Worthy British Merchants. 219 charging the floes. The Erik, again under the leadership of Mr. Tayler, sailed from London for Rekjavik, where a depôt of coals had been formed in May, 1865, then proceeding to the pack edge. Although the Erik succeeded in forcing her way through the ice farther than was done by the two smaller steamers in 1863, she could not reach the land. Two attempts were made, and then the enterprise was finally abandoned, the Erik having since made annual whaling voyages to Baffin's Bay, under the able command of Captain Walker. This interesting attempt to reach the east coast of Greenland reflects honour upon the merchants who undertook it." CHAPTER XXIII. Swedish Expeditions-Scientific Result-Voyage of 1868-Among the Ice-High Latitude attained—The Sofia dashed on an Ice-block -All Hands to the Pumps-The Leak stopped-The Ship's Ribs broken-Return to Norway. E have now arrived at a period when our own Government for a time abandoned Arctic enterprises. Not, so, however, other nations. Sweden alone between the years 1858 and 1872 sent out no less than five expeditions. The first was fitted out at the expense of Otto Torell, a man of some wealth and greater scientific reputation. The expenses of the others were mostly defrayed by the Swedish Government, with some aid from the leading cities. These expeditions to Spitzbergen were all under the direction of Professor Nordenskiold, and the objects of their mission were entirely scientific. Most extensive geological, zoological, and botanical collections were made, and important astronomical observations were instituted. The heights of various mountains-the loftiest of which was Horn's Sound Swedish Expeditions. 221 Peak, 4,560 feet above the sea level-were determined. The Swedes reached a latitude of 81° 42′ N. during the expedition of 1868. Professor Nordenskiold gives a graphic account of this attempt to pass northward from the Seven Isles. He says*: "After a number of zigzags amidst the drift-ice, our vessel, in longitude 17 E. from Greenwich, succeeded in arriving at 81° 42' N. latitude.+ "Northward lay vast ice masses, it is true as yet broken, but still so closely packed that not even a boat could pass forward, and we were therefore obliged to turn to the south-west and seek for another opening in the ice; but we found, on the contrary, that the limit of the ice stretched itself more and more to the south the more we went to the west, so that, on the 23rd September, in the longitude of Greenwich, we were south of the parallel of 79° N. latitude. On the way we had, in several places, met with ice black with stones, gravel, and earth, which would seem to indicate the existence of land still further north. "The ice itself had, moreover, a very different appearance from that which we had met in those tracts at the end of August. It consisted now, not only of larger ice fields, but also of huge ice blocks, * Journal of the Royal Geographical Society for 1869. so that it seems as if the former ice had drifted to the south, and given place to new ice-masses coming from the north. The temperature had now sunk to 8° or 9o (centigr.) below the freezing point, and the ice, which in these parts had been of tolerably loose texture, had now become so compact that any more violent collision with it was combined with no little danger. Furthermore, the nights were so dark that it was necessary at that time to lay the ship to by the side of some large sheet of ice, at the hazard of finding oneself blocked up there in the morning. Already, in the beginning of September, the surface of the ocean, after a somewhat heavy fall of snow, had shown itself, between the ice masses, covered with a coating of ice, which, however, was then thin, and scarcely hindered the vessel's progress. Now, it was so thick, that it was not without difficulty that a way could be forced through it. "On the 25th of September the Sofia once more cast anchor at the north-west corner of Spitzbergen, after having slightly struck upon a rock situated under the surface of the water in the middle of South-gat. "After a few days' rest, spent in inspecting the engine and taking in coal (the last remains of our store of coal had to be searched for under a thick covering of snow), and after having placed in the letter-box on the island of Kobbe Bay notices of our journey and our plans for the future, we steamed away again, on the 1st of October, northward, notwithstanding a strong wind and a snowfog that prevailed in the harbour we left. Our suspicion that this was only local seemed to be confirmed when we got out a little farther north, as the weather became clearer and calmer, but at the same time we met already, in lat. 80° 40′, sporadic blocks of drift-ice, which, as we proceeded further north, increased in number and size. We continued our northward course during the following day, but it was soon evident that no open water would be arrived at that way, and in the afternoon we were again steering in a southerly direction. During the night we lay to under cover of a large sheet of ice. The temperature had now sunk to 14° 5' (centigr.), so that in calm weather the surface of the water between the ice-masses was covered with ice of two or three inches thickness, which considerably impeded the progress of the ship. On the following day we steered southward till we got into something like open water, and then followed the edge of the ice in a northerly and north-westerly direction. By this means we again arrived at 81° N. latitude, but here the Sofia met with a misfortune, which put an end to all further |