The Siege and Conquest of the North PoleBryce, George
History
The Siege and Conquest of the North Pole
Bryce, George
Arctic regions; North Pole; Scientific expeditions
On the 1st March, Lockwood with three men set out for Thank-God Harbour.
Two other men with a second dog-team were to support him as far as
possible. The distance of 28 miles to Dépôt “B” was travelled in five
hours and twenty minutes. The night was spent in the snow-house there,
and next day the whole party set out across Robeson Channel. When the
bad ice near the shore had been crossed, the supporting sledge-party
returned. Lockwood reached the Greenland coast the same day as he left
Cape Beechy. On the 3rd March he travelled south along the coast, and
arrived at the observatory above Thank-God Harbour, occupied by Bessels
and Bryan in 1871−72. The sides and one end of this building were still
standing. Six 45 lb. cans of pemmican, 35 lb. of farina, a half-barrel
of limejuice, a barrel of yellow corn-meal, and 10 barrels of hard bread
were found in the building, in fairly good condition. There were also
hatchets, saws, shovels, lead, shot, gunpowder, and cartridges for rifle
and pistol.
On the 5th March, Lockwood proceeded to Cape Sumner over the route
followed by Captain Hall in 1870. During the whole of this day the
temperature remained below −50°, and the party were compelled to
continually keep the warm hand to the face in order to prevent it from
freezing. At night a deep snow-drift was found in a small ravine, and a
hole was dug in this and a house formed by using the tent and poles for
a roof. Next day Newman Bay was reached in a snowstorm, and shelter had
to be taken in a house made in a snow-bank, where they had to remain
until the morning of the 9th. Here they had an experience they were not
likely to forget. Lockwood and Jewell had used up or had lost their
stock of matches. Brainard had some, but they seemed damp and would not
light. They were 60 miles from the station, and there was a temperature
of freezing mercury outside. Without fire they could not obtain water,
and without water they could not live long. The matches were tried again
and again, but only gave a flicker and went out. At last Jewell produced
a love-letter which had been carefully kept in an inside garment, and
holding a piece to the next match it caught the flame, and with this the
alcohol-lamp was at once lighted. The cause of the matches not lighting
eventually proved to be the vitiated, damp atmosphere of the hut.
Eight hours’ travelling on the 9th brought the party to Boat Camp, where
the canvas and whale-boats were found in very much the same condition
described by the English. From this camp, Cape Sumner was readied in an
hour and a half, and the tent pitched. Here Lockwood decided to leave
the tent, sleeping-bag, and some other articles of use for further
exploration, and to return to Conger. The party started on the 10th in a
temperature of −41°, and crossed Robeson Channel to Dépôt “B” in 12½
hours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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