The story of the 1875 Nares Expedition
starts in 1873 when plans were first made to follow in the footsteps of William
Baffin, the American explorer Charles Hall and the whalers who were beginning
to sail into northernmost waters. Late in that year a deputation from waited
on the PM
Smith Sound, lying above 75 degrees
north between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, had
been named by Baffin in 1616, but the area had remained unexplored for 236 years.
Charles Francis Hall spent five years in the Arctic living with the Eskimos
and learning their way of life before setting sail in 1871 in Polaris, a converted
tug, steaming through the waterways from Smith Sound to the Arctic Sea, extending
the known coastline of Ellesmere Island.
Captain George S. Nares
was one of the ablest navigators in the British fleet,
and he was brought back from HMS Challenger and Hong Kong to be given
command of HMS Alert and HMS
Discovery.With him were Commander Albert Markham, Lts Beaumont,
Parr, Aldrich, Rawson, Egerton, and Conybeare. Nares also had the advice
of previous explorers in equipment, provisions and routine.
The men had a foretaste of nature's
hostility during their crossing of the North Atlantic to Greenland, encountering
terrific gales. Having taken on additional stores Nares secured the services
of the Dane Petersen, and also the Eskimo Hans Hendrik, who had sailed with
Hall. In contrast to Hall's clear weather, the northward passage saw heavy ice.
Leaving caches of supplies at strategic points they were, in fact, never used
by him but were to prove very valuable to a later expedition. He also had to
correct faulty charting as they made their way up the coast. Discovery found
winter quarters at Lady Franklin Bay on 25 August 1875, high on the coast of
Ellesmere Island, while Alert went 50 miles further on through the Robeson Channel,
to Floeberg Beach, facing the polar sea.
The aims of the spring, 1876, sledge
trips were to trace as much as possible of the coasts of Ellesmere and Greenland
so as to know how far north land existed, and to test the possibilities of attaining
the Pole over the ice of the polar seas.
"In other successful expeditions we have
had to deal with the work of strong and healthy men. Now we had to contemplate
the heroic, indeed almost miraculous efforts of men who attained great results
in spite of the ravages of a terrible and deadly disease. The seeds of scurvy
had taken root during the winter, and no-one knew it. The travelling parties
had started before the calamity became known, and of the 121 men in the two
ships there were 56 cases of scurvy, 42 on Alert, but only 14 in the Discovery,
in which ship we had a larger supply of fresh meat was obtained from musk-oxen."
The main sledging parties begun on April
3rd with two groups from Alert, one under Markham and Parr and the other under
Aldrich. The first aimed for a new record for "farthest north" and the other
to trace the coast of Ellesmere.
This first one took two boats which meant that each needed all the men to move
one load across the rough ice, so that they travelled four miles to gain one.
Though they covered 521 miles they were in fact only 73 miles from the ship.
They had left the ship strong and hearty, but after 60 days on the ice they
barely escaped alive. One boat was abandoned, yet progress was painfully slow.
Frozen sleeping bags, sleepless nights, snow blindness, then scurvy all took
their toll.
On May 11th, at 83 deg, 20' 26" N, Markham
turnes them back for the ship, abandoning the second boat. Sick and exhausted
they reached the ship happily knowing that the Union flag had been planted nearest
the North Pole.
As Nares saw these men he feared for
Aldrich's party, and a rescue party was sent out just in time. Of the robust
group that left Alert in April, only Aldrich and one other remained strong enough
to haul the sledges. But for the determination not to leave the sick behind,
and the timely arrival of the rescue party they would not have survived. However,
they had traced the northern coast of Ellesmere Island for 220 miles, rounding
Cape Columbia, the northern tip, as far as Cape Alfred Ernest. Thankful to have
them back on ship, Nares was anxious to know what had happened to those aboard
Discovery.
The Discovery had also
sent out two sledging parties. One, under Archer and Conybeare, to explore the
deep fjord to the south of Lady Franklin Bay - Archer Fjord, and where they
found a fine vein of coal close to the ship.
Journals and Proceedings of the Arctic Expedition, 1875/76, HMSO
HMS "Discovery", at Discovery Harbour, 7th April, 1876
Memo from Capt Stephenson to Lt Archer,
The line of exploration
to be undertaken by you to the westward, UP Lady Franklin Sound, is to determine
the continuity of Grant Land, which I wish to be considered of the first importance,
as well as deciding whether Lady Franklin Sound is a bay, fjord or channel.
As soon as you are ready, you
will start with a 12 man sledge, victualled for 50 days, accompanied by Sub-Lt
Conybeare, with an 8 man sledge, victualled for 42 days…….
Both sledges leave the ship on
8th April. Mr Conybeare fills up Lt Archers sledge with 120 rations (10 days
for 15 men) and deposits a depot of 84 rations (or 7 days for 12 men) on the
15th April, returning to the ship on 22nd April. Lt Archer proceeds alone, having
53 rations for 12 men, and will be due on board ship on 10th June..
You must on no account cross
any strait or channel without the assistance of a boat, from the known currents
the smallest rent in the ice becomes impassable in less than an hour.
A days halt for the purpose of
ascending a hill that overlooks the adjoining country will always add much to
the general information.
Changing your hours of travel
from day to night must depend on yourself …
Deposit at intermediate positions,
as well as your most advanced position, printed records of the expedition, signed
by yourself.
Care is to be observed in encamping
under very precipitous cliffs, from falling debris……
Keep ample notes and remarks
upon the coast you travel along, with data for charting the islands and coast
you may discover. Name on your chart all capes, headlands, bays, inlets etc
……
Any observations on the tides
in Lady Franklin Sound will be of mush interest.
Your return on board must depend
on when the thaw sets in, by 10th June at the latest
Before parting with Mr Conybeare
you have permission to change any of your crew for his:
In conclusion, I must assure
you of the deep interest I have in the welfare of you and your party, wishing
you ecery success in your efforts, health, fine weather, and a safe return,
which I shall anxiuosly look forward to in early June."
HMS "Discovery" at Discovery Harbour, 4th May, 1876
From Lt Archer to Capt Stephenson:
Sir, In accordance with your memo
of 7th April, I started on the following day at 12.30 pm, with a 12 man sledge
victualled for 50 days, and accompanied by Lt Conybeare, with an 8 man sledge
victualled for 42 days. The crews were composed of the following men:
12 man Sledge:
Lt Archer
Robert Hitchcock, AB;
Thos Simmonds, Capt Foc'sle.;
Willm. Waller, Private, Royal Marines Light Infantry;
George Bunyan, PO Ist Cl.;
John Murray, Private, RMLI;
Daniel Girard, AB;
John Cropp, Gunner, Royal Marine Artillery;
John Saggers, AB;
Samuel Bulley, Stoker;
James. Thornback, AB
William Sweet, Stoker
8 man Sledge:
Sub Lt Conybeare;
J. E. Smith, Sailmaker;
Frank Chatel, Capt. Fcle;
William Wellington, Sergt, RMA;
David Stewart, Capt, F.T.;
Henry Edwards, AB;
William Ward, Armourer;
Henry Winser, Carpenter Crew;
The other party, under
Lt Beaumont, that mapped northward along the Greenland coast and achieved excellent
results against ghastly odds. A pioneering party led by Rawson left in early
April to find the best route across the Robeson Channel to Greenland. A few
days later the main party, along with Dr Coppinger, set out for Alert where
they met Rawson, who led them over to the Greenland coast. Here Dr Coppinger
turned back after establishing a depot for Beaumont.
One of the men also showed signs of scurvy so Rawson went back to the ship with him. As Beaumont
mapped northwards more and more of his men fell ill with scurvy, and progress
became slow due to soft snow. On the 19th May, the day they turned back, Beaumont wrote:
"No one will ever be able to understand what hard work we had during those days,
but the following may give some idea of it: When we halted for lunch, two of
the men crept on all fours for 200 yards, rather than walk through that terrible
snow "
On their homeward journey they faced the intolerable pains of scurvy, with stiff
legs, raw feet and open sores on their shoulders from the sledges. Only Beaumont
and one other man were sound when they reached a large depot across the channel
from Alert. However they were unable to reach the ship, so they decided to head
for Thank God Harbour 40 miles away - the site of Charles Hall's grave, which
was on a line with Discovery. The two able men made three trips to pull the
sick men at a rate of one mile a day. With help from a rescue party they rested
till they were fit enough to make a week long crossing the ice of Robeson Channel
to the haven of HMS Discovery.
Nares, with many scurvy-ridden men, decided to return to England. A gale at
the end of August smashed the pack ice so he was able to extricate Alert. Joined
by Discovery they made their way home by November. Though the men had struggled
valiantly, they had failed to find a way through to the Pole. However they had
made important scientific observations and accomplished much valuable work.
They had struggled for some miles over the Polar sea and determined that Cape
Columbia was the northernmost tip of Ellesmere Island.. It was from that point
that Peary was to make his journey to the Pole, it being a little over 400 miles
from Cape Columbia
The ships leave Portsmouth
The crowds at Portsmouth
A selection from the set of 50 slides is at the link below....
