New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-14
CRUISING IN ARCTIC SEAS.
VOYAGE OF THE NEPTUNE TO SMITHS
SOUND.
A PLEASANT THREE DAYS vIsil AT GoDHAvN-
PRESSING on THROUGH FIELDS or ICE TOWARD

| tO Newfoundland, having DctU uild"iO =" '"''''
coverv Uarbor Lady Franklin Sound. The Nep'
Time arrived at Godhavn Disco Island July L"
and remained there until the Goth. Godhavn Is Il
| small settlement on tho southern coast OF DISCO
Island with n snug little barbor N.N.W. and SSH.
| nv compass There are two large gabie-rooted
| frame houses there one occupied by the Governor
| Mr. T. Diurhuus an official of the Royal DANISH
| Trading Company and the other by tho Aching in-
| spector Mr. II. Knutzsen Governor OF KlttehDehk'
There are also q stone building used as an OIL factory
n large wooden carpenters shop. little church, n
school-house and about thirty huis built or turI
| and driftwoo1. About 100 inhabitants, all toid'
| comprise the population OF GodhaV1. Inc seal'
whale and shark fisheries are the industries which
| support the place though cod and IN the season
salmon are taken in abundance and little further
south. toward Holsteinburg halibut are caught
pentifuly The Lutheran is the established rellg-
| ion. and schoolmaster and a native priest look
after the educational and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OF the
roonle who as n rule are honest, industrious. sober
and Trustworthy With the exception of the families
of the Governor and the Inspector everyone dresses
| in the comfortable and picturesque native costume
| There the members of the Neptune expedition re-
NAMED three days, and were most cordially received
and bly entertained by the Governor and In
spector. Little announcements however, was gwen
| as regards the of the expedition northward
We told tlat tHc IaSJ Wlut'I udi bc'H an "a
continually severe one in Greenland; that little of
the northern ice had as yet come down; that God
| bavn Harbor had been open only since June 10
Tho omen season last year, when the Proteus went
nm IN discovery Harbor almost without let or him
dronce was pronounced by all to have been quite out
of the ordinary Of things and such favorable
opportunity might not occur again in many years.
While IL was possible VIC might get into Smith
sound no one seemed to think there any lleli-
hood of our being able TO reach Kennedy Channel.
Hans Christian Hendricks, the Esqulmau pilot
who has been attached to all the previous Arctic
evncditions since Kanes first attempt in 1853 con-
cured most completely in this opinion. Hans now
forty-eight years old, is living with his family at
Godhavn and is in the employ of the DANISH Gov
eminent. He is prematurey old, doubtless aged by
the exposures and hardships of his various Arctic
experences not the least interesting and romantic
of which was his connection with the Polarls party
which drftcd down through Smith Sound, Baffns
BAY and Davis Strait on an ice-tOe, 800 miles,
until after q most thrilling experience, extending
| from the middle of October until the following
March, they were picked up by the steamship
! Tigress off the Labrador coast.
| At GOdhayn We met also the charming and ac-
complished Mrs. Krarup Smith, widow of the late
| Inspector Smith, whose death occurred carly IN
Nav last Mir. and Mrs. Smith will be cordially re-
meUDpred Dy all AFCllc NoJ HBcIS Hdfc NlSttNp
Greenland within the last fifteen years. and thesym
patty and assistance which they have given to the
various Polar expeditions will call forth many
grateful recoeciOns and cause the death of the In
snector 10 be sincerely regretted by the many who
! have enjoyed his generous hospitality.
| Notwithstanding the dscOuraging prophecies
| we met with at GOdhayn "a to the sue
cess of our undertaking, on the Goth of
July, after taking on board largo supply
| of skin clothing. twenty-five Esquimau dogs,
| dog harness. three months supply of walrus meat
for dog food quantity of white whale skim which
is recommended as a most excellent article of diet
| and a very valuable anti-scorbutic; having filled
| opr casks with fresh water and laid in supply of
fresh cod and salmon, babe reluctant farewell
IN onr good friends cast OFF the stern lines weighed
anchor and after firing three guns and dipping the
ensiqn-which SITUATIONS were cordially responded
| IN from the shOre-stcamcd ont Of the Port of
| Iievcly leaving the island on our starboarl, and
passed on to the northward, nothing daunted, full
Of hone. and determined to overcome all possible
obstacles winch might lie between us aud the party
in the far North to whom We were carrying relief
and news from friends at home.
| Willie at Disco we for the first time the mid
night sun. 1t was novel and strange experience
TO be able to read and write in the ships cabin all
nicht without the assistance of artificial light. It
wa, rather demoralizng also, FOR before many days
had passed it was quite difficult if not impossible,
| to 90 down 10 our rooms from the bright glare
deck and compose ourselves to sleep. We missed
and felt the need most forclbly of the soothing in
1ucnco of the mild twilight and the gradual oncom-
mo Of the darkness to which we bad ever been ac-
custoncd And, although we "closcd the shutters"
by stuilng hats into the portfolios, boarded over
the skylights and drew closely our curtains, it re-
quircd weeks to habItuate ourselves TO the new
state of things.
The first two days after leaving Godhavn passed
without anything of especial interest to mark
them Fog. rain and sunshine al,errated. Iceberss
! in great numbers aud of tremendous size foated
silently by toward the southwest, coming from
their birhpacos the glaciers; that of Jakobshavn,
the Great Kariak, and the Great Kangerdlursoak
glacier, lying in full Wow on our right
On the 3 day though the morning opencdfne,
n southery wind brought IN the fog. We
early entered the ice-loe and finding 1t soft,
readily broken, and very little rifted. made our
way through it with comparative ease.
The snow which had been falling at intervals
during the day thicker and faster as evening
approached and by 8 o'clock were Obliged TO
stop further progress for tho night. About 10 p.
m. the atmospherebeing somewhat clearer the first
officer of the ship sighted a white bear coming
around from behind an iceberg some two miles
AWAY As this was the first bear we had yet SEEM
the announcement was greeted with enthusiasm
and five of us leaped with our rifles over the side
of the vessel and started the leo in pursuit of
| him. The ice was rotten and full Of holes broken
here and there by open water so that our real prog
| ress was necessarily Indirect and slow. After we
| had gone about a mile from the ship the bear
espied u.s. and doubtless arguing our intentions
! friendly. started OFT toward the open water. We
followed him for some half n mile further but as
he was evidently gaining on us. and as one of our
party leaning from pan of ice to another fell