The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-09-16


named after the Austrian emperor and
christened KAISER Franz Joseph Land"
Although the Tegetthoff was forever
dockcd in icy ways and the polar ocean
must remain uneXplored, the fields of ad-
venture were opened by this discovery
Lieut.. Payer, who was the sedge captain
OF the party, engaged in preliminary scouts
before the long night of 1881 drew on
and with the first return of light In March,
1874, began series of journeys in the
frozen archipelago. Hefound land about
the size of Spitzbergen, almost devoid of
vegetation and absolutely free from human
inhabitants and of the signs that it had
ever been visited by such. The surface is
mountainous, and between the mountains
vast glaciers roll down from the sides at
the rate of two inches daily. The glaciers
are so plastic that on separating to pass n
rock they unite beyond it without forming
crevasse. The only form of life met with
was the polar bear. The first one sighted
ran away carrying bullet, but skillfullv
concealing his trail by stanching the flow
OF blood. He was met with once or twice
again, and was finally killed by being am.
pushed in a pass between two steep icy
cliffs. The explorers barricaded the pass
with their sledges and packs and baited
his bearshtp with bread and meat so that
he came within pistol shot.
Lieut.. Payer made n second sledge Jour
ney in April and another in Mayetravers-
ing the land for $50 miles Even in the lat
ter month the cold was so intense in the
mountain region that rum became as thick
as moasscs and as weak as milk.
The return of spring brought no hope
to the navigators of the fettered ship, and
they abandoned her on May 20 and began
to retreat to Nova Zemba. The outfit for
the journey over ice and iccbound tides
consisted of four boats mounted on sledges,
with baggage slcdgc attached to each
The sledges carried weight of 1850
pounds, of which 500 pounds was provision
for men and dogs.
The first days progress was only one
mile, and on some days only half q mile
was made. The pathway was over ice
hummocks covered with crusted snow,
into which men and sledges sank to the
depth of n foot or more After roadway
had been broken the dog sletiges could trot
back to the ship in couple of hours, and
iii this way rations of food and spirits for
daily Use were drawn from the abandoned
stores Occasionally the travellers found
an ice hole and launched the boats, but in
the end they would find the channel
blocked by walls of ice rising mt times
nifty feet from the water. AT times also
the boats would be blockaded in the water
and forced to lie still n dry or two
Toward the end of June the weather was
so warm TINT snow quickly melted in YES
sells exposed to the sun. In days of idle
ness the pastirne was reading old news-
papers, smoking and talking. Smoking
was luxury that at times had been i'm
possible in the far north, for at the sOth
parallel in winter cigar freezes between
the lips. The effort needed in travelling
was understandable, now laundering over
deep assures, now launching the bonts In
an ice hole for short sail. and then haul
ing them out to be dragged over fields OF
broken ice. AT the end of two months the
party found themselves only ten miles from
the ship, About the middle of July the
boats were launched in waterway be-
tween fields of ice so broad that foes could
be- pushed aside with poles, and some days
four miles We're made. A warm rain fell
that rapidly dissolved the ice Then the
foes became fewer and smaller. and not
having to cross them or work around them
the boats Travelled some days twelve miles.
Early in August they discovered that the
ice fields arose and fell like ting heaving of
the sea. and they knew that the naYiDabIa
ocean must he close at handl The flutes
had more i'll luck iu store for the poor fell
lows. however. aud ia the midst of their
JOY strong north wind spiang up and
drove the ice hue- and brrgs before IT,
again blocking up the way
The barrier finally opened OH Aug. IA,
and they sailed on into larger ice holes.
where the foes aud bergs were smaller
-pd the swell Of the ocean SO great as to
prevent the formation OF ice fields. But
there way still room for disaster 1t had
been supposed on leaving. the ship that
succoring vesselp would he met with he.
fore the food supply should give out.
None had been seen. aud the rations Oh
hand were good for hut teu days more
| The last hope, then, was to reach the
depot planted by the Isbjorn in 1872. Oh
| BarentZ island.
On the 9th of August the food on hand
was divided equally among the crew, and
the hoats pulled ont from cove OH the
barren and uninhabited shore of Nova
| Iembla for one last and desperate attempt
To win to place of refuge On suddenly
turning high, rocky point, small boat
hiied with men fishing greeted the eyes of
the despairing mariners, and in the neigh
| boring sea the fOrlOrn souls espied two
| ships at anchor. That night ali hands
| slept on board the Russian schooner Nike.
| lai. their first berths under shelter since
leaving the Tegctthoff ninety -six days be-
| fore. Still their distress was not so much
| due TO II sleep famine as to food famine.
| They were nearly starved.
The Tegctthoff was never heard from
| pgain. She may be drifting yet on that
| monster ice raft, round and round the pole.
! or having broken loose in some arctic hur.
ricane be floating on in her snow white
castings, like phantom ship cruising that
mysterious polar sea.
GEORGE l.. KILMRR.