THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 7, 8 January 1877, Page 4

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

-"^llie following r details relate to the •» : exploration of : the ,Alert:r— she 'Ajjert wintered on "the side b*T Grant Laadi -io lat^^2 de£. 27 mini She was : '.-.'idrty-.mlies;from"*th'e;!.pisVoyery,' at the ■ other aide of the Robeson Channel. . The additional prograas to the northward may aeesa small when, expressed ; in miles, bat it was achieved by severe : : labour and the exeroise of e'xtraor JiD^y . skiii and'vigilaace. . The Discovery got \ - ; into .winter quarters on the 25th of - August, but it was not until the end of (September that the Alert reached her j destined place. The difficulties and -dangers of the navigation also increased * "according arthe ship made her way to the ndrtb^' 'Captain Nares' object was to parry the. chip. to the furthest limit : of navigation ' t in order to have her as r a base^of operation: as near: as rpossibla to tUO;/Eblei rand .every break ; in .the pack of ice was, availed of 4o preaa a . few .yards forward. For. days the ship '.> kept- dodging and grinding her yn'j Ihreatened^ by a bondred ' ,?. •dangers.' r From tha momant.we entered , jibe i^e,^ said, one^ who bore, a mostoaeFdua part in the exploit, we felt ;.;|e|wiorWefß fighting for oaf lives. A „ orbsh i'ijo the paok of an iceberg might ba¥^|l«t- atflend s'to us. for ever. J^f ter '■ a month of this work the highest limit was ; reaciied--ino commocfious harbor opened its arms to the Alert, a mere "lift -Jn lhe* land formed: her winter-' abidiogi^glaoe.;; The qaartera had oaly ■ one thing in their favor. The cliffs ;ga^a shelter from i : the; east .;. and. north, an 4 guile; a ring of ice floes had formedl around the spot chosen for bringing the:, vessel up, ao making a kind of artificial port.^:^ Immediately that the Alart was - , moored in this spot, steps were taken -to secure herv /or^thp . .winder. Six montbs' supplies of provisions were f landed and housed, and, as the surface tharfleped^ great -banks of enow 15ft • .bigbi were raieed all roubd her tb pro-^ _l ieo^feer ••■'fromCa movement of the ioe in immediately, an^ about the raidd la of October they took. :~*' :^eir.JM^.lppl(..Rj(.the'-.8.np,.: The place ;in which they were io pass the ensuing six months yaa named Floe Berg Bay, j^anfippellatidD suggested by the strange l^ircle encompassing^. the. ship. The Cre^jproceededimraediately to make; themselves comfortable for the vwint^W ?^-l%e^ck>vWM6Veryd\withßnow4oHnis: 4ep^b^jt^oje^ for the purpose of ecoaomisiDg heat below, and precautions r.wer& taken to exclude the 'ooldiair, without, however, 7 interfering with ventilation. These important arrange-, | V menu were t carried ; out under J super yigion of Doctor Colan, an cfßcer * : whoPbaff speeiaHy r dißtiuguiahed bimself . ■:; in this memorabla espedition.^ Tesfs for. ascertaining the purity of the air, , aa well as the temperature, .w^re estab? lished all through the lower deck, and we ajreL assured that the cold was^sucf :^ ceasfully je^cluded.. ', .The atmosphere; w below was never impure to a daßgeroua At times it was somewhat close, ibufc never impure or ; dangerous ;..:. t^^ltfi ij^fid the 1 metf went through ■ th'l^itfier wiihout i suffering from|^^ djsea?^ save, thpee attendant upon: cold ■}- an sJh% tii*Msi>P : ofr. : t|io" exploration^ u^.WMteithe^ir/o'tii.tha upper deck was/ 70 deg. below zero, equivalent to 100 deg. of frost, on the lower deck a mean ; $emp^ri*af elof 49t deg. was maintaine J. Sometimes it sank below freezing point but the officers and men declared that ;'■.,^whiW: between decks they heyeri during -4 tb^e|W%btel winter; ; suffered any material; sense of discomfort from the cold/ ':;_[ Wheoji howeyeiy they had' to p'aas from tlie^low^r to ibe upper_ deck the effect sev^reljr jfeft, : -The duratiori pf ' ttie winter.; in the! spot reached by the, Alert was the same as ; la'Utude, c where: the' Dis- .: cbverylayi ;EveFyf exeriionr Was nende .-: b^ibjidlScera to;lighten.the tedium, of : ibe dark iniervai. Books, g^nes^cony certs, and theatrical performances were i; ; freely employ ad. It was not, howeverl all play and no work on board. The t; earlier. hours were given to education; : -. Ah& erew '.were> employed at schooh Doriog the whole of the winter, claeaes :.-, wereJopfeped for all-accord jog to -their eapacity.^; After;, the prpliminory,gor- : veyshad be^nmatle the exploring parties ; imeiiat Cape. Columbia, whence Com:*)raander S^arkham started for the Pole! ■*'"; da"'* di?ect" iineocrosV the frozen saaV : ;The party consisted of fifteen men besides ihei two officers, and they carried two sledges and two boats, with ' provfaiorisv-fv forty- daye. In a very-abort-time is became evident that the : - expedition, was. hopeless. The floe bergs" ; were perched so close over the surface, as? to :fbrm serrated ridge?,; through, .which .the patty had literally" to cujS^heir way. The"' operation waa ■;''-»'moßV_-)abli)noaß..'/ With their axea. the men. ha 4, bew: paaseges eighteen to ; twenty^feet' deep, -and to draw the : boatß* and^ sleighs over, a rugged, and often precipitous surfaea. Some days l;"-\-|tfBir:-iir(prgreB8\ t 'was not half a mile,then tbeysirould cprae upon andclear a ! piepp:forj& milfr. or so, but again; lhe humraocka (floe bergs) heaped together, ;>:'- r and/the:.higher ridges of the ice would. ; block the way, and the aices would have- > to te.brougbt.inlo.i play; again; After f twenty days of this work the party/be* tween;Bonrjv.y and hardship, were quite - ; worn ont,:tbe officers alone- keeping up v'^' ihei^Bpirita^aod coarage^ The.ice be- ; ? neath ; was by the dregs of the be ISO feet thick in places, • tj|^averag©i being 80 feet, and some of .^rChenoaf bergs were miniature mounNot a. trece 'of life or vegetation |v 'was vsisibleV ■ V Tlie^ average progress :?l >wiai ; fntili^^^ more than half-a-mile a day, Kand^^a^ jtfi^od; of. -t^renty; days, and of ■. iiitfe^^fc^la!?St fiod; t wo Ji^^||^|f Jb|j|flf9i?f «|f a^latitade ttiii^i^^vfe-^^:'"- ■■>".->; '•■ ; ''-?.

sileg 20m 27eec. More than 400 -miles of frozen sea still interposed between them and the Pole. Success was impossible, and longer perseverance in thia journey might have been fatal to to! all. Everyone was constrained to admit that, the approach to the Pole was f impracticable; they turned their, f«cea southward, and gained their ship in; about the dame time as the journey .northward bad taken. : Tha men were An. a state of extreme exhaustion, and only that they were ablo to avail themselves of the pasaages out on their way up would hardly, have got back at. Vail. While upon the expedition the men worked about ten hours a day, commencing at 6 o'clock, and resting in the middle. of the day. They slept in tents, which;formod part of their equipment The sleeping arrangements seem to, have, been excellent. A waterproof'sheet waa laid upon tlie saow, and upon, this the beWwere placed. Then the men, clad in their heavy winter clothing, nestled into bags which formed their bads, and covered themselves completely up, so as to exclude the cold air. They seem to have got. pretty well through tha nights, but still most of them had touches of frostbite, which, however, the officers were able to* check by: She timely application of remedies ■■ supplied: by. Dr Golao; / Nothing :could exceed the attention of the officers to the parties under their chargej they seemed kimpsYindiifereh'r to their *oyn\;ifardßb;ijpß'. when the 'occasion arp^for, .miri.ding'aad encoUi'ag- ' iog the men. 6ne of "the few officers who 4id r .noS ta^e part in, .ajio. work ; on, ;the. ice says it. ,w ; ogid be iaapoaaible to ' 'speak too highly of their devotion and epergy, and the> success: with: which ■they cheered and sustained the flagging spirits of those under them when their own hearts 1 were low enough; Commodore Markham's party only got back to the^ ship just in time to enable her to escape ' from being* imprisoned for .another winter; a few days more, and ? t{ie pafteage down the Sound would' have been impracticable.. The.ice had formed across Ibe channel, and was several inches .thick. TfaeStrait was blocked with immense, masses of ice, and the ship had. to; make her way down by sheer force. In these last moments: the r men. for the : first time became downcast. "We wift never get out;, we will never see England again," was heard on many lips; but the courage of Captain Naresroae. with l|ie difficulty, and his confident manner reassured the crew throughout, though the imminence of the danger pressed hardly upon Kimselfi 1 During the sW, and laborious struggle; out of the ice he was scarcely ever out of; the crow's pest, and it was quite a marvel how ho bore4he?;faliglie. r ;Dr Caian says tW at one period the peril of/ being crushed ,by r the, floating masJaiea^ Baenaadap imminent-, that r.thci whole company «?ere ready, with haveraacks on thair backs, tojjump overboard, .- <:,j :