Kennett Longley Rawson

“ In the stern of the small boat stood Commander McDonald awaiting his turn to get aboard the Peary. In some unaccountable manner the lifeboat caught under the counter of the ship, and a sea suddenly jammed her against the plates. As she could rise no farther, the waves poured over her gunwales and swamped her. McDonald shouted to those on deck to drop the boat aft, but she had become so waterlogged that they could do nothing with her, and each succeeding wave forced her farther and farther down. ”

“ Why had we endured the perils of wind, and sea and ice, borne discomforts and hardships, sacrificed personal ease and safety? For what had we sailed three thousand miles across tractless seas? For a moment it seemed utter folly to have come all this distance for things that at best appeared vague and indistinct! We had all been in comfort and safety at home. For what conceivable reason would intelligent men turn their backs on these pretentious inducements? ”

“ Nothing but rocks, ice, sky and water—not even a tree or fisherman’s hut to vary the monotony of those barren cliffs. What [44] a contrast to the ceaseless activity of The Hill with its life and action, its cheering bleachers at the games and its humming classrooms—never a moment there when one feels that sense of utter detachment from one’s fellow man which oppressed me in viewing the bleak Labrador. ”

“ I had always thought of scientists as not quite human, people who sat around looking into instruments and writing elaborate reports. But seeing them pitch in and work like normal human beings did much to restore my confidence that they were real he-men.
I looked the ship over from stem to stern. She certainly is a beauty with lines almost as clean-cut as a yacht. ”

“ From the heights about Etah he has looked across to the ice-covered hills of Ellesmere Land and Cape Sabine where Greely and his men lay dying in 1884 and where Peary fought a losing fight in 1900-1902. He has seen the last of the S. S. Polaris, which steamed farther north than ship ever steamed, now strewn about the beach rusting, rotting away. But memories of her Commander, the most enthusiastic of all Arctic explorers, will always live. ”

“ In thirty seconds every man who could scramble to a place in the rigging was there, and each was eager to spy out the distant peaks which soon came into view. Immediately we put on full speed in order to reach them before the ice should again become impassable. As if some wayward spirit had sensed our wish, the floes came crunching and sliding into a compact mass, rendering futile all attempts to proceed. ”

“ The heavy pack ice comes in from the sea, and savage winter gales lash the bleak and desolate islands, rendering them impracticable for winter habitation. Every one moves inland to the head of the great bays and settles down in a well sheltered log cabin in close proximity to a forest of good firewood. The hospital is no exception to this rule, and by the time the last schooner has winged its way southward, the Battle Harbor station is closed, and the winter hospital is put into service. ”

“ Taking soundings as she went, she came nosing up within a few hundred feet of the Bowdoin. By the time she arrived the tide had begun to rise, and the water was slowly creeping up the deck of our ship. We clapped shut the portholes and battened down the hatches, and waited. By inches the tide rose, and the vessel began to show signs of stirring. We began taking up on the kedge anchor. The Peary was ready for immediate action, when a most astounding phenomenon took place. About a half-mile away [121] lay a huge million ton iceberg. ”

“ Very few will believe that such language is natural for a fourteen-year-old boy. But we knew “Ken” in the forecastle of the little Bowdoin, and teachers at Hill School who have watched his progress for two years can assure you that the book is his own.
How fortunate that a boy in his early teens could visit the scenes of our early explorers, the headquarters of the great Peary, who, by his work, has placed before American youth the finest example of persistency, determination, and clean grit in all Arctic history. ”

“ A rather unusual feature for Arctic vessels is also incorporated in the Bowdoin, namely, having the vessel reach its full beam a short way abaft the mainmast which, in a schooner, is quite near the stern. This serves to shunt the ice away from the propeller, and anything to protect the propeller is very helpful, as the breaking of a propeller in the ice is a disaster second only to having the ship crushed; without strong means of propulsion one cannot get very far, and sails are a poor substitute for a propeller. ”

“ On one occasion several of our photographers wanted pictures of live ducks on the nest. The Eskimos learning of this wish took a dead duck and propped it up on a nest with walrus whiskers so that it looked quite lifelike. Then they motioned to the photographers who cautiously crept forward, making every effort to keep from making a noise. The Eskimos meanwhile nearly died laughing. They are little inclined to worry. Old Panikpa admirably summarized their outlook on life when asked if he was not worried on a very dangerous strip of ice. “No,” he replied, “I let Peary do all the worrying.” ”

“ Sixteen hours out of Godthaab the barometer took an ominous drop, and a heavy wind and sea rolled up from the southeastward. Soon we were forced to heave to under storm canvas. The seas were tremendous. Great mountains of water came hurtling over the deck nearly sweeping away our deck cargo, in fact one barrel of gasolene drifted over the rail, so deep was the water on deck, and the boats were also engulfed, held only by their stout lashings. Drenched to the skin and chilled to the bone we worked at tightening the lashings on the barrels, and soon all was secure. ”

“ When the full import of this disaster which had befallen Sir John and his one hundred and twenty-eight men in those bleak, ice-ridden waters of the Northwest Passage was at last realized, the entire civilized world stood aghast. From all sides poured in proffers of aid, and messages of condolence and hope deluged [72] Lady Jane Franklin, the brave wife of Sir John. It was in response to an appeal from Lady Franklin to the President of the United States that the first American Arctic Expedition was organized. ”

“ The next two days we spent in collecting specimens, and then Koo-e-tig-e-to arrived with a letter from the Commander requesting us to return to the ship, as he would have to start south in a short while and wanted us there in plenty of time. So once again our little boat put to sea; this time bound south—away from the glorious land of the midnight sun and the glittering ice fields. Our stay in the Arctic fairyland had been all too short. I realized with sorrow that in a few days we would be bound for civilization and the pleasant days in Etah and north of there would be but a memory. ”

“ The Commander had suggested rings, necklaces, beads, perfume, soap and various novelties, most of which certainly went like hot cakes with the Eskimos.
At last the day arrived on which I must leave home for the last time until my return from the north, probably in a few months, but very possibly not for several years, maybe never. The Arctic keeps one guessing if it does nothing else. One never can tell what successes or disasters the next day holds. ”

“ Good judgment and a knowledge of ice conditions are required in ice navigation on the part of the man aloft, and the helmsman must possess the ability to follow orders rapidly and efficiently and be able to keep the ship from brushing the sides of narrow passages. Spinning that wheel frequently and for all one is worth is no joke, and even in that cold, stripped down to my underwear, I sweated like a pack mule before I had been at it for long.
All day we ploughed through the pack with the Peary near by. ”

“ Something more than pure sentiment. No boy can look upon such things, can dwell upon the deeds of such men as Kane, Hayes, Hall, Greely and Peary, without standing a little more erect, without visualizing his own future and determining to have that future count for something beyond material gain.
With mingled feelings of apprehension, doubt as to the wisdom of my decision, I signed Kennett Rawson on the ship’s papers as “Cabin boy, Chicago, age 14,” the youngest white lad ever to go into the Far North.
Under starlit skies and unruffled sea ”

“ There the Peary joined us loaded deep with coal—the last she would obtain until her return from the far north.
At this town we saw our first exhibition of the remarkable dexterity of the Greenlanders in their frail skin-boats, known as “kayaks.” These craft are about eighteen feet long and twenty inches wide. In them the natives can go out in any kind of a sea, and if a wave capsizes the boat they can right themselves with a few skilled [77] strokes of their paddles, or if they lose the paddle, a twist of the body will suffice. ”

“ If the winds blew from the southward our situation would be precarious in the extreme, and only a kind providence could keep us from an untimely end. Even a few hours of [81] ice pressure against the Peary’s sides might easily open her seams, and leave her a leaking hulk.
Our watch continued working the vessel through the leads until midnight, when the port watch came on deck. As I lay in my forecastle bunk in the eerie half-light of the northern midnight I could hear the crash of the vessel smashing her way forward through the fog over the encroaching pans. ”

“ In addition to the clothes, we also laid in a supply of sealskin boots, as the Labrador product is far superior to the Greenland variety. The workmanship is more thorough, and the water-resisting qualities are better. These boots are made of harp seal and are the best things going for Arctic work. With a handful of grass in the sole to form insulation against the cold and to act as a pad against pebbles or sharp ice, they are as comfortable an article of footwear as one can desire. ”

“ A hasty chorus of shouts to the helmsman resulted in an immediate altering of the course to parallel the land, instead of heading straight at it as we were when we first sighted it. It was in this dramatic manner that we made our acquaintance with The Labrador, and it was in a setting typical of this rugged country. One usually becomes acquainted with The Labrador by nearly running on it every time one approaches it during the early summer months, for at that time the land is almost perpetually shrouded in fog. ”

“ Quickly we hauled aboard the barrels, set things to rights and made all sail for Cape York. There we arrived early on the morning of August 27th, and we indeed realized that we had left none too soon, for the winds were white with winter snow. The Commander stopped for a brief visit and to present a few gifts to the Eskimos encamped there; then we squared away for South Greenland. Across the now ice-free Melville Bay we flew with a roaring boreal wind, speeding our progress home. For three days we ran dead before it with huge seas coming up from the stern and rolling under our vessel. ”

“ She has the most massive timbers of any ship I ever saw, and I think I may safely say that she is the strongest small vessel in existence. Another very excellent feature for Arctic work is the way the hull is shaped. It is so rounded that the ship rises when squeezed by the ice. This is the only way that an Arctic vessel should be built; as no matter how strong the vessel may be, she cannot [10] withstand the pressure of heavy ice unless she is made to rise. The bow also is sloping, so that she may rise a short way on a cake of ice and crush it with her weight. ”