The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-09-04
A Hop in a Hopeless neutrality-suspicious.
Adored in Mud Effects of Blubber
on the Female Form.
How Ice Dogs and Seal-Skin Suits Were
Obtained at Holsteinborg- Es.
quimaux at Prayer-Familiar
Faces in Strange Place.
SUPPOSED POSITION OF THE POLARIs.
Prospects of the Expedition
Bound for Disco.
On BOARD o. s. sLoop-oF.wAR JuN1ArA.

On BOARD o. 8. SLooP-oF-wAR JUNIATA.
HOLSTEINBORG, Greenland, July2l 1873.
When the Juniata weighed anchor ten days ago
IN the snug harbor of st. Johns, N. F., the
prospects of her Arctic voyage rescue the Polars
were as bright as brave humanity could desire.
Scarcely, however, had the hardy pilot waved his
hairy cap in token OF adieu when fog, to which
the proverbial London mist was only Door
mans breath on frosty day, suddenly enveloped
the vessel, leaving her to plough the dreary waste
IN worse than dungeon darkness. In vain did the
rays Of the summer sun struggle to penetrate the
colo and cherries heap of vapor; in vain was the
hope INDUCED that the bank would 'lift:n it chung
20 the ship like poor relation and night fell
with an oppressive gloom. or all the en-
barrassing fortunes that befall the mariner
the fog is by long odds, the meanest: it
has him at every turn; it battles and dispirts him
and dimnishes his usually large stock of that rare
and praiseworthy element which make Jobs charac-
ter so remarkable. AS II to tantaZe us the fog
would now and then clear of, only to come again
In greater volume, more sluggish and clammy than
before. But the fog was not the only enemy to be
encountered. Huge icebergs oomed up in all
directions through the dense mist, towering high
in air and floating along with seeming indifference
TO the waves which dashed against them. At times
. deafening sound broke upon the ear when.
separated from the berg and plunged into the sea
with frghtul noise. The spice Of danger made all
hands more than animated, and 1t was only after
some fifty or sixty Of the ICY Migrants had been
given wide berth that their appearance became
somewhat familiar and less aweInsplrlng than at
nrst. The lookout had busy time OF it from the
start and Iceberg ahead, STRIP went forth fire.
quently with an ominous sound.
STORM.
The Juniata was bound to Fiskernas, a settle
ment on the south coast Of Greenland, preparatory
20 her cruise up north. 1t was hoped that sledge
dogs and skins for clothing, with which to prose-
cute the search, could be obtained, should the ice
not prevent the vessel from proceeding further
than Upernavik. Owing to the seemingly endless
fog that prevailed observations were impossible,
and for five days the navigator was compelled to
rely for the position Of the vessel on the LEAD line
and dead reckoning. On the fifth day out the
fog broke, only to be succeeded by squall, which
nnally ended in furious gale At midday of
the 18th the Juniata scudded under steam and
double-reefed foretopsail, close-reefed maintop-
sail and foresail and forestormstaysail, with a
heavy following sea- The ship behaved n0bly
under circumstances well calculated to test her
capacity. The sea rose to great height surging
and roaring as the wind blew 1ercer, and, looking
AFT it would seem as If each succeeding mountain
OF water were about to sweep over the vessel and
bury her forever. With dawn the storm abated,
and towards evening the wind died out. 1t was
the first day on which an observation had been
obtained since leaving st. Johns, and when,
towards six O'Clock, the lookout cried, ."Land
aneadW feeling Of intense relief prevailed
ICE NAVIGATION.
IL is, doubtless, an interesting subject to read
abOut-that of Ice navigati0n-but when one be-
comes threatened with an early grave, under cir
cumstances which make the blood run cold, the
dfnnculties OF steering clear Of treacherous and
unyielding icebergs can be more keenly appre-
ciated. Approaching Fiskern@s the iceberqs
could be counted by the score, OF every conceiv-
able size and shape.
"ICEBERGs AHEADn
responded to by "Hard to portl" or lizard a-star-
bO'rd ~ became the frequent cry, and many heart
on board beat quickly as the stanch craft almost
Rrazed the bergs which, Onc0 struck, would seal
the fate OF the well directed ship. II would, In
deed, be rare to witness such mastery navigation,
or such care and judgment as were exercised in,
perhaps the most trying emergency in which
vessel could be placed, as were displayed on board
the Junlata. Fantastic forms presented them
selves on all Sides and SO strange and varied were
the effects produced that the mind could picture to
itself rare and wonderful objects Cautiously feel
ing her way, the Juniata might well be compared
whose marble tombstones compelled q long and
Circuitous pathway. The land ahead was the
southern coast Of Greenland, and as the vessel
drew nearer the snow-capped peaks appeared in
grand array. We now enjoyed the novel luxury
Of having
DAYLIGHT ALL NIGHT"
t"e erect OF which was an evident dsincnaton
20 turn in;" for even as late as ten O'Clock the
sunhgnt hooded the ship, and 1t required strong
enor' 10 retire under the impression that 1t was
getting late. For man OF champagne turn OF
mind or one accustomed to become merry by fre-
quent "nushes" Of fortune, this state of affairs
might have proved agreeable But the novelty
quickly wore away. and the clockwork of a man.
ofwar soon asserted itself with characteristic
promptness. On the morning OF the 18TH the
Juniata stood near the land OF Fiskernms. The
ensign having Decn set gun was fred in the
hope OF attracting some attention. deathv sti,,.
ness prevailed. Not soul appeared, nor was
there made manifest any sign OF life. In
able TO obtain q pilot, ana the weather
becoming very foggy, the vessel stood OF
shore to the northward and eastward.
bound for an intermediate port, wherein the arti
cles required might be secured. Denser and denscr
became the heavy mist and at noon 1t was impossi-
bic to see ten yards in any direction. Strange
enough, too, the wind was fresh; but the log hung