Greenland by the Polar Sea/Chapter 13

SEPTEMBER 10th.—Wulff is dead. This evening the relief sledges returned with Koch, Harrigan, and Bosun. It was ordained, then, that after all he should not have the strength to continue, but must give up just as he had reached land and was not far from men. This last death takes me absolutely by surprise. Well I know that he was exhausted, but so were we all; that death was approaching when Ajako and I departed I did not suspect.

What a tragic death, just as he had toiled through all dangers and seemed safe at last. I cannot understand it—I cannot understand it!

Yet it is true; the man with whom for a long time I have shared good and evil I shall see no more! Like his sledge comrade Hendrik, he has entered the great peace.

As soon as it was reported to me that people were coming from Foulke Fjord, I immediately made everything ready to send the boats out, whilst we commenced our preparations for the reception we had planned for them. As I was informed that some of the people were quite near, I went out to meet them to hear what news they brought. I was at once surprised to see Koch amongst them, for we had agreed that he and Wulff were to be fetched by the boats; but as I came up with them Koch sat down on a stone, pale and without a word, and the tears which rolled down his cheeks told me everything I needed to know.

​A catastrophe had overtaken the expedition; Wulff was dead, fallen in the last fight for life.

As soon as Koch and I could collect ourselves after this sad meeting, he reported to me all that had happened since the 25th of August. In the following pages I give his written report, which contains all the details:

"On the 25th of August Wulff and I were for the last time with Knud Rasmussen and Ajako.

"The departure was to Wulff and me a happy one, because it seemed to us that once more our future lay bright before us. We believed that our comrades had strength enough to reach people and bring help, and our experiences from Ajako's hunting proved that in the vicinity there would be sufficient of hares both for a couple of days' of rest and for a slow journey towards Etah.

"Of Ajako's five hares we cooked in the course of the day of the 25th two panfuls; some of the more meaty pieces, altogether rather more than one hare, were put away as provisions for our comrades' journey, and our meal thus represented nearly a whole full-grown hare for each man. For the first time for a long period I felt perfectly satiated, but Wulff had, as usual, left his ration still unfinished at eight o'clock in the evening. He gave me a piece, and, as I protested, he declared that it was utterly impossible for him to eat any more.

"During this meal he gave me a detailed description of his physical condition. For the first time he used the expression 'dying' about himself—an expression which at the time seemed to me extravagant, as, at the same time, he opined that with a few days of rest and reindeer meat he would once more be ready to continue the journey.

"He spoke about the journey across the inland-ice as an evil dream from which he had now awakened, and he was awaiting the return of Inukitsoq and Bosun with impatient ​longing, as he took it absolutely for granted that they would return with reindeer meat.

"As I mentioned that perhaps for a while yet we would have to content ourselves with hare meat, he waived this possibility aside, declaring that for a long time he had felt absolutely disgusted at the sight of meat. But reindeer tallow would soon put him on his feet again.

"He talked a lot and was very lively, the subject generally being the provisions which in future he would use on his journeys. About midnight he asked me to boil some water, which he wanted to drink hot before he went to sleep, as his fingers felt cold; he then covered himself up for the night and I went to rest.

"But all these new impressions affected me so that I could not sleep, and at two o'clock in the morning I walked up the mountain. I walked slowly and aimlessly, mainly to try what strength I had got left. Up the first steep slopes every step required a great output of energy, and I had to admit to myself that I was very weak. From the mountain I saw a hare and I climbed down again to our camp to fetch a gun, but the hare was very shy, and I quickly gave up the hunt and returned to the camp tired and hungry. The hunters were still absent, and as Wulff was awake we decided to cook the dog-flesh which was left over from the previous day on the glacier.

"Wulff merely took a small bone, but he drank two big mugs of the hot soup.

At nine o'clock in the morning of the 26th I went to sleep and only awoke when Inukitsoq stood by my side. The result of the two days' hunting had been merely one hare, which was eaten long ago. The hunt had failed entirely because of the heavy fog which had lain on the terrain which they traversed. Bosun had not much strength left and Inukitsoq also felt weary.

"Inukitsoq and I now discussed various plans, but in reality there were only two to choose between. We must either break up at once and go slowly in the direction of Marshall Bay—where we might expect to meet people soon after our comrades had reached Etah—making short daily marches, eating on the ​way according to the results of the hunting; or Inukitsoq and Bosun must try yet another reindeer hunt. This last plan, however, appeared to me too risky; two more days without hunting would mean great exhaustion, especially for the hunters, who, as we did not accompany them, would have to carry the meat back to us as quickly as possible. No, there was only one thing to do: we must go with them, set off immediately, whilst we have still some strength and together try our hunting fortune.

"I communicated the result of my discussion with Inukitsoq to Wulff, but otherwise I did not speak much to him, as we were busily engaged in making the preparations for our journey. We left everything. Each man brought merely a pair of travelling kamiks and a rug. Further, we brought a rifle with about thirty rifle cartridges and a double-barrelled gun with about seventy small-shot cartridges. Wulff left his scientific diaries and collections; I brought my cartographical and geological notes and sketches.

"We set off at four o'clock in the afternoon, but already twenty minutes later Wulff wanted to give up and return to the old camp. We did everything possible to induce him to continue; to remain here alone would be certain death for him if we did not quickly find better hunting. So we succeeded in making him come along. Half an hour later Inukitsoq shot the first hare, which we decided to eat raw, as we were all very hungry. I asked Inukitsoq, now and in future, to undertake the distribution of our rations, and he divided the hare so that Wulff was allotted all the meat whilst the rest of us shared the entrails—a decision against which Wulff, however, protested emphatically. Inukitsoq always gave Wulff more meat than the others, as in his opinion he was the one who needed most. Only when, time after time, we observed that Wulff did not finish his ration, the portions became more equal. The raw, fresh meat was eaten with great gusto, and Wulff expressed the opinion that perhaps this was healthier for him than the boiled meat, of which he was tired.

"In spite of our bit of luck on this hunt, his spirits were ​very low. He seemed on the point of losing courage altogether. The sudden change from the rest on the skins—with prospects of reindeer meat and tallow—to a fresh fight for life had affected him strongly mentally. We had left the depot in bright sunshine; now the cold of night approached and the fog again lay over the land. The ground across which we walked was very rugged and the depressing fog, in combination with the constant scrambling up and down the clefts, preyed on Wulff's mind so much that I began to fear he was on the point of losing the will to live.

"About midnight we made camp. Inukitsoq had then got another two young hares, which we cooked immediately. Despite all appeals, Wulff merely ate half his ration, giving the other half to Bosun. 'If I eat another mouthful I shall bring it all up,' he declared. But the soup he drank with great relish. Inukitsoq then went out hunting again, and after an absence of two hours he returned at midnight with yet another hare. More cooking; but Wulff saved all his meat for the following day, when he gave half of it away.

"The day had been good for us beyond expectation; we had merely walked for a few kilometres, had had a young hare each, and plenty of sleep; nevertheless Wulff complained continually. I now began to believe that his expression 'dying' had not been exaggerated at all. But how could we succeed in rousing his wish to live when he could not eat? Only a reindeer could now save him; but how could we get him so far ahead when he himself had lost courage?

"The next day, the 27th of August, we continued after a rest which, for Wulff and me, had lasted thirteen hours. We had all slept well, even Wulff, but despite this and to our anxiety, he seemed to be weaker than on the previous day. Although we walked very slowly we had to wait for him continually all through the day. He complained constantly about his heart and increasing anæmia. Time after time he enquired about health resorts in Denmark, spoke about oatmeal gruel, eggs, malt extract, and other fattening dishes.

"It had taken us three hours to walk 4 kilometres, and ​Inukitsoq had shot the first young hare. Shortly after he and Bosun shot each a hare, and at Wulff's suggestion we immediately began to cook them. Whilst we others collected fuel and cooked the meal Wulff slept incessantly. This lasted two hours.

"When the hares were cooked he, as usual, ate hardly anything; but he drank some soup, which warmed and stimulated him. After this meal we slept for another couple of hours, and, satiated and heavy, we continued at seven o'clock in the evening. After an hour's walk Inukitsoq shot another hare, and encouraged by this good fortune, we made camp as early as nine o'clock. Bosun went out hunting at once, returning by midnight with a hare. For the second time that day we boiled meat, but Wulff had as yet some left from the last meal. Again he gave it away, for, as he himself expressed it, meat sickened him. But how could he regain his strength when he persistently refused to eat his rations in spite of all our entreaties? He only became thinner every day.

"Another good day of travelling—short distances, much rest, much meat. Although Wulff complained about his heart the whole time, and about his stomach and his terrible weakness, he made constant botanical observations which indicated that his memory and his sense of observation were as yet surprisingly fresh, in sharp contrast to his exhausted body. When his fingers were too stiff for him to write, he dictated to me that which he wished to put down. On the whole it enlivened him considerably to speak about the plants he found on the way. His botanical interests were as alive as ever and his keenness to add to his results unchanged. Now and then the hope seemed to awake that, in spite of all, he would be able to manage, and this always stimulated him greatly. And why not hope for the best? In two days we had shot and eaten nine hares, we four men! We saved nothing, partly because we were yet too exhausted to carry anything, partly because there was no indication that game would decrease further ahead. On the contrary, we were going towards the real reindeer district!

"But the next day was to be quite different from the two ​previous days. All night we had sleet, and during the day constant showers. This prevented us from seeing the hares. Furthermore, we came into quite a different type of country, with deep, stony cloughs, poor in vegetation. After four hours of strenuous marching we decided to leave the border-zone of the inland-ice and go towards the sea—towards the land with a more even terrain, more fertile ground, and richer in game.

"As usual we started by noonday. In the afternoon Bosun shot a young hare which we ate raw; otherwise we saw no game that day.

"On the top of every mountain slope we passed we had to wait for Wulff, often for a long time, although it was to the interest of us all to get quickly ahead to better hunting-grounds. Thus it was that in twelve hours we had covered a distance of hardly 8 kilometres. Wulff had several times during the day been quite unbalanced, very irritable, and occasionally not quite clear. During the day he had often declared that it was better to die—'this walk was worse than death.'

"Again we had snow-showers during the night. Several times I awoke and noticed that Wulff's sleep was very restless, and that he was constantly chewing tobacco—a practice which, in spite of our warnings, he indulged in excessively of late.

"After twelve hours of rest we went on again. None of us spoke much, but I noticed at once that peace had settled on Wulff's thoughts. I was therefore highly surprised when, after three hours, he suddenly stopped and said:

"'Now I can go no further because of my heart. Will you find a place for me where I can lie down?—preferably near to a lake where I can get something to drink, and where you will be able to find me if you get game in the immediate future.'

"I had the definite impression that this was the result of a man's ripe and well-considered reflection. It would be of no avail to attempt to dissuade him. We had just sat down by a lake near a large clough which would be easy to recognize, but to gain time and yet another chance to save his life, I pointed to a lake some 2 kilometres further ahead. He agreed to my choice and we went together towards it; once more to ​encourage him I mentioned how comparatively near we were to people, and how slight were the difficulties yet before us compared with those we had already overcome.

"'Yes,' said Wulff, 'to think of giving up after having gone through so much and surmounted so many difficulties as we already have! No, rather make yet another attempt! But,' he added, 'for all that, this is walking to one's own funeral.'

"I at once told the Eskimos that Wulff had altered his decision, so we set our course away from the lake again.

"The snow had ceased to fall, there was some wind from the north, and still some fog lay across the land. The Eskimos parted company to hunt each in his direction; two hours later Bosun returned with fresh excrements of reindeer, which he ate. We were standing by the edge of a big clough, and down into this Bosun and Inukitsoq went, seeking reindeer. As Wulff had again remained some way behind, I went up on a mountain crag to look out for game. He had sat down, but as soon as he sighted me he called up to me: 'All right, you go down into the clough; I am coming soon.'

"This we did. At the bottom of the clough the hunters had lost the tracks of the reindeer, so we all sat down, chewing willow-roots whilst we waited.

"As Wulff came down to us the first thing he said was: 'Well, dear comrades, here I will rest; I think there will be shelter by the great stone on the other side of the river.'

"He spoke quite calmly, and no emotion was noticeable. As I made another attempt to coax him to continue, he replied definitely and shortly: 'No, I cannot continue; there is an end to it now! Just do me the service to write a few letters for me, and let the Eskimos boil some water so that I can get a little warmth in my body whilst I dictate the letters.' Then he rose and walked up to the big stone which he had selected; and here he had laid down when I reached the spot.

"In vain I considered what I could do to help Wulff, and in vain did I discuss the situation with the Eskimos, who were gripped uncannily by his last decision. But we were absolutely ​powerless when he himself gave up and refused to go on. To remain in the big clough void of game would be certain death for us all.

"My own position was not much different from Wulff's. I also was weak and my life depended entirely upon the hunt of the Eskimos; I myself had no strength to hunt. If both Wulff and I remained in the clough there would be two instead of one to relieve, in case the luck of the hunt should turn; and if this did not soon happen the Eskimos' strength also would probably run out, and help would fail. In that case it would mean not merely catastrophe for us all, but the dearly-bought results of our expedition would be lost, as nobody would be able to find us in this clough. There was nothing for it; we who had as yet not given in must continue without Wulff; that was the only chance for the four of us. Further, Wulff was quite clear as to the position and its hopeless seriousness. Inukitsoq and Bosun had hunted incessantly since we had arrived on land; they had shirked no exertion—often they had gone out again when we were camping, and faithfully had they brought to us whatever booty they caught. And so far this had been comparatively plenty. But what was the good of it all when Wulff would no longer eat the only thing we could procure—boiled hare? And now he himself had preferred to remain lying here.

"As soon as the water was boiled and he had drunk himself warm, he dictated a letter to Knud Rasmussen—a detailed letter which set out his Last Will. After that he himself wrote a letter to his parents and his daughter. Occasionally I noticed some emotion, but he was absolutely calm.

"When he had finished the letter he lit his pipe and dietated to me a botanical survey of the vegetation in Inglefield Land. This was the last thing he did. We then lay speaking for awhile, and whilst we were discussing a probable rescue he said: 'I suppose if I remain perfectly quiet I can live for another couple of days, and if during the next few days you can shoot a reindeer I shall, of course, be glad of relief. But it is no earthly good coming back with hare-bones. If several days ​should elapse and you then meet with people, it is probable that only oatmeal gruel and port wine can save me.'

"He then enquired how long I myself thought I could last. I replied that without hunting I supposed I had the strength to walk for yet another day, whilst the Eskimos probably could keep up for a couple of days.

"By now we had remained with Wulff for a good couple of hours, and as the Eskimos were impatient to continue the interrupted hunting I made ready to break up. Although the situation in itself was a sad one, I did not at the moment feel, very touched at the departure: I myself was too weak, and I had a feeling of walking to meet my own death.

"Wulff remained quiet as we went; his last words to us were: 'Well, I will finally wish for you personally that you may reach your goal. When you meet difficulties, remember that now it is you that must save our results. May good fortune follow you. And now farewell!'

"Again the fog had rolled up, and it all appeared to me so enormously depressing, as we had great difficulty in finding our way. Three hours later the weather cleared up somewhat, and we obtained a view towards the coast. The land inshore was almost bare of snow, and we set our course towards it. About midnight we went to rest, wet and cold after wading across a river. In my diary I wrote that on the following day I should probably be able to reach Cape Scott without food, but that would be the finish of me; but here at least my diary would have a chance of being found.

"It was then too cold to sleep, and not until the morning of the next day were we able to get a couple of hours. By then there was clear sunshine and for the first time we had a view across the land. We found that we were by the middle one of the three little fjords which run inland between Cape Scott and Cape Agassiz. Cape Scott, where my followers during the spring had shot three hares and noticed tracks of reindeer, was also plainly visible. So we decided at once to set our course right for Cape Scott. I was now very weak; all the various sensations of hunger I had experienced on the inland-ice ​returned in an aggravated form. In addition to great weariness I felt considerable dizziness, and a frequent blackness before the eyes.

"About three o'clock we gathered a panful of fungi and boiled them; that gave us new strength to continue.

"Evening came and we had still seen no game. Suddenly we spied a brood of long-tailed ducklings swimming on a lake. The Eskimos shot six, which we cooked, and after that we continued, reaching Cape Scott just before midnight.

"Here Inukitsoq and Bosun shot six hares, and for the first time we had an opportunity to consider whether we could rescue Wulff. The position was this: We could start from Cape Scott two days after we had left him and would then be able to reach him at the earliest twenty-four hours later. Wulff would then have been without food for four days, and we could offer him only hare meat, which he had definitely said would be useless. Furthermore, in order to rescue him we would have to have enough of food for the journey there and back. If before the start we ourselves were to have a meal which would be of any help in our exhausted condition, we should only have three hares left for the rescue, and as this was hopeless we had to give up the idea. Only a reindeer to-day or at the latest to-morrow would be able to save him. But, unfortunately, this stroke of luck only arrived when every hope of finding Wulff alive had vanished.

"During the following three days we got so many hares that we had sufficient daily provision, but we never had such a surplus as to make rescue possible.

"On the evening of the 2nd of September Inukitsoq and Bosun shot two reindeer, but at the same time a thick fog settled on the land. We then definitely abandoned any thought of returning to Wulff, for not until ten days after his last meal could we be with him again, and it was not probable that in his exhausted condition he would have been able to resist the night frost and hunger for so long.

"There was now no other alternative but to go down to Etah, and as quickly as possible report to the leader of the ​expedition Wulff's death, and inform him of the collections which still remained by the point of descent. But as we were still very weary and I myself very weak, we rested for two days by the shot reindeer.

"Early in the morning of the 4th of September we heard shots in our immediate vicinity—they came from one of the Eskimos Knud Rasmussen had sent to our relief; he had shot a reindeer close to us. We got into immediate communication with him. The day after we met another man, and on the 6th we set out and reached at length the sledges and the depot of provisions sent from Etah, which proved to be not far from our reindeer camp. We reached it on the 7th of September, and in the evening of the 10th we were in Etah, where immediately I reported in detail to the leader of the expedition."