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)
But I set out to record my journey up the Fiord. Reaching the head of
it after a most exhilarating ride, we managed, with some difficulty,
to cross the tide-cracks, and scrambled over the ice-foot to the land.
Here we came upon a broad and picturesque valley, bounded on either
side by lofty cliffs--at its further end lay a glacier, with a pool
of water a mile long occupying the middle distance. This pool is fed
from the glacier and the hill-sides, down which pour the waters of the
melting snows of summer. The discharge from it into the sea is made
through a rugged gorge which bears evidence of being filled with a
gushing stream in the thaw season. Its banks are lined in places with
beds of turf, (dried and hardened layers of moss,) a sort of peat,
with which we can readily eke out our supply of fuel. A specimen of
it brought on board burns quite freely with the addition of a little
grease. This pool of water, in accordance with Sonntag's wish, bears
the name of Alida Lake.
The valley, which I have named "Chester," in remembrance of a spot
which I hope to see again, is two miles long by one broad, and is
covered in many places, especially along the borders of the lake, with
a fine sod of grass, from which the wind has driven the snow and made
the locality tempting to the deer. Several herds, amounting in the
aggregate to something like a hundred animals, were browsing upon the
dead grass of the late summer; and, forgetting for the time the object
of my journey, I could not resist the temptation to try my rifle upon
them. I was rewarded with two large fat bucks, while Jensen secured an
equal number.
[Sidenote: MY BROTHER JOHN'S GLACIER.]
The glacier was discovered by Dr. Kane in 1855, and, being subsequently
visited by his brother, who was an assistant surgeon in the United
States Expedition of Search under Captain Hartstene in 1855, was named
by the former, "My Brother John's Glacier." It has been christened
a shorter name by the crew, and is known as "Brother John." It has
frequently been seen from the hill-tops and bay by all of us, but not
visited until to-day. We reached home in time for dinner, weary enough
and very cold, for the temperature was several degrees below zero, and
the wind was blowing sharply.
During my absence McCormick has employed the crew in securing the
boats, one of which was blown ashore and its side stove in by the
violence of the gale, and in sawing out and unshipping the rudder.
Hans and Peter have been setting fox-traps and shooting rabbits. The
foxes, both the white and blue varieties, appear to be quite numerous,
and there are also many rabbits, or rather I should say hares. These
latter are covered with a long heavy pelt which is a pure white, and
are very large. One caught to-day weighed eight pounds.
October 17th.
[Sidenote: A SURVEYOR'S CHAIN.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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