Later Expedition Support
Hendrik made his second northern voyage aboard the United States under Isaac Israel Hayes' American expedition of 1860-1861. At the end of August 1860, Hayes touched at Cape York and picked up Hans, his wife, and child. On 21 December, Hans and Sonntag began their ice journey, from which Sonntag did not return, after which Hans eventually reached an Inuit settlement, saving his own life. The ship reached to Upernavik on 15 August 1861, near which Hendrik and his small family would remain for the next three years. Following that, they returned to Fiskernaes.
Hendrik's third journey, aboard the Polaris (1871-1873), was as part of the American expedition led by Charles Francis Hall under Captain Buddington. Hans joined the voyage, along with his wife and four children (Augustina, Tobias, Sophia, and Charlie Polaris). Hall died during the voyage of apoplexy on 8 November 1871. Hendrik was among the party left behind after Hall's death, when the ship broke loose of the ice and failed to return. During the party's six-month drift on a gradually-shrinking icefloe, Hendrik and the Canadian Inuk Ebierbing managed to provide food for the entire party; they were eventually picked up by a sealer in April 1873. Following this journey, Hendrik made a trip to America, including visits to Washington D.C. and New York, before returning home to Fiskernaes.
Hendrik's last sea voyage was under George Strong Nares (Alert and Discovery) in the British expedition of 1875-1876. Hendrik presumably joined the crew of the Alert at Smith's Sound before proceeding to the northernmost reaches of Greenland. The expedition encountered problems with pack ice and scurvy, spending one winter locked in the ice. Hendrik's hunting and handling of dogsleds contributed both to the exploration and the survival and ultimate rescue of the most of the crew.
Hendrik retired from expedition support and worked as boatswain and laborer at the Greenland settlements. His arctic journeys made him wealthy by the standards of his community.
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Famous quotes containing the words expedition and/or support:
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