Arctic expeditions from British and foreign shores; from the earliest times to the expedition of 1875-76

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877 Excerpt: ...the encampment on Keith Bay, Rae's Eskimo, Ivitchuk, informed him that by crossing overland in a north-west direction he would reach the sea much sooner than by following round the coast, which here runs out north in a bold peninsula into Committee Bay. Acting on this information, Rae led the party inland on the morning of the 13th, struck across the country, which was miserably barren in every respect, in a north-north-west direction, and discovered and named Lake Ballenden. On the 14th the weather was stormy, dark, and intensely cold. The wilderness of snow presented no landmarks, and the guide was often puzzled to decide upon the true track. The temperature fell to--12 in the afternoon, and as a strong wind was blowing in the faces of the travellers, they suffered much from cold. "We trudged on manfully," writes Rae, "until five P.m.... At half-past five we commenced building our snow house. This was far from pleasant work, as the wind was piercingly cold, and the fine particles of snow-drift penetrated our clothes everywhere; we, however, enjoyed ourselves the more when we got under shelter and took our supper of the staple commodities, pemmican and water.... It blew a complete storm all night, but we were as snug and comfortable in our snow hive as if we had been lodged in the best house in England. At 5.30 the wind moderated to a gale, but the drift was still so thick that it was impossible to see any distance before us, particularly when looking to windward, and that, unfortunately, was the direction in which we had to go. The temperature was 21 below zero--a temperature which, as all Arctic travellers know, feels much colder when there is a breeze of wind, than one of--60 or--70J when the weather is calm. But there was the prospect of...