A TERRIBLE STORY OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 4079, 28 February 1894, Page 6

A TERRIBLE STORY OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

Reuter's Agency has received from its correspondent at St. John's, Newfoundland, a letter dated December 16 continuing the sad story of the loss of two young Swedish naturalists and the small party by which they were accompanied in Arctic" regions last autumn. The correspondent, who was personally acquainted with the young explorers who so rashly risked their lives in an old, ill-equipped boat, wholly unsuitable for a voyage in Arctic waters, says the papers which have reached him throw further light on one of the saddest tragedies of Arctic adventure ever recorded. Leaving St. John's on June 24 the vessel, which was named the Ripple, did not reach Godhaven, Disco Island, Greenland, till July 31. This run, which a smart sailing vessel, properly handled, should make in twelve or fourteen days, occupied thirty-seven days. The wretchedly unfit condition of the Ripple and the insufficiency of her crew account for so long a passage, which rendered the expedition much too late, and [ unduly shortened the season for operations in Smith Sound. The Danish officials at Godhaven, according to the statements made by members of the Peary party, were astounded at the sight of such a vessel, with her crew and equipment, bound for Smith Sound. Finding that the young adventurers had no firearms on board they gave them a couple of rifles and a stock of ammunition, and added to their meagre store of provisions, which by that time had diminished considerably. It was felt at Godhaven that they were encountering serious peril. The daring youths left Disco on August 2, and boldly plunged into Baffin Bay. Here, according to the record which has reached the correspondent, the Ripple was "nipped" in the ice. She got clear, however, and on August 13 crossed Melville Bay, the terror of Arctic navigators. There has evidently been some error in copying the records found, as it is quite impossible that the Ripple should have crossed Melville Bay in one day. Last July, Peary and his party, in the steamship Falcon, crossed Melville Baj' with a perfectly smooth sea and no ice, under full pressure of steam, in twenty-five hours, beating all previous records. It was thought an extraordinary passage, but that an old and ill-equipped vessel like the Ripple should accomplish such a feat is out of the question. Bjorling probably meant that he completed the passage on that day and reached Cape York. Here he was overtaken by a storm which drove him to Cape Parry. Then he shaped his course for S.E. Carey Island, which he reached on August 16. Why did he touch here ? It is a dreary spot, mere ledges of naked rocks rising out of the sea, very dangerous, and generally surrounded by gigantic ice floes. It is quite unusual for passing vessels to call. Bjorling had learned that Nares had left a depot of provisions here, and it was his intention to land for the purpose of obtaining fresh supplies. It was the meagreness of his stock of provisions which drove him to this dangerous expedient. The very next day after his arrival his vessel went ashore, under what circumstances is not known, but probably it was owing to pressute from ice, while the little party were on shore searching for the depot. This put an end to all hope of the young Swedes reaching Smith Sound, though they were within a snort distance of the entrance, and left them on one of the dreariest places in the world, without any means of escape but a small boat. Bjorling seems to have at once lna.le up his mind that he must winter in these regions. Why he did not at once attempt to retreat south in his boat, so as either to reach Upernavick, the most northern of the Danish settlements, or the rendezvous of the whalers, where they make their final cruise before leaving for home, for which he had ample time, can now only be conjectured. Possibly he may have considered that the retreat south, in a frail boat, over stormy ice-laden seas, with the dreaded Melville Bay to cross, with inadequate clothing and but a small stock of provisions, was utterly hopeless. For some unknown reason the party re- • mained on Carey Island from the 17th to ' the 28th of August, and then left for Toulke Fjord, farther north, to winter there. It might be thought they would have found some shelter in the wrecked schooner, and that if they discovered the depot of provisions they might have managed to pass the winter near the spot where they landed. It is to be feared, however, that either they did not find the depot or discovered that it had been broken into previously, or that the contents had been spoiled by lapse of time, and that little of it was available. The sequel shows that no great amount of provisions was obtained on Carey Island. The last entry in their record bears the date of October 12, 1892, and states that they had been unable to reach Toulke Fjord, and were compelled to return to Carey Island, where bad weather detained them till that late date. Their condition was now desperate. The Arctic night was closing in, winter was rapidly approaching ; the sun would soon disappear entirely. They found that the provisions they had would last them little more than two months. To remain on Carey Island would be to die by starvation. One last hope remained — to try to reach an Eskimo tribe, among whom they might find food and shelter for the winter. It was, indeed, a forlorn hope, but like brave men they preferred to struggle on and fight a last battle for life rather than sit down in despair and wait for death.

The writer says he and his party were then embarking for Clarence Head, Cape Faraday, in Ellismereland, where he hopeß to find Eskimos. He requests anyone who finds the documents to forward them to Professor Nordenskjold, Stockholm, who had been his friend and patron. He adds that if he survives he will return to Carey Island in July in the hope of being rescued. It was a desperate venture. Clarence Head was from fifty to a hundred miles to the northward, and between them and it rolled a wintry sea covered with ice-masses, over which snowstorms swept and the Arctic darkness already brooded. The attempt to cross it was almost to rush into the arms of death. Still there was a flicker of hope. Their boat was launched, but they were to be heard of no more. There can now be hardly a doubt that the boat was crushed amid the colliding ice-floes.