CHAPTER XXVII. ·

The Austro-Hungarian Expedition-The Tegethoff beset in the Ice for Two Years-In great danger-A New Land discovered-The Torments of Tantalus-Sledge Expeditions-Description of Franz Josef Land-The Steamer Abandoned-Long Boat Journey.

HE return of the Austro-Hungarian Expedition, after it had been utterly lost to us, so far as our knowledge of it was concerned, in the icy regions of the far north for more than two years, was one of the leading events of 1874. This expedition, under Lieutenant Weyprecht of the navy, and Lieutenant Payer of the Engineers (who had so distinguished himself on the second German expedition), was partly provided by a public subscription and greatly aided by Count Wilczek, who accompanied it with his yacht Isbjörnen as far as Barentsz Island. The small steamer Tegethoff, a vessel of 220 tons, was employed on this service. Captain Carlsen, the Norwegian whaler, who had circumnavigated Spitzbergen, joined as ice master. The crew numbered twenty-four men, all told.

Two Years in the Ice-drift.

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The Tegethoff left Bremerhaven June 13th, 1872, provisioned for three years, and, after touching at Tromso, shaped her course for the north-east. Much broken ice was encountered, and even early in August the vessel was beset for several days, so as not to be able to move. Subsequently, however," says Payer,* "we regained our liberty, and in latitude 75° N. we reached the open water extending along the coast of Novaya Zemlya. The decreasing temperature and quantity of ice showed indeed that the summer of 1872 was the very opposite of that of the year before.

"The two vessels kept company as far as the low Barents' Islands, where compact masses of ice, driven by south-westerly winds toward the coast, barred all progress for a week. Only on the 21st of August, the ice having exhibited symptoms of breaking up, we parted company, and the Tegethoff steamed slowly away toward the north.

"But our hopes were vain. Night found us encompassed on all sides by ice, and for two long and dreary years! Cheerless, and barren of all hope, the first year lay before us, and we were not any longer discoverers, but doomed to remain as helpless voyagers on a floe of drifting ice."

* The Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition. By Julius Payer. Paper read before the Royal Geographical Society, Nov. 10th, 1874.

With the autumn of 1872 commenced an unusually severe frost, which caused the blocks of ice to freeze together again as fast as they were sawn asunder; they were, therefore, unable to extricate themselves from the floe in which they were imprisoned.

This perilous position got from bad to worse. On October 13th the ice broke, and its constant and varying pressure placed them in incessant peril. They had to keep themselves in readiness to leave the vessel at a moment's notice, amid the dreariness of the long Arctic night, and quite ignorant whither they were drifting. The floe which surrounded the vessel was uplifted by the pressure of other ice-fields which forced their way underneath; yet, notwithstanding this additional danger, the ship staunchly resisted the pressure, although the rising of the floe caused her to heel over to port.

Preparations were then made to pass the winter by fortifying the ship with a rampart of ice, in which the surrounding floe caused frequent breaches which had to be carefully watched and repaired.

Regular watches were kept, and all the members of the crew were assigned special duties. Divine service was held on the Sabbath, and a school for the crew established. Meteorological observations were taken regularly. During this winter the crew

The Polar Night.

255

suffered much from scurvy and lung diseases, which, however, disappeared with the approach of summer, when all went hopefully to work again.

Of this period Payer says: "On the 28th of October the sun disappeared below the horizon, not to rise again for 109 days. All the birds had left us, and during five long winter months we were obliged to burn lamps in our cabin. For weeks it was impossible to leave the ship. The Polar night was rarely of that indescribable clearness which has been noticed on land, and by ourselves on the coast of Greenland. Whenever a sudden change of temperature caused the expanse of ice to break up, dense vapours arose from the fissures, which not only further obscured the generally inky sky, but likewise produced that immense amount of precipitation which we experienced, especially during our second winter. A hut of coal had been built on the ice, to serve as an asylum in case of the vessel being lost, but it was destroyed by a movement of the ice on Christmas Eve, and we considered ourselves fortunate in being permitted to open Christmas Day itself in undisturbed tranquillity, occupied with thoughts of home."

During the months of May, June, July, and August, 1873, they vainly attempted to saw through the surrounding ice; but the floe on which they were had attained the thickness of 40 feet, owing

256

A Grand Discovery.

to other floes underneath it raising it up, while the neighbouring ice and snow had melted considerably, leaving them thus elevated high above the normal level. They had to support the masts of the ship with strong spars, to avoid being capsized. Their floe varied in size, by breaking up and congealing again from time to time. In August it was five to seven miles in diameter.

"At this time occurred the most memorable event connected with the expedition," the narrative continues. "We had long ago drifted into a portion of the Arctic Sea which had not previously been visited; but in spite of a careful look-out we had not been able hitherto to discover land. It was therefore an event of no small importance when, on the 31st of August, we were surprised by the sudden appearance of a mountainous country, about 14 miles to the north, which the mist had up to that time concealed from our view."

Although within sight of land and anxious to explore their discovery, the ice kept them from approaching it until the end of October, when they succeeded in effecting a landing in lat. 79° 54′ N., on an island forelying the main mass of the land, which they named after Count Wilczek, the originator of the expedition. They were prevented from attempting any important explorations by the second Polar night (125 days), during which they