The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"Hayes, I. I. (Isaac Israel)
History
The Open Polar Sea: A narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States"
Hayes, I. I. (Isaac Israel)
Arctic regions; United States (Schooner)
Hans has given me the story of his journey, and I sit down to record it
with very painful emotions.
The travelers rounded Cape Alexander without difficulty, finding the
ice solid; and they did not halt until they had reached Sutherland
Island, where they built a snow-hut and rested for a few hours.
Continuing thence down the coast, they sought the Esquimaux at Sorfalik
without success. The native hut at that place being in ruins, they made
for their shelter another house of snow; and, after being well rested,
they set out directly for Northumberland Island, having concluded that
it was useless to seek longer for natives on the north side of the
Sound. They had proceeded on their course about four or five miles, as
nearly as I can judge from Hans's description, when Sonntag, growing
a little chilled, sprang off the sledge and ran ahead of the dogs to
warm himself with the exercise. The tangling of a trace obliging Hans
to halt the team for a few minutes, he fell some distance behind, and
was hurrying on to catch up, when he suddenly observed Sonntag sinking.
He had come upon the thin ice, covering a recently open tide-crack,
and, probably not observing his footing, he stepped upon it unawares.
Hans hastened to his rescue, and aided him out of the water, and then
turned back for the shelter which they had recently abandoned. A light
wind was blowing at the time from the northeast, and this, according
to Hans, caused Sonntag to seek the hut without stopping to change
his wet clothing. At first he ran beside the sledge, and thus guarded
against danger; but after a while he rode, and when they halted at
Sorfalik, Hans discovered that his companion was stiff and speechless.
Assisting him into the hut with all possible despatch, Hans states
that he removed the wet and frozen clothing, and placed Sonntag in the
sleeping-bag. He next gave him some brandy which he found in a flask
on the sledge; and, having tightly closed the hut, he lighted the
alcohol lamp, for the double purpose of elevating the temperature and
making some coffee; but all of his efforts were unavailing, and, after
remaining for nearly a day unconscious, Sonntag died. He did not speak
after reaching the hut, and left no message of any kind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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