk remaining longer amid the ice than was necessary. So the Arctic’s head was pointed for home. But her return journey was not so rapid as could have been wished. She had to encounter a good deal of adverse weather and much ice, now steaming through vast tracts of it, packed closely together, now along the edge of floes, and now amid innumerable bergs of gigantic size, sometimes literally boring her way through the opposing mass. Fifteen days after the Arctic’s head had been set southward those on board were no nearer home. Eventually, however, the weather took a favourable turn, the Arctic got into open water, and a course of fair and steady winds took the good ship in fine style across the Atlantic on her homeward course. She reached Dundee on the 19th of September. The voyage here described by Captain Markham, taken in conjunction with the expedition of the Polaris, tends very materially to prove two things : the first is, that the great improvements that have been made during recent years in steam vessels must vastly facilitate all future exploration of the Arctic regions. Difficulties and dangers which Avere found almost insurmountable by the old explorers, must vanish with the employment of the steam power which those of the present day have at their command. The second thing which Captain Markham’s experiences, or, rather, those of the members of the Polaris expedition, which our author records, tend to confirm is, that, as far as can be seen at present, Smith’s Sound is the key to the north pole. From the farthest point which the Polaris reached, open water Avas seen stretching northAvard, and land extending to the north and west. The Geographical Society seem to be unanimous in their opinion, that Smith’s Sound is the route by which the north pole is to be reached, and have therefore recommended it to the polar expedition as that which should be tried. There Avill be few who will not await Avith interest the results of the expedition, meanAvhile, all success in its bold and hazardous enterprise. Since the days of the old English explorers, other nations besides England have entered the field of Arctic discovery. Germany, Russia, Austria, and notably America, have all, during late years, made strenuous efforts to penetrate the mystery of the north pole, and so secure the palm for maritime prowess. It would be a pity, surely, if England, after having done such noble pioneer-work in Arctic exploration, should have to see a rival nation snatch from her grasp the prize for Avhich she has struggled so gallantly and so long.