The Open Polar Sea was one of the most prevalent myths of nineteenth-century Arctic exploration. Several explorers had hypothesised a stretch of ice-free sea between Greenland and the North Pole, and several expeditions set out in search of it. One of these was planned and led by Isaac Israel Hayes (1832–81), an American physician and explorer. This account of the expedition, first published in 1866, was compiled from his journals. Having left Boston in a small schooner so overloaded with equipment that a passenger could lean over the deck rail and touch the sea, Hayes and his crew almost faced shipwreck off Nova Scotia and regularly saw their cabins flooded on their way to Greenland, where, in calmer weather, they encountered the first palatial ice floes. Written for the general reader rather than for scientific purposes, this book still serves as an accessible, entertaining guide to the voyage.
Contents
Introduction; 1. Leaving Boston; 2. Passage to the Greenland coast; 3. The colony of Proven; 4. Upernavik; 5. Among the icebergs; 6. Entering Melville Bay; 7. Hans and his family; 8. Our winter harbor; 9. Sunset; 10. Journey on the glacier; 11. Important results of the recent journey; 12. My cabin; 13. Increasing darkness; 14. Midwinter; 15. The Arctic midnight; 16. The New Year; 17. The Arctic night; 18. Prolonged absence of Mr Sonntag; 19. Sonntag; 20. Looking for the sun; 21. Sunrise; 22. Spring twilight; 23. Kalutunah returns; 24. Starting on my first journey; 25. Sending forward supplies; 26. The first day's journey; 27. The storm continues; 28. The difficulties multiplying; 29. The main party sent back; 30. The prospect ahead; 31. A new start; 32. The open Polar Sea; 33. On board the schooner; 34. Inspection of the schooner; 35. The Arctic spring; 36. The Arctic summer; 37. Leaving Port Foulke; 38. Leaving Smith Sound; 39. Homeward bound.
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