The Greater Republic Part 55

EXPLORATION OF ALASKA.

Attention was so generally directed toward Alaska, our recent purchase from Russia, that an exploring expedition visited that country in 1883, under the command of Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka. It should be stated that the party, which was a small one, went thither without authority from the government, its departure from Portland, Oregon, May 22d, being secret. It was gone for several months, and brought back interesting and valuable information. One bit of knowledge was new. The explorers learned that the length of the great river Yukon is 2,044 miles, which makes it the third in length in the United States, the fourth in North America, the seventh in the western hemisphere, and the seventeenth in the world. The area drained by this immense stream is 200,000 square miles.

THE YORKTOWN CENTENNIAL.

We have learned of the centennial celebration of the birth of our republic in Philadelphia. Many other celebrations of important events were held in different parts of the country, the most important of which was the commemoration of the great victory at Yorktown, which brought the Revolution to a close and secured the independence of our country.

As was befitting, preparations were made on a grand scale for this celebration. Thousands journeyed thither days before the exercises opened. President Arthur arrived at ten o'clock on the morning of October 18, 1881, in a government steamer, his approach being announced by salute after salute, each of twenty-one guns, from the different s.h.i.+ps of the fleet.

The exercises were opened with prayer by Rev. Robert Nelson, grandson of Governor Nelson, who commanded the Virginia militia at Yorktown and directed the fire so as to destroy his own home, in which Cornwallis had his headquarters, after which Governor Holliday, of Virginia, made the address. At its conclusion, the sword was held up to view which was presented to the horseman who rode at high speed to Philadelphia with the news of the surrender of Cornwallis. Another interesting fact was that W.W. Henry, the grandson of Patrick Henry, was sitting at that moment on the platform.

The corner-stone of the monument was laid with Masonic ceremonies. The chair in which the Grand Master for the occasion sat was one that had been used by Was.h.i.+ngton when he was Grand Master of the Virginia Masons.

The sash and ap.r.o.n were presented to him at Mount Vernon in 1784, and had been worked by Mrs. Lafayette. The gavel was made from a portion of the quarter-deck of the United States frigate _Lawrence_, flags.h.i.+p of Commodore Perry, when he won his great victory on Lake Erie in September, 1813. s.p.a.ce cannot be given to enumerate the notables who were present nor the eloquent addresses that were made. Among the guests were descendants of Rochambeau, Steuben, and many German and French friends. The centennial ode was written by Paul H. Hayne, the Southern poet (who died in 1886), and the oration of the day was by Robert C.

Winthrop.

It was a graceful tribute to the friendly course of England, when Secretary Blaine, at the reception which followed the ceremonies, read the following order:

"In recognition of the friendly relations so long and so happily existing between Great Britain and the United States, in the trust and confidence of peace and good-will between the two countries for all centuries to come, and especially as a mark of the profound respect entertained by the American people for the ill.u.s.trious sovereign and gracious lady who sits upon the British throne, it is hereby ordered that at the close of these services, commemorative of the valor and success of our forefathers in their patriotic struggle for independence, the British flag shall be saluted by the forces of the army and navy of the United States now at Yorktown. The secretary of war and the secretary of the navy will give orders accordingly.

"CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

"By the PRESIDENT.

"JAMES G. BLAINE, Secretary of State."

The final ceremonies of Yorktown occurred on the 20th of October, at which time 9,000 sailors, regulars, and militia made an impressive spectacle. They were under the command of General Hanc.o.c.k, and represented all of the thirteen original States, including a number of others. They pa.s.sed in review before the President, both branches of Congress, governors of the States and their staffs, and the French and German guests of the government.

ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE NORTH POLE.

One of these days the North Pole will be reached, but no one can say when. For hundreds of years the attempt has been made again and again, and daring navigators have penetrated far into those icy regions, where the temperature for months at a time registers forty, fifty, and sixty degrees below zero, only to perish or be turned back disappointed.

The first American expedition into the Arctic regions was conducted by Dr. Elisha Kent Kane. He sailed from New York in the steamer _Advance_, May 30, 1853. He reached Smith Strait, as far as Cape George Russell, and then returned to Van Rensselaer Harbor for the winter. A number of excursions were made from that point, and 125 miles of coast were traced to the north and east. Two of the men penetrated to Was.h.i.+ngton Land in lat.i.tude 82 27', and discovered an open channel, which they named Kennedy. Kane came home in 1855, having been further north than any other explorer. He was obliged to abandon his s.h.i.+p and proceed overland to the Danish settlements in the south, where he was met by a relief party.

One of the members of this expedition was Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, who, in 1860, attained 81 35' north lat.i.tude, when he was forced to return without having accomplished anything of importance. Sir John Franklin, an English navigator, had been lost in the Arctic regions a number of years before, and several expeditions had been sent in search of him, but all failed to secure any definite information. In 1860, Dr. Charles F. Hall, of Connecticut, led an expedition in quest of the lost explorer. He was unfortunate enough to lose his boat and was obliged to return. The most interesting discoveries made by Dr. Hall were a number of relics of Frobisher's expedition to those dismal regions fully 300 years before. A second party, under Hall, found the same year several relics of Franklin, and dissipated all possible hope that he or any of his men were still living.

Dr. Hall was an enthusiastic explorer of those inhospitable regions and spent five years among the Eskemos. Coming home, he organized a third party, for, cheerless and dismal as are those frozen solitudes, they seemed to hold a resistless fascination to all who have visited them.

This expedition reached 80 north lat.i.tude, where Hall died.

THE GREELY EXPEDITION.

In 1880, the proposal was made by an international polar commission that the leading countries should unite in establis.h.i.+ng meteorological stations in the polar region. This was with no intention of helping explorations toward the North Pole, but to permit the study of weather phenomena and the actions of the magnetic needle, respecting which much remains to be learned.

Congress appropriated funds with which to establish a scientific colony for Americans, one at Point Barrow in Alaska and the other at Lady Franklin Bay in Grinnell Land. These stations were to be occupied for periods varying from one to three years.

The party designed for Lady Franklin Bay consisted of First Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely, U.S.A., Commander; Lieutenants F.S. Kislingbury and James B. Lockwood, U.S.A., as a.s.sistants; and Dr. O. Pavy as surgeon and naturalist. In addition, there were twenty-two sergeants, corporals, and privates, all belonging to the army, and two Eskemos. All the other attempts to establish circ.u.mpolar stations, numbering about a dozen, were successful.

The steamer _Proteus_ conveyed the expedition to Lady Franklin Bay, the start being made from the harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland. It would seem that every needed precaution had been taken to avert disaster.

Since the expedition had an attainable point fixed upon as its destination, it would seem that it had only to establish a base, where the government would deposit abundant supplies, to which Greely could return when he chose or when he found himself compelled to retreat. Then he could carry forward supplies on his sleds and leave them at different points along his route, so that he would be sure of finding them on his return. This scheme is so simple that it would seem that there was no possible, or at least probable, way of going wrong. Yet misfortune has been the fate of most of the Arctic expeditions.

It was arranged that two s.h.i.+ps were to go to Lady Franklin Bay in the summer of 1883 to bring back the explorers. These s.h.i.+ps were to be the steam whaler _Proteus_ and the United States gunboat _Yantic_, commanded by Lieutenant E.A. Garlington; but the _Proteus_, when near Cape Sabine and before she had landed her supplies, was crushed by the ice and sunk.

With great difficulty, Garlington and his men escaped from the wreck in small boats and made their way to Upernavik, where they had left the _Yantic_. The party then returned to the United States, without having left an ounce of supplies at Lady Franklin Bay, where Greely expected to find all he needed on his return.

Now let us follow the exploring party under Greely which left St.

John's, Newfoundland, July 7, 1881, in the _Proteus_, that was afterward lost. Icebergs were soon encountered, but seven hundred miles were pa.s.sed without any land appearing. The days had lengthened, light appearing shortly after midnight and lasting until ten o'clock the succeeding night, but the fog was dense and all-pervading. On July 16th, the _Proteus_ was steaming cautiously through the mist, when the icy coast of Disco Island, several hundred feet in height, loomed up directly ahead.

The most interesting sight was a vast iceberg in two parts, joined by an immense overhanging arch, under which it would have been easy for the s.h.i.+p to sail. The captain was too wise to make any such attempt. He steamed to one side of it, and, when some distance beyond, fired a signal gun for a pilot. The report was followed by a thunderous rumbling, and, looking back, the crew saw the vast arch, weighing thousands of tons, descend to the water with a crash that caused the steamer to rock to and fro for several minutes. Had she been caught beneath the ma.s.s, she would have been crushed like a tiny insect.

A landing was made at the settlement of Disco. In this squalid town all the dwellings were mere huts, with the exception of those of the inspector and governor. It was a strange sight to find in one of these dwellings in the North a piano, billiard table, carpets, and many of the luxuries of civilized life. The visitors were treated with the utmost hospitality and took part in a dance in progress.

Returning to the _Proteus_ the party steamed through the fog to Upernavik, which was reached on the 23d of July. They were never out of sight of icebergs, but they caused no trouble, and were easily avoided.

By means of the steam launch, several men made a pa.s.sage through inner waters to Proven, a spa.r.s.e settlement, where they procured some clothing suitable for the high lat.i.tudes.

These settlements, far beyond the Arctic Circle, belong to Denmark, which exercises a nominal control over them. One of the industries of Proven is the furnis.h.i.+ng of supplies to Arctic explorers. A liberal quant.i.ty of fresh food was secured, beside two native guides and thirty-two Eskemo dogs. It was near here that McClintock, the explorer, was frozen in for an entire year; but the weather continued unusually mild. A mountainous iceberg while drifting slowly with the current sloughed off so much from one side that its centre of gravity was displaced and the mountain of ice turned a complete somersault before it settled to rest.

There is hardly any limit to the time in which provisions can be preserved in the polar regions. A cache was found among the Gary Islands which had been left by Sir George Nares years before, and nearly all was in as good condition as when placed there. One of the strange phenomena of the Arctic regions is the red snow, mentioned by Sir John Ross, which was seen by the Greely party. This color is found to be due to myriads of tiny plants deposited on the crust. That most eminent botanist, Robert Brown, subjected it to careful examination and p.r.o.nounced it to be a unicellular plant of the order _Algae_, and Dr. Greville, of Edinburgh, gave it its name (_Protococcus nivalis_), by which it is now known to the scientific world.

The steamer halted at Littleton Island on the 2d of August. A number of articles were found at "Life-Boat Cove," that had been left by the Polaris expedition in 1873. A quant.i.ty of coal was unloaded here to be taken aboard on the return.

Steaming up Kennedy Channel, a deposit of provisions was made near Franklin Island and Carl Ritter Bay. A short distance north, an immense ice pack stopped the s.h.i.+p which repeatedly tried in vain to b.u.t.t its way through. It was compelled to drift with the pack until the 11th of August, when an opening appeared and the _Proteus_ forced a pa.s.sage to Bellot Island, at the entrance to Discovery Harbor.

AT LADY FRANKLIN BAY.

The steamer had now reached Lady Franklin Bay, which was its destination, and near which Fort Conger, a signal station, was to be established. The s.h.i.+p was unloaded and a house built, the men living in tents the meanwhile, and on the 19th of August, the _Proteus_ bade the explorers good-by and started on her return to Newfoundland.

A number of musk oxen were shot in the vicinity, and now and then a ptarmigan was bagged. The men moved into the house in the latter part of August, and Lockwood directed the laying out of the observatory and the digging of the foundation pier for the transit. The earth was frozen so hard that it was like chipping solid ice. The house gave the men comfortable quarters. On the first Sunday all work was stopped and religious services held. The intention was to send an exploring expedition along the northern coast of Greenland, and it was placed in charge of Lockwood. It would have been given to Kislingbury, the senior officer, but for the fact that he and Greely were not on good terms.

Men were sent to examine St. Patrick's Bay to the northeast, for a site to establish a depot on the channel of exploration. Such a place was found and the exploring parties were continually active, some of them going a good many miles from camp. Game was plentiful, but the wolves were fierce. Numbers were poisoned by means of a.r.s.enic mixed with meat thrown in their way. It being the beginning of their Arctic experience, the men enjoyed themselves to an extent that would hardly be supposed.

This was mainly because they were kept busy and the novelty of their life had not yet worn off. One pleasant custom was that of celebrating the birthdays of different members of the party, which was done with a vigor that sometimes reached good-natured boisterousness.

When the sun sank far from sight on the 16th of October, every one knew that it would not show itself again for four months. It will be admitted, too, that the weather had become keen, for it registered forty degrees below zero most of the time and the moisture within the house was frozen to the depth of an inch on the window-panes.

With the coming of the long, dismal night the wolves became fiercer, and prowled so closely around the building that no one dared venture far from the door without firearms in his hands, and the men generally went in company, ready for an attack that was liable to be made at any minute.

INTOLERABLE LONELINESS.

Time always hangs heavy when one is forced to remain idle and the dismal night stretches through a third or half of the year. On the 1st of November, Lieutenant Lockwood, accompanied by seven men, left the dwelling to try the pa.s.sage of the straits, hoping to push his way to the place where Captain Hall made his winter quarters. They dragged a heavily loaded sled after them, upon which rested a boat, which they expected to use in case they reached open water. The men set out bravely and toiled hard, but were compelled to turn back, finding it impossible to make any progress.

No one can describe the horrible loneliness of such a life as the party were now compelled to lead. They played cards and games, told stories, and held discussions until all such things palled on their taste. Then they grew weary of one another's company, and hours would pa.s.s without a man speaking a word. Dr. Hayes has related that, when thus placed, he has dashed out of the dwelling in desperation and wandered for miles through the frozen solitudes, for no other reason than that the company of his friends had become unbearable. He stated further that a rooster on his s.h.i.+p deliberately flew overboard and committed suicide out of sheer loneliness.

One means resorted to by the explorers for relieving the frightful monotony was the publication of a paper called the _Arctic Moon_. The contents were written and copies made by the hektograph process. Then Greely formed a cla.s.s in arithmetic, and Lockwood taught a cla.s.s in geography and grammar. Matters were quite lively on Thanksgiving Day (the party being careful to note the pa.s.sage of the regular days), when foot-races were run and shooting matches indulged in, Greely distributing the prizes.

One of the many curious facts regarding life in the Arctic regions is that its rigors are often withstood better by the inexperienced than by the experienced. The two Eskemo guides were the most depressed of the whole party, and one of them wandered off in a dazed condition. When found miles away, he was running as if in fear of his life, and it was with great difficulty he was persuaded to return. The second native would have run off had he not been closely watched.

In the middle of February, the thermometer fell to sixty-five degrees below zero, an intensity of cold which few living men have experienced.